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JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

EDITED BY

SALIM ALL and H. SANTAPAU, s.s.

Nos. 1, 2, and 3

Containing 45 black-and-white plates, 4 photographs in text,

4 maps, and 102 text figures

Dates of Publication

Part 1 (pages i to 194) ... 7-6-1958

Part 2 (pages 195 to 406) ... 25-9-1958

Part 3 (pages 407 to 602) ... 8-1-1959

AGENTS IN ENGLAND

WHELDON & WESLEY LTD.,

Lytten Lodge, Codicote, Nr. Hitchin,

Herts, England

PRINTED AT LEADERS PRESS BOMBAY-I0

1971

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55

No. 1

PAGE

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS.

Part I—INTRODUCTION. By W. W. A. Phillips.

Part dl MAMMALS.) By Jel. (Wily twocplales).. vcs). . sieire a stn voce Ghee open ols 1

SoME NOTES ON THE REPRODUCTION, METAMORPHOSIS, AND THE ECOLOGY OF A CEYLONESE

TreE FroG : Rhacophorus cruciger cruciger (BLYTH). By A. M. Morgan-Davies.

CH AGURI WO" MDIGIESEM ANG BONGL LEXE GPROLO) ey % txaidhar «Gia Wes euliage «oro oad apalergne ond» « 11

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. By R. B. Seymour Sewell. PartI........... iF

NOTES ON THE LIVERWORT FLORA OF EAST NEPAL. By M. L. Banerji. (With two plates). . 37

ON THE COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, AND TRANSPORT OF MULLET SEED IN WEST BENGAL

(INp1A). By K.K. Sarojini. (With one plate and one text figure)...........00.0045 42

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES OF THE ORIENTAL GENUS Chela Hamilton. By E. G. Silas.

(With two plates and six text figures) ..........054. EMM sel TM ahs gies intact 23 Sk 54

NOTES ON THE BAYA : BREEDING SEASON 1957. By V. C. Ambedkar.................. 100

Two New SpPEcIES OF Echinoderella (PHYLUM KINORHYNCHA) FROM THE BAY OF BENGAL.

ByeRicnande yy. bine, | (WI LWO JIGUFes yi... artis techs 2h gio ales seehitecra ah sabre lcanalal diate 107

SOME RARE INDIAN APHIDS. By S. Kanakaraj David. 2... 0.3.0 cee ecco ee cee cecilia 110

THE FooD AND FEEDING HABITS OF SOME FRESHWATER FISHES OF MADRAS STATE. By M.D.

RRS MONMAn GME: te OMACK ON a circ te ice ecko are onic wal cia eh 6 Bale ho ode eecayele ts OR CPE Code teats 117

A Note on A4eginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. By N. A. Erady and K. Rajappan. (With one

SOUIGECEN SC Ee ae A one ata SCA he bc a a vt a te aang a 125

THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) I. A List oF TREES, SHRUBS, AND WOODY CLIMBERS. By

NATE NZS WACRI OE: Helo) eee) 0g 0.0: Laat ea aa le Ren FrSIRT a oO ae 129

OBITUARY :—

ROMEO er ie WAAC OMA rey ee ore ely walay te eevee UN Ho fee nets, ante Sika ni tar srecceas 142

REVIEWS :—

Pow A Practical ‘Guide to. Plant Sociology.:(P. V.Bole). «<< secseescoeco econ s coe'c tines oo 0s 144

PANY CICCST@IMUeIVVALO IAsC Pr ats i Pettit aie ew aleasoe Seadalc tures seeks os sials 145

SMMC LAW VLMCQECcciNed i np. e ade mere Weta s cure en ee ies baat Mite OL a =. 145

4.7 & Genetal Textbooksof Entomology: (Es Go S:)) .. odenk onc oes cetedelleodh weello. 147

5. The Mollusca of Krusadai Island. If. Scaphopoda, Pelecypoda and Cephalopoda.

IG ete tle eh gs es et Pe doi Sonos Neves! Sees WG ag 8 oan, Venlo heyilicd 9 al asthe « 149

Ge Microscope +'Construction, Use*and' Care. (BG. S.)- fF es. ols on occ be oe 150

7. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. Vol. I No. 1. (K. A. Chowdhury) 150

Gone AMS! WORE DUCINE (ee Ale) hs chavs ayes estos eliza seen hele ee So elias ono Rive ed RBar 151

Oe Company On Birds (LOR). bo uke eae oa alee es Lisle Pane ee mR Sec aa ee 152

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

1. The Breeding Season of the Rhesus Monkey Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann) in

Rajasthan. By ‘Ishwar. Prakash... 2-0. «. #< ee. 2 eo ee ee

2... The usefulness of ‘Bats. By “Editors: 05482 ee he eee ee eee

3. Porcupines and Trees of Vernonia sp. By R. C. Motris...............00 eee

4. Rabbits and Myxomatosis in the U.K. By R.C. Morris...............000002-

5. Birth of a Great Indian Rhinoceros in Captivity. (With a plate). By Editors......

6. The Muntjacin Britain. By G. Kenneth Whitehead? >. 25>... 955-22. een ee

7. Additions to the Birds of the Palni Hills (South India). By Norman Fuller, S.J...

8. A new race of the Whiterumped Swift. By David Lack....................6.

9. Variation in the output of song of a Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis

(Scopoll).... By JamialyAra 2. once ope be ee ie ee eee ee

_10. Notes on the Sarus Crane : Early ‘imprinting’ of vitalcommands. By Salim Ali. .

11. The identity of the Gullbilled Terns [Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin)] in India. By

Humayun: “Abdulalis. 7 oo) cs cos oe see eo cee oie sea ee ee

12. The Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta Linn.) in Assam. By Editors..............

13. Cormorants and Egrets fishing in co-operation. By D. J. panday..............

14. Occurrence of the Common Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber Linn.) at Nandyal,

Andhra State.’ By P. J. Sanjeeva: Raj... 2a. 64 ae ee eee

15. Jumping Snakes. By A. E. Butler... 0 See ee ee ee

16. Rat-Snakes ‘Mating’. . By K. R. Sethial. 22s 7. ne eae eee ee

17. A Note on the Hilsa Fisheries of Assam. (With one plate and a text map). By T. V.

R. Pillay -and A.’ N. Ghosh so3.0000 G24. 0 oe ee ee

18. ‘An Indigenous Fishing Rod and Tackle’. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton..........

19. ‘Crop Pests and their control in the Punjab’. By D. G. Sevastopulo............

20. A new Butterfly from Assam. (With a text figure). By T. Norman..............

21. Notes on the Biology and Control of Brithys crini Fabricius. By D. G. Sevas-

COPUTO® esis wise eed scateca tee a ase 8 ok lence 8 Geek ty otal se Scat ap ae

22. An Episode from the life-history of the moth Suana concolor Wlk.’ By D. G.

SevastOpuUlo .weicsiedis cy c5 Gi alae 6 arecie Geeias Hust ts EG en tae

23. A note on the diagnostic features of larvae of Anopheles varuna Iyeng. (With three

text figures). By P.. SN. « .Soccschic's ie esate kee wok Spee ne eee

24. Flowering of Strobilanthes. By R.°C. Mormns,,..).20905..0) cee eee

25: or ea of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. By H. Santapau, S. J., and G. L.

26. The Coconut, Cocos nucifera Linn. observations of the first English Jesuit in India.

By \H. Santapau, SiG. co pes Sis os os Roses cote pean se

27: \Export:of Animals from India... By Editors)%. ii.26. eee. eee

GLEANINGS

NOTES (AND: (NEWS) o vip s.0 5 clean teen ck eee ee miauee Aimar eri atbirh ier ani we! oi:

PAGE

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55

No. 2

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS

~ Part II-—Birps. By W. W.A. Phillips and R. W. Sims. (With two plates)......

Part IV—AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES. By W. W. A. Phillips....................

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE SEASONAL VARIATION IN STARCH CONTENT OF BAMBOOS IN KE-

RALA STATE AND ITS RELATION TO BEETLE BORER INFESTATION. By K. V. Joseph.

CEE LW OREMCD HS Ea) ofS ot «congeners 4 Wewieks Gains eride Shah esate tee -

New SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA FROM AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ. By E. P. Wilt-

RICO (IS AEs QU PIGLE MAH DNV CC TEXE-SISULCS i fis. si5) 96 054 tckce toys sales 0 « ols.e wale ale dee oes

A FEW NOTES ON THE PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION OF GAMBLE’S FLORA OF THE PRESIDEN-

CY OF MADRAS. By D. Daniel Sundararaj. (With a plate). ...:.... 0.0.0 00000

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN EAST NEPAL. By M. L. Banerji. (With a map)..........

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. Part II. By R. B. Seymour Sewell........

INDIAN MARSILEAS ! THEIR MORPHOLOGY AND SysTEMATICS. By K. M. Gupta and T. N.

Bitancwaiae asGVln bWVelVe LEXt=fICNT ES) reins © shaie spo Sele ccets feislioes dhe sjow wsjere aaace ede s

NOTES ON A VISIT TO CERTAIN ISLANDS OF THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO, WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO FISHERIES. By V. Balan. (With @ Nap) wisi. occ ccs cele oe we wes

NOTES ON THE EGGS, TADPOLES, METAMORPHOSIS, AND ECOLOGY OF THE CEYLONESE

NARROW-MOUTHED FROG Ramanella obscura (GUNTHER). By A. M. Morgan-Davies.

CU ALHEIWO. PICLES, ONG JOUT LOXIJUCUTCS!) «oo ocre so soa es we'd se vos vie ob se operoldnd a yo

ENDEMISM AND OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON THE FLORA OF MANIPUR. By D.B.Deb ........

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME MyXOPHYCEAE FROM HiGH ALTITUDES. By G. S. Venkata-

TL ULE (OVI LIER ComIRLELCS | te aie Se tetas owe Ge. chee ON Se: Grainne God bbaMMh exago avensp ney lsiend +: oe =

REVIEWS :—

hes Vonkeyebook.(b 3. banday)? siya. cb) oh ee Rs NS Bee Sire

‘I Name this Parrot...... GUN INOTENOVER) Dt 8 Fed le er ey 8

Scale NTORMITIC HC ME MIN) ely oho Sek Pk. Sorel OWE cle ee Cs Do. OWN Ss

WeseGuampienons da Huropen (J. HE: Crook) i... oad ect werea sacs s dou etee deed ee

Wildtowlor the oBrtshiisies.-CN: J. Northover):.... 2-02 «sce wes oo wale es

Mhewbet-Kecepems Viamuala(INg J: INOGtHOVED) i ii oa cis sercd eel aun 2A BS ee el ws

INoulicarsiior the Crocodiley@D: ENR i. cee bi we Pec ede es eek bs oles we ks

Bird Hybrids: A Check-list with Bibliography. (S. A.) ............... eee eaee

eo NDA vA RYN

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

1. Habits of the Asiatic Black Bear Selenarctos thibetanus G. Cuvier. By Tun Yin..

2. A note on the Flying Fox (Preropus hypomelanus maris) of Addu Atoll, Maldive Is-

lands! aeeBVia We Vie Ae eT DSi ye ek a te ee

Wild Elephants in the Union of Burma (Supplementary Note). By Tun Yin....

a eiaraupur ;Waild= Cattle: (Watt a plate). By EuP...GeGi 6 os.dela sie ccw acne thes 0:

ae the Fourhorned Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis (Blainville). By E. M.

WI Leene tetany setae Soci bes VV Mey with ean ey sale suk 'oh's Gio alas dorado es, wissen dre aleve « ave aa a dhs

Eastern limit of the Himalayan Ibex Capra ibex sibirica. By Col. K. Guman Singh

7, Gazelle in North Africa. BVA gee INCUNDEIINY eh. conde eueuiua cane WOO dn SRM Oe

Vii

PHN

228

238

243

269

287

297),

307

313

318

322

323

324

326

327

328

329

382

334

337

338

339

341

343

Vili CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55

PAGE

8. Note on the use of Bamboo Gun Rocket for scaring Wild Animals out of Culti-

vation: “By RR. <C. @Morris. jc en a ee ee ee 344

9.. Bird Notes from Nepal. By (Mrs.) Desiree Proud...) ..22.60:. te 345

10: “Woodpeckers drumming: ' By) (Mrs.) Desiree Proud, ee ee ae 350

11. Bluetailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus Linnaeus in western Saurashtra. By

RYeS. Dharmakumarsin it... 5g kes Oe kee ee es eee |

12. The Eastern Swift Micropus apus in Saurashtra. By R. S. Lavkumar........ 352

13. Deliberate drowning by a raptorial Bird. By Humayun Abdulali............ 353

14. Elwes’s Eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon c. harmani Elwes) in Tibet. (With a plate).

By” Loke* Wan-THo: <5 oc ok ec Te cee ene ga Cet re 334

15. Occurrence of the Great Skua (Catharacta skua lonnbergi Mathews) at Malwan,

atnagiri ‘Coast’ (Bombay): By Editors. 25 7400-2, Sal eee eee 356

16. Sandwich Tern [Thalasseus sandyicensis sandvicensis (Latham)] in Saurashtra.

By. .R. S..-Dharmakumarsinhyi. 5. 3.02 tee Aaa eee ee ee 357

17. Occurrence of the Red Sea Masked Gannet (Sula dactylatra Lesson) at Nasik,

Bombay State... .By “Editors .- 2.5 .c)2%:, Spaioe aece a ee ee 358

18. Occurrence of the Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot) in Bombay.

By Humayin. Abdislalt wie. occ teu svat cabenee meee a Nice ee aeie emeee 358

19. Occurrence of the Baikal Teal [ Nettion formosum (Georgi)] in Assam. By C. D.

Hopper obo he INS ois de ae eg Ae Site ote Le oa nc ene 359

20. Water birds and our Irrigation Schemes. By K. K. Neelakantan ............ 360

21. Egg-laying habits of Sea Turtles described in the Tamil Sangam literature. By P. |

J. Sanjeeva Raj. fois fc. ce is ade din ee ee 361

22. On the abnormal tail of a Gecko. By N. Krishna Pillai.................... 363

23.. Rat-snakes. “Mating®. By RR. C.. Mors “cue Wes. os 2. ce ee, ee 366

24. Ona collection of Fish from Delhi State. By N. N. Majumdar.............. 366

25 Parasitism of Ophicephalus gachua Hamilton by the Copepod Argulus indicus

Weber: By R> By Malaviyaie 200 wee is ose ek ee ee 370

26. Pelagic swarming of Polyophthalmus (Family Opheliidae—Polychaeta). By P. R.

Se.) PAM Pie oc cn Oc eh le e oye

27. A list of Butterflies found on date palms tapped for toddy. By Ajoy Shankar

Bha@unls f osooe 5 soo sbace ) Ae eaten eiele nero he rege 375

28. Individual host discrimination by blood-sucking Insects. By Oscar M.Root.... 376

29. Paragrewia Gagnep. ex Seshagiri Rao synonymous with Leptonychia Turcz. By

Rolla Seshasiri. Rao. oo). 6 ont is ceig coats ke oe on eed 376

30. On thé identity of Kerstania Rech. f. By Syed Irtifaq Ali.................... 378

31. Observation of vivipary in Erythrina indica Lamk. (With a photo). By S. S. Kel-

Kar and B.S. Navalkar oo. i. 0s seen Sat ae Aen aes Dele gee se 380

32. Sericocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek. (With a plate). By V. G. Phatak and B. B.

HS oF) 9) Pte ae Be CPAP RONDA MMRDA Ae Reb abel a 5 aI ig Bi, sprite at 383

33, -Coelopyne. calcicola Kerr in’ Burma, YBy iain Sane We ee 385

34. Growing Saffron in Lucknow. By Gos; Srivastava: 2002 ee, 385

INOPES. AND INE WS oo o.sie se o.38 ocd for de x 03.5, ral wll Gale re budleerd alias Reotc che ee og 387

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST

DECEMBER L957: aoc ciaoe aco Gog eine be we I Se ee ee ee 389

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55 ix

PAGE

HONORARY SEGEETARY § REPORT FOR THES YEAR 19970). b FO a De Pl ee Ba ewe 390

APPENDIX TO THE HONORARY SECRETARY'S REPORT COVERING THE PERIOD JANUARY TO

RTE Wee ee tetas CAPA AP IOE Mak, Sh Shue es RR ata outal. Us Eee ea Ree. 404

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE BoMBAY NATURAL History SOCIETY MINUTES OF THE AN-

UAT GRE NERUAT: WIMIRE DENG 700 ofc ur G'S Sk Stee e SAE M dar auaena SUR oie dco slate Leben Data es 406

No. 3

SMALL GAME SHOOTING AND CONSERVATION IN NORTHERN INDIA—WITH SOME OBSERVA-

TIONS ON THE BOMBAY WILD ANIMALS AND WILD BIRDS PROTECTION AcT 1951. By O.

[Et fete Ry he ACG) 5, ita iy Vat iy a T Ups STR i AI FU st EEN mee Ge er ee an 407

EST CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE OF THE PURPLE SUNBIRD. By Joseph George.......... - 420

OBSERVATIONS ON THE VEGETATION CF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS OF

HAD EASTER NEGEIATS: pDBY IX, SCSHARITE RAO. ccicie osc sla clas soles uidlons wh oes 6 are wees 429

SOME BIOMETRICAL ORSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON RATS OF BOMBAY. By P. J. Deoras

CPA EY em eC RAUL Gest ak sae, Siete tr won nig isn te date suis ee cage @asLy Seas wince we ARUN ie weer 450

THE BIOLOGY OF THE WEEVIL Alcidodes mysticus Faust. (Coleoptera : Curculionidae). By

Pa cubramamian. (CMU TWO DIQIES) oc i cc ciate cao asa tea ned bea Welt ss acsles ces 460

CATLA FisHING IN Powal LAKE, GREATER BomBaAy. By F. R. Goldschmidt. (With five

POSE iy SIA RQS)) sete he ta Ne Sa RG 8 ta EU ve nh lb aR na 473

NEW PLANT RECORDS FoR BomBay—V. By H. Santapau, S. J., R. R. Fernandes, and Z.

eA VAC IAM C THAME VIVE) DIGQTES) fre a sie he te Sia PR lia ke a 481

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS.

Party -—rishes., By G. Palmer. (With one plateyi te. i Ol a es 486

ante Vile tNSECIss: 2 BY NVa WoAc Phillipsiene i ee a ALP OG wel in Pee 489

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR AND ITS IMMEDIATE ENVIRONS. By H. P. Gandhi.

EES MOBI gta) Eealad & Regt ERA) Ln td its ta es hes Ee AAU Oa a ava Adee Dee RU eR eee ee 493

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE EEL Neenchelys buitendijki WEBER & DE BEAUFORT IN INDIAN

Wagers) “By Kor. Mohamed: (Withone plate)... ee ER DS 512

IDENTITY OF THE PLANT Piyaman CR Meadar-Jamua. By D. Chatterjee & P. C. Kanjilal.

OMIERMOMCMITADNATIAL ONE DIQIE) ier ne ee 5 le oa ahs hat oa oeols 405 Med ah ee 518

REMARKS ON INDIAN CyPRINID FISHES DESCRIBED BY JERDON (1849) UNDER Gonorhynchus

hic CrpmpaNnDe By EG. silas:. (CHW ith One plate)..cceic as coe ec eet ecw heRs os 525

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA, ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD, AND PAVAGADH. By V. G. Phatak

CULT CEmCGa em IVT BO) Unt Re ete Pen Sree me ak Leta) GS Beh eld 1k ceki Wale BE Tease 332

REVIEWS :—

eee OOH ag WL OOmie CE At. Ce te RR ae os RY EB ee 543

Pe Mie Ondo Wubendiar (Seba) ui sks ewes Paw e ete La 545

Sle MMR ve sei .0) 8) Biko) ian @ a8 SIN £8) aie ana en a 546

Ata Ala CIdd OM ine eee Os) ate ete we aes ae hy Looe te Sok an fateh an ane Yte pou 546

>». A Zoological Guide to the Zoological Gardens of Ceylon. (H. A.).............. 547

em eiliine sD aiwiianwed Get GrgSa)n 5 do,0, aed ue Re ahs 6 due PON ices ew traci ecole adlae 548

MisceLLANEOUS NOTES :—

1, Figers and porcupines. By Sardar Bhupendra Kumar...................... 550

2. A Musk Shrew attacking asnake. By B.K.Behura.........6.0.ccecessceuees 552

GILEANINGS "5 0s) )e's fossa Ge Deka ee be ee a a BE ie

x CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55

3. Abnormal site of horngrowth in Rhinoceros unicornis. (With a photo). By W.-C.

Osman © Alls ie oie cis Nes eee al cece eee cee

4. Re-discovery of the Smaller Asiatic Onehorned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

in ‘Malaya..(With a plate); «By, Editors. iis. is. eee eee

5. The Shou or ‘Sikkim Stag’. (With a plate). By E. P. Gee....::..........%-0%

6. A Myna’s remarkable escape from electrocution. By Joseph George..........

7. The.Blackbacked Woodpecker, Chrysocolaptes festivus (Boddaert), in Chittur,

Kerala. . By JKi-K. sNeelakantan. .c.5 >... 0022 gots ce ee oe ee

8. The voice of the Kora, Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin). By K. K. Neelakantan......

9. Photographing the Lesser Florican, Sypheotides indica (Miller), at nest. (With

three plates). By M: K. Shivrajkumart sos... 2.0. 2. eee eee eee

10 Wilson’s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) at Colombo. By E. W. Dawson....

11. Photographing a colony of Egrets (Bubulcus ibis and Egretta gar GE) in Assam.

(With a plate). By 3. H- Burnett 72% 2250. 2 hee ae eee

12. Notes on the nesting of the Blacknaped Tern, Sterna sumatrana mathewsi Strese-

mann; in‘ the Maldive Islands. “By Ws W.; A. Phillips. .07.2)55 2 eee

13. The present status of the Whitewinged Wood Duck, Cairina scutulata (S. Miller).

(With a plate). (By-E. Ps Gee. Aa eee ee

14. More bird notes from Kutch. By M. K. Himmatsinhji.....................-

15. Trinket Snake (Elaphe helena) with abnormalities in ventral scalation. (With a

photo). By W.-C. “OsmanvHill, 732 3. ee eee ee eee

16. Can Snakes produce vocal sounds ? By Humayun Abdulali................

17. Larval Water-mites (Hydracarina) parasitic on insects, with notes on the dispersal

of small freshwater invertebrates. By C. H. Fernando....................

18. Additions to the Crab fauna of Bombay State. (With two plates). By B. F.

CAD SAL oes: se 50/5) ssve STbace ha wT woe aa ese fe oe en

19. Diagnosis of a new species of the genus Branchinella Sayce (Crustacea : Bran-

chiopoda : Anostraca) from Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan. (With three text-

figures). “By Kk. dKS Tiwatiod occa ees a en ee ee

20. A note on very heavy fouling of copper sheathed hulls of naval craft at Bombay.

(With a plate): By V. Gopalkrishnan and: V.V. Kelkars: 2.2.4 nae) eee

21. A note ona species of Cissus. (With five figures). By J. J. Shah..............

22. Some notes on the genus Mussaenda Linn. By W. Wilson Mayne............

23. Ared or rose variant of Polygala erioptera DC. By V. G. Phatak and G. M. Oza

24. Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj.—a new record for Bombay. (With a plate).

By H. Santapau, S. J.,sand¢ Nn. Ay Irani: os sen ee nie oe ee ae ee

PAGE

553

554

556

558

Bee

560

561

562

565

567

569

ale)

S17

578

579

582

585

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ABDULALI, HUMAYUN, ‘The identity of

the Gullbilled Terns [Gelochelidon

nilotica (Gmelin).)] in India

ae Deliberate

drowning by a Raptorial Bird ,

—_—_—__ —__—_—_—__, Occyrrence of

the Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna

bicolor (Vieillot) in Bombay z

a --—, Can Snakes pro-

duce Vocal Sounds? :

ALI, SALIM, Notes on the Sarus @ilae

Early ‘Imprinting’ of Vital Commands

ALI, SYED IRTIFAQ, On the Identity of

Kerstania Rech.

AMBEDKAR, V. C., Notes on ite Baya

Breeding Season 1957 :

ARA, JAMAL, Variation in ie Sucout

of song of a Spotted Dove, Pe ag

lia chinensis (Scopoli)

BALAN, V., Notes on a visit to ee reaits

islands of the Laccadive Archipelago,

with special reference to Fisheries. .

BANERJI, M.L., Notes on the Liver-

wort Flora of East Nepal

——__——-, Botanical Exploration

in East Nepal

BreHuRA, B. K., A Musk siren etaele

ing a Snake...

BHADURI, AJOY SHANKAR, A list of

Butterflies found on Date Palms tap-

ped for toddy an ws ue

BHARDWAJA, T. N., see Gupta, K. M.

BurRnNeETT, J.H., Photographing a co-

lony of Egrets (Bubulcus ibis and

Egretta garzetta) in Assam ..

Burton, R. W., ‘An indigenous fishing

rod and tackle’ Ee :

BuT er, A. E., Jumping snakes

CHACKO, P.J., see MENON, M.D. ..

CHATTERJEE, iow and KANJILAL, | cad Ge

Identity of the plant Piyaman or

Madar-jamua ..

CHHAPGAR, B. F., Additions to the

Crab Fauna of Bombay State

Crorx, O. H., pe St., Small Game

Shooting and Conservaticn in North-

ern India — with some Observations

on the Bombay Wild Animals and

Wild Birds Protection Act, 1951

Davip, S. KANAKARAJ, Some rare

Indian Aphids. .

Dawson, E. W., Wilson’s Storm Pet-

rel, Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl), at

Colombo

Des, D. B., Endemism and outside In-

fluence on the Flora of Manipur ..

PAGE

169

353

358

578

166

378

100 |

161

297

bi/

243

565

178

173

318

582

407

110

562

313

Deoras, P. J.. and GOKHALE M. S.,

Some Biometrical Observations on

the Common Rats of Bombay

DHARMAKUMARSINHJI, R. S., Blue-

tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus

Linnaeus in Western Saurashtra

——————————— Sand-

wich Tern [T: halasseus sandvicensis

sandvicensis (Latham)] in Saurashtra

Epirors, The usefulness of Bats fs

-, Birth of a Great Indian

Rhinoceros in Captivity

-, The Avocet (Recurvirostra

avosetta Linn.) in Assam

-, Export of Animals from India

-, Occurrence of the Great Skua

(Catharacta skua lonnbergi Mathews)

at Malwan, Ratnagiri Coast (Bombay)

-, Occurrence of the Red Sea

Masked Gannet (Sula dactylatra Les-

son) at Nasik, Bombay State .. :

-, Re-discovery of the Smaller

Asiatic Onehorned Rhinoceros (Rhi-

noceros scndaicus Desmarest) in Malaya

Erapy, N. A., and RAJAPPAN, K., A

note on Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.)

Walp

ees R. R., see SANTAPAU, H.

FERNANDO, C. H., Larval Water-mites

(Hydracarina) ‘parasitic on insects,

with notes on the dispersal of small

freshwater invertebrates ie

FULLER, NorMAN, Additions to the

Birds of the Palni Hills (South India)

GANDHI, H. P., Freshwater Diatoms

from Kolhapur and its immediate

environs

GeE, E. P., Bharatpur Wild’ Cattle .

——_— —— The Shou or ‘Sikkim Stag’

ee The present status of the

Whitewinged Wood Duck Cairina

scutulata (S. Miiller) :

GEORGE, JOSEPH, Nest construction

technique of the Purple Sunbird

—____——. Myna’s remark-

able escape from electrocution ae

GuosH, A. N., see Pirttay, T. V. R.

GOKHALE, M. S., see Deoras, P. J.

GOLDSCHMIDT, F.R., Catla Fishing in

Powai Lake, Greater Bombay

GOPALAKRISHNAN, V., AND KELKAR,

V. V., A note on very heavy Foul-

ing of Copper Sheathed Hulls of

Naval Craft at Bombay

GupTA, K. M., and BHARDWAJA. T. Ne

Indian Marsileas : their Morphology

and Systematics 3. On the examina-

PAGE

450

spl

357

155

157,

170

189

356

358

554

125

579

159

493

338

556

569

420

558

473

588

x11 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

tion of some further collections of

eae from South India and Rajas-

than’ 2. on - ay at,

Hix, J. E., Some Observations on the

Fauna of the Maldive Islands. Part

Ii—Mammals .. om fe ne

HitL, W. C. OsMAN, Abnormal site of

horn-growth in Rhixoceros unicornis

Linn. ae bode be

—____________—-, Trinket Snake

(Elaphe helena) with abnormalities in

ventral scalation

HIMMATSINBS:, M. K.., More Bird notes

from Kutch

Hopper, C. D., Occurrence of the Bai-

kal Teal Nettion JSormosum (Georgi) in

Assam .. 5% a a if

IRANI, N. A., see SANTAPAU, H.

JOSEPH, K. V., Preliminary studies on

the seasonal variation in Starch Con-

tent of Bamboos in Kerala State and

its Relation to Beetle Borer Infesta-

tion a an ae ‘etl ie

JosHi, B. B., see PHATAK, V. G.

KANJILAL, P. C., see CHATTERJEE, D.

KAPADIA, Z., See SANTAPAU, H.

KELKAR, S. S., and NAVALKAR, B. S.,

Observation of Vivipary on Erythrina

indica Lamk.

KELKAR, V. V., see GOPALAKRISHNAN,

KUMAR, SARDAR BHUPENDRA,

and Porcupines A

Lack, DAvip, A new race of f the White-

rumped Swift ..

LAVKUMAR, K. S. The ‘Eastern Swift

Micropus apus in Saurashtra ..

MaLaviyA, R. B., Parasitism of Ophi-

cephalus gachua Hamilton by the

Copepod Argulus indicus Weber

MYANE, W. Witson, Some notes on

the genus M ussaenda inn, . ..

MAZUMDAR, N.N., On a collection of

Fish from Delhi Sta‘e

MENON, M. D., and CHACKO, iE. ik

The Food and Feeding Habits of some

Freshwater Fishes of Madras State ..

MOHAMED, K.H., On the occurrence of

the Ee! Neenchelys buitendijxi Web-

er & de Beaufort of Indian Waters

MorGAn-Davirs, A. M., Some notes

on the Reproduction, Metamorphosis,

and the Ecology of a Ceylonese Tree

Frog Rkacophorus Cees cruciger

(Blyth) ;

_— : Notes on the

Eggs, Tadpoles, Metamorphosis, and

Ecology of the Ceylonese Narrow-

mouthed Frog Ramanella obscura

(Gunther)

Morris, R. C., Porcuoines ad eee

of Vernonia sp.

: Rabbits and Myxomat-

csis in the U. K. ;

Tigers

PAGE

221

380

155

156

| PHitirps, W. W. 7

Morris, R. C., Flowering of Strobilan-

thes

—@—~, Notes on the use of

Bamboo Gun Rocket for Scaring

Wild Animals out of cultivation

————__ , Rat-snakes ‘mating’

NAVALKAR, B. S., see KELKAR, S. S.

NEELAKANTAN, K.K., Water _ birds

and our irrigationschemes .. hg

erie Black-

backed Woodpecker, Chrysocolaptes

festivus (Boddaert), in Chittur, Kerala

ee hen velec uae

the Kora, Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin)

NORMAN, ye A new Butterfly from

Assam .. op =! a a

Oza, G.M., see PHATAK, V. G.

PALMER, G., Some Observations on

the Fauna of the Maldive Islands.

Part V—Fishes tes ea a

PANDAY, D. J.. Cormorants and Eg-

rets fishing in co-operation .. Bie

PuaTak, V.G., and Josui, B. B., Se-

ricocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek ..

SS and: Ozawa vie

Some useful Weeds of Baroda, its

Neighbourhood, and Pavagadh

A red or rose variant of ’ Polygala

erioptera D.C.

"Some Observa-

tions on the Fauna of the Maldive

Islands. Part I—Introduction :

———--, Part IV—Amphibi-

ans and Reptiles eae Aes B

== | Habits of “the Asia-

tic Black Bear Selenarctos thibetanus

G. Cuvier : ae ap i

==, Some Observa-

tion on the Fauna of the Maldive Is-

lands. Part VI - Insects

NOES conmimec nest-

ing of the Blacknaped Tern, Sterna

sumatrana mathewsi Stresemann, in

the Maldive Islands sv

- , and Sms, R. W.,

Some Observations on the Fauna of

the Maldive Islands. Part ifJ—Birds

Pitcai, N. KrisHNA, On the abnormal

tail of a Gecko ae “a ts

PILLAY; T. V; Ry,.c'and (Guosn, iA. aN

A note on the Hilsa Fisheries of

Assam

PRAKASH, ise The Bickane Sea

son of the Rhesus Monkey Macaca

mulatta (Zimmermann) in Rajasthan

Proup, DeEsiREE, Bird notes from

Nepal .. nn i ae a

—— -, Woodpeckers drum-

ming

RAIS Pid. ree Occurrence of the

Common Flamingo (Phoenicopterus

ruber Linn.) at Nandyal, Andhra State

PAGE

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Rags, P. J. SAnseEVA, Egg-laying habiis

of Sea Turtles described in the Tamil

Sangam Literature ys

RAJAPPAN, K., see ERADY, N. nA

Rao, R. SESHAGIRI, Observations on

the Vegetation of the Rampa and

Gudem amie Tracts cf the Eastern

Ghats

cee ; Paragrewia

Gagnep. ex Seshagiri Rao synony-

mous with Leptonychia Turcz

REUBEN, D.E., Gazelle in

Africa he ie aft ee

Root, OSCAR M., ‘Individual host dis-

crimination by blcodsucking insects

SANTAPAU, H., The coconut Cocos

nucifera Linn. Observations of the

first English JesuitinIndia .. fl

FERNANDES, R. R.,

and KapapiA Z., New Plant Records

for Bombay—V Ay) fe re

- .\- and) FRAN: N; .A.,

Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj.-

A new record for Bombay :

and SHAH, G. me,

The Phyllotaxy of Euphorbia Linn.

SAROJINL, K. K., On the Collection,

Acclimatisation, and Transport of

Mullet Seed in West Bengal (India) .

SEN, P., A note on the diagnostic fea-

tures of larvae of Anopheles varuna

Iyeng. a: ie ahs

SEVASTOPULO, TD: Gy ‘Crop pests and

their control in the Panjab’

—— ‘Notes on the

biology and control of Brithys crini

Fabricius

North

a ee.

——____-- ; ‘An episode from

the life-history of the Moth Suana con-

color Wik’. :

SETHNA, K. R., Rat-snakes ‘Mating’

SEWELL, R. B. SEYMOUR, Evolution :

the Taxonomer’s Approach. Part I

——--- Evolution:

the Taxonomer’s porbachs Part Il

SHAH, G. L., see SANTAPAU, H.

SHAH, J.J., A note on a species of

Cissus be we

SHARMA, VIJAYA SHANKER, The Flora

of Ajmer (Rajasthan) - I. A list of

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Climbers

SHIVRAJKUMAR, M. K., Photographing

the Lesser Florican, Sypheotides indica

(Miiler) at nest Bis

PAGE

188

481

594

186

182

178

18]

182

1/3

269

591

129

561

SHULL, E.M., Notes on the Fourhorn-

ed Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis

(Blainville)

SILAS, E.G., Studies on ered F ae

es of the Oriental Genus Chela Hamil-

ton

Se Rema on tia Cy-

prinid Fishes described by Jerdon

Race under no nches McClel-

and :

SIMS, R. W., see Bares, w. W. "

SINGH, K. GUMAN, Eastern limit of the

Himalayan Ibex Capra ibex sibirica

Pallas

SRIVASTAVA, G. S.,

in Lucknow

SUBRAMANIAN, T. R., The Biolony ae

the Weevil Alcidodes mysticus Faust

(Coleoptera : Curculionidae)

SUNDARARAJ, D. DanieL, A few notes

on the Prepara tion and Publication of

Gamble’s Flora of the Presidency of

Madras

TAMP], P.R.S., Pelagic Swarming of

Polyophthalmus eamy Orheliidae -

Polychaeta)

TIMM, RICHARD W., Tr WO New Sperice

of Echinoderella (Phylum Kinorhyn-

cha) from the Bay of Bengal . ;

Tiwary, K. K., Diagnosis of a new

species of the genus Branchineila Sayce

(Crustacea : Branchiopoda : Anos-

traca) from Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan

VENKATARAMAN, G. S., Observations

on some Myxophyceae from High

Altitudes Ly # ie

WANn-THO, LoKE, Elwes’s Eared Phea-

sant (Crossoptilon c. harmani Elves) in

Tibet

WHITEHEAD, G. KENNETH, The Munt-

jac in Britain

WILTSHIRE, E. P., New " Species and

Forms of Lepidoptera from Afghanis-

tanandIrag ..

YIN, TUN, Habits of the Asiatic Black

Bear Selenarctos thibetanus G. Cuvier

, Wild elephants in the

Union of Burma (Supplementary

note)

Growing Saffron

-, Coelogyne calcicola

Kerr

in Burma ee

PAGE

339

LIST OF PLATES

PAGE

Some Observations on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands—Part I.

Plate I. 1. Malé, Capital of the Maldive Islands from Hullule Island 2

2. Lankcumfurri-nesting place of Shearwaters. A typical reef-island. :

Plate IJ. 1. Vegetation on Lankcumfurri Island amongst which Shearwaters had 4

their nesting burrows 8

2. The beach at Lankcumfurri Island

Some notes on the Reproduction, Metamerphosis, and the Ecology of a Ceylonese Tree Frog

Rhacophorus cruciger cruciger (Blyth).

Plate I. 1. Male and female Rhacophorus c. cruciger in early amplexus 12

2. Position during egg laying (diagrammatic)

Plate II. 3. Nest on vertical side of rock 13

4. Nest opened out to show distribution of eggs

Notes on the Liverwort Flora of East Nepal.

Plate I. 1-4. Metzgeriahamata: 1-2. Straight and curved hairs; 3-4. rhizoids }

5-9. Plagiochasina cordatum: 5-6. usual pores ; 7-8. pores with more | 40

than the usual number of cells; 9. epidermal cells wilh prominent f

trigones

Plate Il. 10-14. Plagiochasma nepalensis : 10-13. pores inside views and surface |

views ; 14. epidermal ceils if

15-18. Pellia epiphylla: 15. t. v. s. thallus 20 ; 16-17. thickening Al

bands of the midrib and wing respectively ; 18. t.v.s. of the thallus ;

19. rhizoids of Conocephalum conicum

On the Collection, Acclimatisation, and Transport of Muilet Seed in West Bengal (India).

Plate I. 1. The pools and puddles along the banks of a typical estuary at low

tide from where mullet fry can be collected in large numbers

2. The rectangular dragnet jnhaji jal 44

3. The circular dip-net chakni jal

4. The circular dip-net chakni jal being operated as a dragnet

Studies on Cyprinid Fishes of the Oriental Genus Che/a Hamiiton.

Plate I. Chela (Chela) laubuca Hamilton specimens from 1. Kelantan, Malaya;

2. Barrackpore, N. E. India; 3. Sittang River, Burma ; 4. Cauvery 7

River, Peninsular India; 5. Hazaribagh, N.E. India; 6. Kambala Talao, {

Kathiawar Peninsula, Western India; 7. Matungama, Ceylon

Plate II. Chela (Allochela) fasciata subgen. et. sp. nov.- 1. Lateral view of the

Holotype; 2. Pharyngeal bone and its teeth froma paratype; 3. Scale

from side of body from above and ahead of pelvic fin; 4. Scale from 87

lateral line in front of the pelvic fin; 5. Scale from side of caudal pe-

duncle above lateral line

Two New Species of Echinoderella (Phylum Kinorhyncha) from the Bay of Bengal.

Plate I. 1. A. Echinoderella bengalensis sp. nov. ventral view; B. Echinode- 108

rella sonadiae sp. nov. lateral view

Plate Il. 2. Details of Echinoderella bengalensis sp. nov.: B. Head extended;

C. Posterior of male, ventral view; D. Zonite 2, showing specialized 109

scalids of posterior circle; E. Zonite 7, ventral view; F. Zonite 11, (

ventral view J

A note on Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp.

Plate I. Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp: 7

1. Entire plant attached to the roots of the host plant showing flowers |

in a radical! cluster and roots with adventitious buds; 2. Plant showing

flowers in various stages of development and the origin of secondary

inflorescence from the rhizome; 3. Bract; 4. Spread open corolla tube 126

showing didynamous stamens; 5 Calyx; "6. Mature fruit showing per-

sistent style calyx, and part of the Corolla tube; 7. Gynoecium showing

front and side views of the stigma; 8. Median L. S. of flower; 9.

Stamens; 10. T.S. of ovary through upper part; 11. T. S. of ovary

through the middle part

LIST OF PLATES XV

tis S PAGE

Birth of a Great Indian Rhinoceros in Captivity.

Plate I. 1. Abouttwohours after birth. BaselZoo | } 157

2. The week-old “Rudra” following its mother in the paddock

A note on the Hilsa Fisheries of Assam.

Plate I. 1. The clapnet sanglo jal operated from kosa nauka in River Brahma-

putra 176

2. The firki jal also known as hafa, chirong and garua ilihi, commonly

used for hilsa fishing in the Barak

Some Observations of the Fauna of the Maldive Islands

Part [ii—Birds.

Plate I. 1. Nest-burrow of Audubon’s Shearwater Procellaria lherminieri bail-

loni. North Malé Atoll

2. Tracks in sand reputed to be made by Audubon’s Shearwater Procel- 200

laria lherminieri bailloni when visiting nest-burrow at night ea

Malé Atoll

Plate II. 1. Brown Booby Sula leucogaster } 201

2. Longtailed Tropic-bird Phaéthon lepturus lepturus javenile

New Species and Forms of Lepidoptera from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Plate I. 1. Archanara pringlei sp. nov., holotype o&; 2. Agrochola egorovi |

B-H. sub. sp. /aciniatae ssp. nov., holotype 0; 3. Lithcphasia cyaxares

sp. nov., holotype 61;4. Syntomis higginsi sp. nov. holotype 0’; 5. Da- |

mata dicyma sp. nov., holotype 0’; 6. Euproctis froitzheimi sp. nov., |

holotype o&”;7. Harpyia pulcherrima Brandt, sub. sp. nuristana ssp. nov., f

holotype oc’; 8. Harpyia lanigera Butler, forma terminata f. nov., |

holotype 2 ; 9. Dendrolimus klapperichi sp. nov., paratype o genitalia,

, 10. Dendrolimus klapperichi sp. nov., paratype o’.. |

A few Notes on the Preparation and Publication of Gamble’s Flora of the Presidency of Madras.

Plate I. 1. J.S. Gamble \ 238

234

2, ©..E. G. Fischer

Notes on the Eggs, Tadpoles, Metamorphosis, and Ecology of tie Ceylonese Narrow-mouthed

Frog Ramanella obscura (Gunther).

Plate I. 1. Position during amplexus on land 308

2. Position during amplexus in water

Plate II. 1. Larval stages 309

2. Adult male and female Ramanella obscura

Bharatpur ‘Wild’ Cattle.

Plate I. 1. Bharatpur ‘Wlid’ Cattle

2. Cow and calf of the Chillingham Wild Cattle in a remote.. 338

part of Britain J

Elwes’s Eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon c. harmani Elwes) in Tibet.

Plate I. 1. H.H. The Maharaj Kumar of Sikkim feeding Elwes’s Eared 354

Pheasants

2. Wild birds at a monastery in the Kongbo Valley of Tibet

Sericocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek.

Plate. Sericocalyx scaber (Nees in Wall.) Bremek.: 1. Entire branch;

Flower; 3. St. didynamus (dissected flower); 4. Ovary;

5. Stamen; 6. Capsule; 7. Seed

The Biology of the Weevil Alcidodes mysticus Faust (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Plate I. Alcidodes mysticus Fst.:

1. Adult; 2. Side view of head; 3. Antenna; 4. Front femur

and tibia; 5. Tarus; 6. Maxilla (adult): 7. Labium (adult);

8. Mandible; 9. Grub; 10. Mandible (grub); 11. Spiracle 462

(grub); 12. Head Capsule (grub); 13. Maxilla and Labium

(grub); 14. Labrum (grub); 15. Epipharynx (grub); 16. Pupa

(dorsal and ventral views).

Plate II. 1. Leaf petiole of Sea-island cotton showing the weevil attack 463

2. Infested stems. s

384

ay)

XVI EIST OF PLATES

PAGE

New Plant Records for Bombay - V.

Plate I. Alisma oligococcum F. Muell. A. Whole plant to show the habit; Bi 4g?

Achene “i %

Plate II. Lindernia multiflora (Roxb.) A. Whole plant showing habit; B.\

Calyx; C. Corolla; D.i-: Pistil;: Eu Capsule; Fis. Seed Joy 483

Plate Uf. Oberonia iridifolia Lindi. A. Entire plant; B. Lateral view of

flower; C. Calyx and corolla dissected; D. Floral bract; E. Ovary 484

and column; F. Fruit; G. Anther; H. Pollinia. (G and H :.

Highly magnified)

Plate IV. Habenaria furcifera Lindl. A. Entire plant; B. Lateral view of the

flower; C. Calyx and corolla; D. Floral bract; E. Front view of

column; F. Fruit; G. Pollinium ;

Plate V. Dendrobium peguanium Linn. A. Clump of pseudobulbs with inflores- )

cence; B. Leafy shoot; C. Flower; D. Calyx and corolla; E. Flo-

ral bract; F. Column showing anther, stigmatic surface, and foot

with nectary; G. Anther; H. Pollinia

Some Observations on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands Part V - Fishes.

Plate I. 1. Sail-fish in the Fish-market, Mals

2. Bonito (Exthynnus sp.) caught in the lagoon of North Malé Atoll

On the Occurrence of the Eel Neenchelys buitendijki Weber & de Beaufort in Indian Watea:

ei 488

Plate I. a. MNeenchelys buitendijki Weber & de Beaufort; b. Head of N. i

dijki; c. Head of newly metamorphosed elver of N. buitendijki; d. Gia- xe

grammatic representation of the arrangement of teeth in N. buitendijki a

Identity of the plant Piyaman or Madar-Jamua

Plate. Syzygium cerasoides Chatterjee and Kanjiilal

1. Flower bud; 2. Flower before anthesis, 3. Flower at anthesis,

showing separation of the ’pseudo-calyptrate corolla’; 4. Corolla view-

ed from above; 5. Corolla seen on inner side; 6. Separated sa |

7. Fruits; 8. Fruit; 9. Cross section of ovary

Remarks on Indian Cyprinid Fishes described by Jerdon (1849) under Cains nthes

McClelland.

Plate. Species of Garra Hamilton of the Cauvery Watershed G. is eat

(Jerdon): a. Lateral ; b. Dorsal views of a specimen; c. G. Jamta

Hamilton; d. G. mcclellandi (Jerdon)

Re-discovery of the Smaller Asiatic Onehorned Rhinceeros (Rhinoceros sondaicus

Desmarest) in Malaya.

Plate. 1 & 2. The young “Rhinoceros sondaicus” (?) photographed in Sainte 554

Malaya rs

The Shou or ‘‘Sikkim Siag’’.

Plate. 1. The Shou or Sikkim Stag

528

2. The Hangul or Kashmir stag : ie =

Photographing the Lesser Fiorican, Sypheotides indica (Miller) at nest.

Plate I. 1 & 2. Lesser Florican (female)

“On seeing the lens she at once adopted an aggressive pose and advanced 562

close up ie

Plate If. 1. & 2. Lesser Florican (female) ay 562/

‘After this display she went back to the nest and started pushing the ie 5 53

one by one, back into the thick cover’ i

Plate Ili. Lesser Florican (female) 4!

‘““When all the eggs were removed she started incubating them”’ Fy aes) )

Photographing a colony of Egrets (Bubulcus ibis and Egrétta garzetta) in Assam.

Pilate I. 1. A pair of Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage, Sibsagar Dist., Assam. . ;

2. A little Egret about to leave its nest, Sibsagar Dist., Assam

The present status of the Whitewinged Wood Duck, Cairina scitulata (S. Muller)

Plate. 1. Whitewinged Wood Ducks in captivity, about four months old. 2 570

2. Adult bird in Alipore Zoological Garden, Calcutta Sty %

LIST OF PLATES xVil

PAGE

Additions to the Crab Fauna of Bombay State

Plate I. Achaeus lacertosus Stimpson: a. Dorsal view of Crab

Elamena sindensis Alcock: b. Dorsal view of Crab; c.Tip of walking 584

leg enlarged ‘

Plate II. a-d. Gelasimus inversus sindensis Alcock: |

a. Dorsal view of crab; b. Spooned hair on 2nd maxilliped, 1

front view; c. Cheliped of male; d. Cheliped of male Gelasimus 585

annulipes Latreille; e. Tip Ist left abdominal appendage of (

male Gelasimus annulipes; f. Tip of 1st left abdominal S|

of male Gelasimus inversus sindensis

A note on very heavy Fouling of Copper Sheathed Hulls of Naval Craft at Bombay.

Plate I. 1. Fouling of copper sheathing above the bilge-keel aay 588

2. Barnacle fouling on copper sheathing seats

Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj. - A new record for Bombay.

Plate. Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj. al

A. Flowering branch; B. Dissected corolla showing corona; C. Pol- f 594

len mass; D. Pistil; E. Fruit we

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE |

Achaeus lacertosus

Plate 584

Aeginetia acaulis

Plate bite 126

Agrochola egorovi laciniatae

ssp. nov. : ie 233

Plate 234

Alcidodes mysticus

Plate . 462, 463

Alisma oligococcum

Plate 482

Amphora veneta .. 494

Anomoeoneis sphaeropho a. 495

Anopheles varuna ; . 184, 185

Archanara pringlei sp. nov.. . ; 235

Plate 234

Astralagus hosackioides

Map 379

Branchinella biswasi sp. nov. 585, 586, 587

Bryomima , 232

Bubulcus ibis

Plate 566

Cairina scutulata

Plate 570

Catla Fishing on “Powai Lake,

Greater Bombay 475, 476, 477, 478

Chaemosiphon curvatus ig 318

subglobosus 318

Chela . : 56

a (Allochela) fasciata ‘subgen.

et sp. nov

Plate 87

Map : 88

aa maassi 59

Map ae 88

—-— (Chela) cachius 59

Map ses ie 68

“= caeruleostigmata 59

Map ae Ne q3

—— fasciata subgen.

et sp. nov

Plate 87

Map Re 88

-a en laubuca 59

Plate eB

Map oe 73

a mouhoti 59

Map 73

oe eae dadyburjor 59, 92

Map : 88

Cissus 593

—--— quadr angulari is 592

Cocconeis placentula 494

VOLUME 55

Nos. 1, 2, and 3

Collection, Acclimatisation, and

Transport of Mullet Seed in West

Bengal (India), on the

Plate

Conocephalum conicum

Plate

Crossoptilon crossoptilon harmani

Plate

Cryptostegia madagascari iensis

Plate

Cyclotella meneghiniana f. binotata ..

Cymbella kerkevarensis

tumidula

Damata dicyma sp. nov.

Plate

Dendrobium peguanum

Plate

Dendrolimus Klapperichi sp. nov.

Plate :

East Nepal

Map (a AS

Echinoderella bengalensis sp. nov.

Plate she

—-——___-—- sonadiae sp. nov.

Plate ; :

Egretta garzetta

Plate

Elamena _ sindensis

Plate

Elaphe helena

Enthynnus sp.

Plate fe,

Epithemia zebra he

— —-— Vv. frickei

—-— v. porcellus

—-— v. probeoscidea

Erythrina indica .. 2,

Eunotia major var. indica

Euphorbia neriifolia

Euproctis froitzheimi sp. nov.

Plate oy

Fiseher, Cy E. @

Portrait

Fragilaria rumpens var. familiaris

Gamble, J.

Portrait

Garra lamta

Plate t

—-— mceclellandi

Plate ;

—-— stenor. hynchus

Plate

Gecko, On the abnormal tail of a

PAGE .

354

594

494

495

234

485

234

244

. 108, 109

108

566

584

=f |

488

495

500

495

381

| 494, 495

186

234

238

494

238

528

|. 364, 365

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Gelasimus annulipes

Plate

—_——-~-=.

Plate

Gomphonema intricatum

bohemicum

inversus sindensis

var.

lacus-rankala Sp. nov. ..

—-—___--——_ —_-—_____-—_ var.

robusta var. nov. :

_—-—___-— Janceolatum

—-————-—. olivaceum

—-————-— spicula sp. nov.

—-————-— subapicatum

Habenaria furcifera

Plate

Hantzschia amphioxys var.

densestriata

Harpyia lanigera forma terminata f.

nov.

Plate

pulcherrima sub. sp.

nuristana ssp. Nov.

Plate

Hilsa Fisheries of Assam, A note

on the

Indian Marsileas

—-— Rhinoceros in Captivity,

Birth of a great

Plate

Kerstania Rech. f., Disiribution of

Map

Laccadive Islands

Map ae

Lindernia multiflora

Plate

Lithophasia

cyaxares sp. nov,

Plate

Mastogloia recta

var. pulchella

Melosira granulata

—— Var.

muzzanensis

Metzgeria hamata

Plate I

Mugil cephalus

—— corsula

—— cunesius

parsia

tade

Navicula cryptocephala

——_——— var.

subsaline

cuspidata brevir ostrata

i TOV.

—-———_ minuta

—-——_ pygmaea

“var. ambigua

PAGE

585

500

495

. 484,485

500

234

234 |

175

176

290

157,

379

298

483

232

234

500

494

xix

PAGE

Neenchelys buitendijki

Plate L 512

Nitzschia commutata var.

pamirensis 500

— gandersheimiensis 500

thermalis var. minor 500

tryblionella var. levidensis . . 494

Oberonia_iridifolia

Plate 484

Plate 488

Observations on the Vegetation of

the Rampa and Gudem Agency

Tracts of the Eastern Ghats .. 442,443

Map 1 : 430

Map 2 431

Pellia epiphylla

Plate 41

Phaethon lepturus lepturt us

Plate - ; 201

Pinnularia biceps var. amphicephala. ; 495

- kolhapurensis sp. nov. 495

———- notata var. rostrata 495

Plagiochasma cordatum

Plate 40

—-—_————— nepalensis

Plate ks 41

Polyophthalmus pictus 373

Preliminary studies on the Seasonal

Variation in Starch Content of

Bamboos in Kerala State and its

Relation to Beetle Borer Infesta-

tion

Graphs 5 h22a5 220

Procellaria lherminieri bailloni

Plate 200

Ramanella obscura 308, 310,312

Plates : 308,309

Rhacophorus cruciger cruciger 13

Plates Be 12,13

Rhinoceros sondaicus

Plate 554

- unicornis S00

Rhopalodia gibba 500

Sericocalyx scaber

Plate 384

Shou or ‘Sikkim’ ‘Stag, The

Plate 556

Spirulina laxa 318

-— nordstedtii 318

-— subsalsa 318

Sula leucogaster

Plate ae ie 201

Synedra ulna var. biceps .. 495

—- —- —-- subaequalis 495

Syntomis higginsi sp. nov.

Plate : 234

Sypheotides indica

Plates 562,563

Syzygium cerasoides

Map 519

Plate a 520

‘Wild’ Cattle, Bharatpur

Plate : ae 338

| Ypthima cantliei .. 180

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Abelmoschus cancellatus 441, 446

manihot var. pungens 439, 446

Abies te 249, 240,241

Abrus precatorius 133

Abudefduf septemfasciatus 302

Abutilon indicum 130, 441, 534

polyandrum 441

Acacia 438, 442

arabica 135

caesia 435

catechu 135

concinna 438

farnesiana 135

jacquemontii 135

leucophloea 129, 135

rupestris 135

senegal 129, 135

Spp. 129, 244

sundra 435

Acalypha indica 541

Acanthurus leucosternon 302

— lineatus 302

—————— tennentii 302

triostegus 302

Acartia clausi 32.

—— gaboonensis 32

—— hudsonica 32

ensifera 32

- simplex 32

Acer 248

—— campbellii 247, 254

— papilio 247, 254

Achaea janata 178, 179

Achaeus 583

—--—— lacertosus 583

Achania leschenaultii 131

Acherontia styx 179

Achnanthes minutissima 505

Achras sapota 115

Achyranthes aspera 540

Aconitum laciniatum 245, 250

Acridotheres tristis 558

Acrosternum graminea 492

Actitis hypoleucos 199, 209

Adansonia digitata 131

Adiantum 442

—- caudatum 437

—— lunulatum 436, 440

Adina 434

—--— cordifolia 439

—--— griffithii 315

Aechmanthera leiosperma 315

tomentosa v. wallichii 264

Aeginetia abbreviata £25--427--128

acaulis .. 125, 128

indica .. 245, 264

pedunculata 127, 128

PAGE

Aeginetia pedunculata v. abbreviata 127, 128

-— ———__—_—__ y.. acaulis 127, 128

Aegle marmelos 132, 249

Aerides multiflorum ae 439

Aerva lanata ze AN 540

Aeschynanthus superba er 315

Aganosma caryophyllata se 438

——--—— dichotoma 444

Agave 245, 264, 434

Ageratum conyzoides we: 536

Aglaia roxburghiana ash 436

Agrimonia eupatorium 5.€ 259

Agrochola oe ie 234

-—— egorovi laciniatae .. 233

Agrostemma coelirosa ae 115

Ailanthus excelsa : 129-7132

Ailia coila i 368

Ainslea angustifolia sie 35

Alangium salvifolium Spr 435

Albizzia ie Sf 444

-— lebbeck 129, 135

———--—— marginata 444

-— odoratissima 135, 444

Alcidodes mysticus 460-472

Alcippe v. vinipectus a 348

Alectra indica ee 1 263

Alisma oligococcum R 481

Allanetta forskali .. a: 300

Allium a 4G 245

wallichii 245, 268

Allochela , 64, 65, 87, 98

Alnus nepalensis .. 2% 267

Alocasia decifiens re 447

—--——— macrorhiza aA) 447

Alseonax latirostris latirostris . . 160

Alsophila ae se 443, 448

—glabra .. a: 442, 445

—_—_-——— Jatebrosa =e 445

Alternanthera sessilis tH 540

Alysicarpus Ri 444

Amanses sandwichiensis aes 303

Amarantus gracilis a 540

spinosus Bs 540

polygamus 540

Amaurornis phoenicurus maldivus 199, 206

Ambassis nama 119, 121, 122, 369

—__—_—_—— ranga 119, 121, 122, 369

Amblypharyngodon mola ii 367

Ammotrypane aulogaster a 713

Ampelocissus tomentosa ae 437

Amphipnous cuchia of. 369

Amphora Ne 118

——_--——- ovalis v. " pediculus iQ 505

——veneta .. Ri 499, 505

Amsacta moorei .. We 179

Amyna punctum .. ‘. 490

Anabarilius e oe 62

XXii INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Anabas scandens .. & 119, 123

Anampses diadematus He 303, 305

Anaphalis ie His 248

— contorta vr 248, 259

—— triplinervis hen 248, 259

Anas crecca aie 199, 205

ee platyrhyncha B. 333

—-— querquedula te AT

Ancylus B, 581

Andrographis ovata ~ 438

Andromeda aj 244, 248

elliptica - 244

Andromedia elliptica re 245

—-——_—_——— formosa as 261

Andropogon sorghum i 112, 433

Androsace ‘ oe: 247

Anemone vitifolia a 245, 250

Angiopteris erecta. 8 438, 444

(evecta = ) erecta 444

Anhinga melanogaster 361

Anisochaetodon (Linophora) auriga 301

Anisomeles aes sie 444

——. indica. . re 539

Ankistrodesmus .. bie 118

(Anona =) Annona is 249

Annona reticulata bf 435

—-——- squamosa 130

Anogeissus a 434, 436, 438, 439

441, 443, 444, 445, 447

acuminata 135

latifolia 135, 437, 438, 439

441, 442

pendula cel 129, 135

Anomoeoneis sphaerophora .. 496, 505

—_______ —________-- v. genuina 496

Anopheles aconitus oe 184

—_—--—— fluviatilis as 184

——--———. minimus at 182, 184

——---———- varuna sm 182, 184

Anous stolidus pileatus i 200, 212

tenuirostris rs 200, 212

Anplectrum assamicum ae 315

Anser a 333

Anthogonium gracile of 267

Anthus campestris ark + 392

-cervinus .. .. 198, 200, 214

———- godlewskii as 392

novaeseelandiae % 392

- trivialis trivialis .. 198, 200, 214

Anthocephalus cadamba sie 136

Anthoceros erectus Af 37

——_—_——— gollanii aft 37

Antigonon leptopus M 139

Antilope chickara Ht 340

Antrozous pallidus “A 155

Apluda 58 443, 444

- varia at 438, 440

Aphanocapsa pulchra uc 318

Aphis berberidis “it 111

—--— craccivora i 115

—--— gossypil a 115

—--— malvoides S 115

—--— padi rp 114

—--— solani ies 110

Aplocheilus lineatus

Apocopsis wightii

Apogon frenatus

Aponogeton monocharia

Apus

—-— murinus

—-—pacificus

—-— —————- leuconyx

pacificus

—-— ——_——— Salimalii

Aralia thomsonii

Arbacia punctulata

Arborophila torqueola

Arcella

Archanara

—_—--——- geminipuncta

——--—___ insoluta

——---——_ pringlei

Ardea cinerea rectirostris

Ardeola grayit

ibis coromanda

Ardisia keenanii

——-— khasiana

—-——- polycephala

— virens

Arenaria interpres

Arenicola marina

Argemone mexicana

Argina cribraria

Argulus

—e.

—as——— ——.

indicus

Argyreia nervosa

—--——. speciosa

Argyroploce aprobola

Arisaema petiolulatum

————— wattii

Aristida setacea

Aristolochia bracteata

- roxburghiana

Armandia

——_-—-— leptocirris

Arothron hispidus

nigropunctatus

Artocarpus integra

integrifolia

Arundinaria kurzii

Ascaris

Asio flammeus flammeus

Asparagus racemosus

Aspidoparia morar

Aspidura trachyprocta

Asplenium

Aster tricephalus

—-— wattil

Asterella angusta

blumeana

Asterias forbesii

Astilbe rivularis

Astragalus

——--——— hosackioides

-__.-_=— lotoides

sinicus

Atylosia mollis

rs scarabaeoides

PAGE

119.121, 123

444

300

114

160

352

350

160

315

282

350

119

229

235

. 234

234, 235

199, 203, 486

ai5

198, 199, 209

373

532

179

aul

370, 371

437, 438, 440

138

a a)

Berberis

———-- wallichiana

Bergia odorata

Bidens pilosa

Biophytum

PAGE

Aucuba himalaica S13

Aulacorthum solani 110

Averrhoa carambola 131

Aythya fuligula 199, 205

Azadirachta indica 1297132

Bacopa monnieri 538

Bagarius bagarius 368

Balanites aegyptiaca 131

roxburghii 131

Balanophora indica 444, 447

Balanus amphitrite 394, 589

- ——_—__—_-- communis 589

———- --——— variegatus 589

—-—— tintinnabulus 394

Balistes 303

Baliospermum meeboldii 314

eae suffruticosum 314

Balsamodendron mukul 1352

Bambusa 443

arundinacea 221-227

bambos 437

—_———— kingii 314

Bandicota bengalensis 450-458

———-——— indica 450-458

Bankia 394

——— indica 394

Barbus amphibius EUS 122

aurelius ESET 22

carnaticus 1 i) Bo Am 1)

chola 18,722

chrysopoma 120, 124

curmuca 1205123

dorsalis 122

dubius PS 120122

filamentosus 118, 122

——— hexagonolepis 1205123

sarana 119, 122, 124

——— sophore SS 122

stigma 119, 123

ticto Ps, 122

——— (Tor) tor 367

vittatus 119, 122

Barilius bakeri 119, 123

—-—— bendelisis 119, 123

—- vagra 367, 370

Barleria prionitis 138

Bauhinia 248, 434, 441, 442, 443

malabarica 134

purpurea 134, 436

————— racemosa 129, 134, 436

————— retusa 134

tenuiflora S15

———— vahlii 437, 438, 439, 440

Beaumontia longituba , 314

Begonia 244, 444

- malabarica 439, 447

- obversa 314

-- thomsonii ; S15

Belone (Eurycaulus) persimilis 299

244, 247, 248

245, 247, 346

26)

115

240

INDEX TO SPECIES

XXill

PAGE

Biophytum reinwardtii 249, 252

Bischofia javanica 442

Blechnum orientale 442

Blumea virens 438

Boehmeria 444

Boerhavia diffusa 539

Bombax malabaricum 131

Bombotilia jocosatrix 490

Bonnaya reptans 263

veronicaefolia 263

Borreria hispida 536

Boswellia serrata 129, 132

Botaurus 561

Bothus (Platophrys) pantherinus 300

Botia lohachata 368

Botrychium 448

—_———— daucifolium 442

Bougainvillea spectabilis 139

Brachiaria kurzii 438

—_—- —- villosa 316

Brachionus 119

Brachypternus benghalensis 559

Bracon greeni 470, 472

Bradina acrospila 491

—-—— admixtalis 49]

Branchinella 585, 588

biswasi 585,007

—__—_—_——— kugenumaensis 588

nn —-——— y. madurae 588

—— ornata 585, 586, 587

Branta 353

Brevicoryne brassicae 115

Brithys crini 181

Bruelia 393

Bruguiera 380

Bryomima 232

—_—_---_—_—- kalchbergi 232

Bubulcus ibis 565

Buddleia asiatica 137

Bufo melanostictus 2h

Bupleurum mucronatum 446

tenue 247 25d

Bursera serrata 444

Butea frondosa 133

—--—- monosperma oe 133

Butorides striatus albidulus .. 199, 204

ee —— HII 199, 204

(Butroides =) Butorides 199

Cabdio devario

Cachius

atpar

Cacoecia

Cacomantis merulinus passerinus

Caeruleostigmata

Caesalpinia

coriaria

crista

pulcherrima

—_____—. seplaria

Caesulia axillaris

Cairina scutulata

Caiusa indica

Cajanus cajan

Calamintha umbrosa

se 55

50, 63,566,607, ne 70, 84, 97, 98

bes

ery)

438

115

XXIV

Calamus viminalis. .

Callicarpa lasiocarpus

—— psilocalyx

Callichrous macrophthalmus

pabda

Callistemon linearis

Callophyllum inophyllum

Callyodon ghobban

sp. I

-— sp. II

sp. III

Calogramma festiva

Caloneis silicula

Calophasia acuta

Calotes

- versicolor

Calotropis gigantea

-——— procera

Campanula argyrotricha

canescens

cana

colorata

—— ae.

INDEX TO

PAGE ¢

445

316

315

120, 124

136

304

303

182, 490

505

237

206

218, 219

137, 537

246, 260

260

244, 260

(Campanumea =) G@ampanumions inflata 246

(Campanumaea =) Campanumoea inflata 260

Canavalia virosa

Canthium dicoccum

Capella gallinago

stenura

Capparis aphylla

———— decidua

horrida

seplaria

spinosa

—_—_—— zeylanica

Capra ibex

—--— —-- sibirica

—-~--— sibirica

Caranx (Caranx) sexfasciatus. .

—-—— oblongus

Cardiospermum halicacabum |

Carduelis thibetana

Caretta caretta gigas

Carex manipurensis

—--— stramentitia

Careya

——— arborea

Carica papaya

Caridina

Carissa carandas

congesta

Carvia callosa

Caryota

—--———. urens

Casearia graveolens

—--——— tomentosa

Cassia

—--— auriculata

—--— dimidiata

—--— fistula

—--— mimosoides

—--— occidentalis

—--— tora

—--— siamea

Castaneus

437

445

199, 210

199, 209, 210

130

130, 436

343

341

300

253

349

220

314

444

445

182

115, 136, 381

120

137

185

434

434, 441, 443

444

436, 438, 440, 441

434, 443

134, 435

255

134

255

435, 535

535

SPECIES

PAGE

Castanopsis 244, 249

—_- hystrix 245

Casuarina equisetifolia 140

Catharacta skua lonnbergi 356

Catla catla 118, 121, 122, 367, 437

Cayratia auriculata 437

Cedrela toona 132

Celastrus paniculata 132, 437

senegalensis auf 132

Celtis 240

Cenchrus glaucus 396

Centotheca lappacea ‘ 439

Cephalostachyum latifolium .. 316

Ceratophyllum 503, 504

Ceratotherium simum 553

Ceriodaphnia 119

Ceriops 380

Certhia discolor 347

familiaris 347

nipalensis 347

Cervus affinis 556

elaphus hanglu 557

wallichi 556

hanglu 557

Cestrum diurnum 138

-- nocturnum 138

Chaemosiphon curvatus sei 318

- subglobosus. . 318, 319

Chaetodon (Rhabdophorus) trifasciatus 301

xanthocephalus 301

Channa 58 97

gachua 369

————- marulius 369

punctatus 368

striatus ay 368

Chanodichthys 62, 63

Chara 496, 502, 503, 504

Charadrius hiaticula tundrae 9, 207

leschenaultii 199, 208

——_—_—— mongolus atrifrons 199, 207

Charaxes polyxena ‘ 375

Charronia flavigula flavigula .. 191

Chasmina candida 490

Cheilanthes farinosa 442

tenuifolia 437

Cheilinus trilobatus 303

Cheilio inermis 302

Chela 54-99

- anastoma 66, 69

- argentea 119, 123

- atpar 55, 66, 69

——-- bacaila 119, 123, 367

——-- (Chela) cachius 63, 64, 66, 68, 98

- cachius 55

——-- (Chela) caeruleostigmata 64, 65 73, 85

- caeruleostigmata 85

——-- clupeoides pg hdl 2122

—--— (Neochela) dadyburjori 64, 65, 88

92, 93-98

—--— (Allochela) fasciata 65, 87, 88, 90

—_—_--- —___--__ (fasciatus =) fasciata 64

——-- (Chela) laubuca 64, 65, 70-85, 98

—--— Jaubuca j 553-7 i 2

—--— loyukula cc 69

Chela (Allochela) maassi

——-- (Chela) mouhoti

—--— mouhoti

—--— untrahi

(Chelone =) Chelonia mydas .

Cheloniamydas ..

Chenopodium album

Chettusia gregaria. .

Chiasma clathrata. .

Chibia hottentotta

Chiloscyphus

Chirita brevipes ..

- urticaefolia

Chironomus

Chloris incompleta

Chloropsis aurifrons insularis |

Chloroxylon swietenia

Chondrostoma mullya

Christisonia ;

Chromis xanthurus

Chroococcus

Chrozophora prostrata

Chrysanthellum indicum

Chrysocolaptes festivus

Chthamalus stellatus

Ciconia ciconia

Cinnamomum pauciflorum

zeylanicum

Cipadessa baccifera

-—— fruticosa

Circus aeruginosus

—--— macrourus ..

—--— (pygarus =) pygargus ..

—--— pygargus

Cirphis unipuncta

Cirrhina cirrhosa

--mrigala ..

-- reba

Cissampelos pareira

Cissus ae

—-—- edulis

—--— quadrangularis

Citharexylum subserratum

Citrus medica

—--— reticulata

—--— sinensis

Clarias batractus ..

Cleistocalyx

- operculata

Clematis :

-- gouriana

-- smilacifolia

Cleome viscosa

Cleophana

Clerodendrum

inerme

-- phlomoidis

Closterium aie

Clupisoma garua

Coccinia indica

Cocconeis placentula

-—— (Chironomous) pa oleans

-———. (swietinia =) swictenia

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

64, 65, 88, 91

64, 65, 73, 87

119, 423

220

580

437

159

437, 440

440

524

128

302

118

541

259

559

394

576

315

438

253

199, 206

199, 205

PTS eZ te 122

367

£19, 123, 367

437

591k

591

139

132

433

369

518, 519, 520

240

439

439, 444

533

231

441, 442

139

118

368

535

495, 505

Cocconeis placentula v. euglypta

v. genuina

Cocculus cebatha ..

hirsutus

villosus

Cochlospermum

religiosum

Coconeis

Cocos nucifera

Coelastrum

De sren cre calcicola

Coffea arabica

Coldenia procumbens

pee ee oppositifolia

Coleus barbatus ..

forskohlii ..

Colisa fasciatus

Collocalia brevirostris

Colobus

Colquhounia coccinea y. vestita

Colymbetes on

Commelina nudiflora

salicifolia

Commiphora mukul

Coniza a

Conocephalum

conicum

Convolvulus i

Corchorus aestuans .

Cordia crenata

dichotoma. .

macleodii .

myxa

rothii

vestita

Corixa 7

Corvus splendens ,

maledivicus

—— splendens .

Corydalis casimiriana 245,

Corylopsis manipurensis

Corythoichthys fasciatus

Cosmarium x

Cosmophila flava

- sabulifera

Costus ;

speciosus ..

Cotoneaster

a thymifolia

Craibiodendron shanicum

Crataeva nurvala

religiosa

Crawfurdia speciosa ,

Cremanthodium oblongatum .

Crenimugie crenilabis

Creontiades pallidifer

Crisia eburnea

Crocus sativus ;

Crossocheilus latius punjabensis

Crossoptilon crossoptilon harmani

Crotalaria -

——- albida ..

evolvuloides

(Crotolaria =) Crotalaria

119

ZEST 2AS

200; 2135 215

215

246, 247, 250

314

487

118

490

443

439, 441

244, 247

244

314

130

245, 261

245, 246, 259

300, 305

492

588, 589

385, 386

367

354, 355

79595

244, 254, 442

254

244

XXVi

Crucigenia

Cryptolepis buchanani

Cryptomeria japonica

Cryptostegia

——_—--—_—_ grandiflora

madagascariensis

Cryptotomus spinidens

Cucullia verbasci

Cucumis sativus

Cucurbita maxima

Culicicapa ceylonensis

Curculigo

——-—— recurvata

Culter

Cultriculus

Cultrops

Cuscuta

Cyathea

— spinulosa

Cybister

Cycas circinalis

——-- revoluta

—--— siamensis

Cyclophorus adnascens

Cyclops ‘

Cyclotella

—_—--——— meneghiniana

f. binotata

v. genuina

f. binotata

Cymbeila .

a kerkevarensis

tumidula

turgida .. 4

--— vy, genuina ..

ventricosa

Cymbidium (aloefolium =) aloifolium

aloifolium

Cymbopogon ‘

————_—_— coloratus

khasianus

martini

nardus

Cymolutes lecluse

Cynanthus hookerii

———---— linifolius

———--—— lobatus

Cynodon dactylon

Cynoglossus

Cyperus rotundus

Cyprinus

(Chela) atpar

atpach, ¢..

(Che!a) bacaila

- cachius

- gora

kachius ..

(Chela) laubuca

laubuca

loyukula

——_—— (Chela) morar

a - phulo

Cypselurus atrisignis

—--—— bahiensis

PAGE

118

444

505

494, 505

494

118

499, 506

INDEX TO SPECIES

Cypselurus comatus

Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum

—_—_—_---—— trigonum

Dactylochlamys

Dalbergia

Sanne odoratissima

——-——— sissoo ..

Damata dicyma

Danio

—--— aequipinnatus

Daphne :

Daphnia

Datura metel

Deilemera lacticinea

Delichon urbica

Delonix elata ot

- regia

Delphinium dasycaulon

—- vestitum

Delphinus delphis

Dendrobium aqueum

-- peguanum

-- plerardi

—___—__—-- pygmaeum

Dendrocalamus

—_______— strictus

Dendrochirus brachyptera

Dendrocopos auriceps

hyperythrus

macei

Dendrocygna bicolor

Dendrolimus nef

--——— klapperichi

Dermochelys coriacea

Derris scandens

Desmodium

--_. debile

dioicum

-- floribundum

-- griffithianum

-- microphyllum

——_—-——-- oxyphyllum

-- parviflorum

-- parvifolium

-- racemosum

-- triangulare

-- triflorum

Diaphanosoma

Echinoderes

Eclipta prostrata .

Edgaria darjeelingensis

Egretta garzetta

Ehretia aspera

- laevis

Eichhornia crassipes

Elaeagnus pyriformis

Elaeodendron glaucum

Elamena :

-- sindensis-

Elaphe helena

Elatostema ciliatum

Eleotris re

Elephas maximus ..

Eleusine coracana

PAGE

300

438, 440, 444

439

490

198, 200, 214

134

545

436, 440, 443,

437, 441,

249, 254

255, 315

244,

536

254)

565

138

114

132, 445

582

S77

314

303

337

245,

170, 199, 204,

113, 115, 433, 434, 437

INDEX TO SPECIES XXVil

PAGE PAGE

Eleutheronema tetradactylus .. 369 | Euphorbia neriifolia 186, 187, 436, 439

Elsholtzia blanda .. 246, 265 --—— nivulia 129, 138, 139, 141

a polystachya 265 | Euproctis 179

aoa strobilifera 265 -—— fraterna 179

Elymnias hypermnestra 375 | ———-—— froitzheimi 229

malelas 375 | ——--——— lunata 179

Embelia tsjariam-cottam 444 | Euripus consimilis S15

Emblica : 443 | Eurystylus bellevoyei 492

-- officinalis 139, 440, 441 | Eustira 55, 62, 63

Emilia souchifolia £5 ceylonensis SDNGZ

Encheliophis (Jordanicus) gracilis 488 maassi 62

Enicostemma verticillatum 537 | Euthalia garuda 375

Ephedra foliata 141 | ———--— lepidea 375

Epilobium wallichianum 248 | ———--— lubentina 375

Epinephelus merra 300 | Eutropiichthys vacha 368

Epithemia gibba 503 | Evolvulus alsinoides 537

—- intermedia $02, 503 | Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus 199, 206

—_—--——- zebra 502, 503, 506 | Felis domesticus 286

ee - y. frickei 502, 506 | Feronia elephantum 132

——--—_ ——_- y, genuina 502 -— limonia 132

we -y. porcellus .. 503, 506 | Ficus bengalensis 129, 140

———- - y. proboscidea 503, 506 - glomerata 140

Eragrostis oe ’ 541 | —-— infectoria 140

aa unioloides 435,439 | —-— mooniana 438

Eremopogon ; 396 | —-— palmata 140

Eremostachys laciniata 234 | —-— religiosa 129, 140

Eretes sticticus 580 | —-— rumphii 140

Eretmochelys imbricata 219 | —-— ssp. 336

Eria bambusifolia 442 | —-— tomentosa 438

Ericeia pertendens 490 | Flacourtia 441, 443

Erigeron bellidioides 259 | —_———— jangomas 438

Erinaceus europaeus dealbatus- 190 | Fistularia petimba 300

Eriocaulon quinqueangulare .. 437 | Flagellaria indica 439, 446

Eriolaena hookeriana 441,444 | Floscopa scandens 441

Eriosema chinense 255 | Flueggea leucopyrus 129, 139

Erolia minuta 199, 210 | Forda hirsuta 112

—--— temminckii 217 | —~--— orientalis 112

—--— testacea 217 | Fragaria 247

Eryngium foetidum 315 | Fragillaria 118

Erythrina indica 380, 381, 382 | —---————- intermedia 506

Erythroxylon monogynum 437 | ——-- rumpens y. familiaris 494, 506

Esomus danricus .. 367 | Fregata andrewsi 3 203

Etroplus maculatus 119, 121,123 | —- ariel 203

———--- suratensis Dos 123 ee — iredalei 199, 203

Eucalyptus drepanophylla 135 | —- minor 199, 203

——-- microtheca 136 | Frullania pyriflora 39

-——-- rostrata 136 | Funambulus pennanti 39153393

Euclidisema mygdon 490 | Funaria 438

Eudorina 118 | Gadusia chapra 369

Eudynamys scolopacea 162 | Gagata cenia 368

eee scelopaces 200, 213 | Galactia longifolia 437, 446

Eugenia : d 518 | Galium hirtiflorum 258

ana arasoides ef 520, 521 | Gallicrex cinerea 199, 206, 506

-- jambolana at 135 | Gambusia affinis bE A 2) Re 18,

-- operculata 518, 519, 520 | Gardenia latifolia 440

-- ——_——-- y, genuina . $20) lie turgida 441

. = a ebovatat:- 5290 | Garra 523, 524, 525, 527

Euglena ao HS | 528, 529, 530

Eunotia 43 118 | —--—alta 526

———-— indica Hf: 506 | —--— ceylonensis 525

——--— lunaris rae 506 | —--— gotyla 367, 524, 525, 528, 529

——-— major y. indica ay 495 | —--— jerdoni TAILS

Eupatorium glandulosum 4 248, 259 | —--— jerdonia 527, 528

Euphorbia hirta er: 541 | —--— —-- y. brevimentalis 524

XXVIli

PAGE

Garra lamta $24; 525, 526,:527

528, 529, 530

en mullya 528

—--— malabarica 526

—--— mcclellandi 525; 527, 528, 529; ou

—--— mclellandi

——--— mullya 295

—--— notata 529

——--— platycephala 2761528

—--— stenorhynchus 524, 525; 3272530

Garuga pinnata 436, 437, 438, 439

Gaultheria 247

——-- fragrantissima 245

———--—— trichophylla 247, 261

Gelasimus i. 584

——-—— annulipes fT: 584, 585

——- inversus i 584

——_-——— marionis nitidus 585

—- sindensis 584

Gelochelidon nilotica 169

--—_—— -—affinis . 169

-——__—. —_-__—. nilotica 169, 200, 210

Gelsimum elegans 315

Geniosporum coloratum 265

strobiliferum 265

Gentiana campanulacea id 315

ornata bi 247, 261

Geometridae glabrescens 244

Geranium nepalense or 245,252

——- ocellatum vy. himalaicum 545

Gerres oblongus 3 301

Gesonia obeditalis 490

Gleadovia banerjiana aid 314

Gleichenia ty 249, 448

——-— linearis A; 442

Gleotrichia 119

Globba hookeri 316

Glochidion assamicum 439

malabaricum 445

velutinum 440

Glossogobius giuris 120, 124, 369

Glottula dominica 181

Glyptothorax telchitta 368

Gmoelina arborea 139

Gnaphalium bs 44]

Gnetum Bh 441, 442

—--— ula 2 439, 444

Gobius biocellatus i. 120, 124

Gomphonema v1 118, 501

- augur 506

—__—_—_-————- bohemicum 502

—__—__-—_—_——- gracile Ag 506

—_____-__—____ jntricatum “ 501, 506

a -— y. bohemicum 502 506

——__-—_____ ——_-— _y. genuinum 501

————— /acus-rankala 500, 501, 507

gracilis 500, 507

robusta 500, 507

lanceolatum 501

ee - y.genuinum 501

montanum y. acuminatum 507

olivaceum 502, 507

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Gomphonema olivaceum vy. genuinum 502

parvulum 303 507

~ ee spicula ag 501, 507

sphaerophorum 507

- subapicatum 500, 507

Gomphosus varius 302, 305

(Gomphousus =) Gomphosus 305

Gongronema ventricosum 315

Gonorhynchus 523, 528, 529, 530

—_—_—__—_——- arabica rs 529

brittoni 529

gotyla 523, 524, 525, 529

a= mcclellandi 526

mclellandi 526, 529

stenorhynchus 523, 525, 528, 529

—_—_—__ tibanica $29

Gorgonium 583

Gorsachius melanolophus melanolophus 159

Gossypium barbadense 460, 461

hirsutum 461

Grammodes hyppasia 490

Grangea maderaspatana 536

Grevillea robusta 139, 163

Grewia 129, 133,376, 377,

439, 441

abutilifolia 437, 444

- acuminata 377

- asiatica 131

flavescens 131

- glabra 441, 444

- hirsuta 437, 441

- populifolia 131

- salvifolia 131

- tiliifolia 436, 439, 444

Grus antigone 166

Guaiacum officinale 131

Guazuma tomentosa 131

Gygis alba 200, 212

Gymnopteris variabilis Ht. 438

Gymnosporia bailadillana i 444, 446

——_—_——— montana hie 132

—_—_______——. spinosa 132

Gymnothorax 513

boschi 487

brummeri 487

meleagris 486

—_—_—_—_—_—— pictus 486

Gynandropsis gynandra 533

Habenaria furcifera 483

—--- plantaginea 267

—-- urceolata 267

Hackelochloa granularis 437

Hadena pfeifferi 237

—-—— pumila 3d

—-——— syriaca 237

Halenia elliptica 246, 261

Halichoeres centiquadrus 303, 305

Hamelia patens 136

Hamittonia suaveolens 440

Hantzschia amphioxys pv. densestriata 504, 507

Hardwickia binata : 134

Harpyia lanigera terminata 231

-- pulcherrima nuristana 231

Hedychium greenii 314

Helicteres

-— glabriuscula

— isora

Heliothis

Heliotropium marifolium

Helophorus brevipalpis

Helwingia lanceolata

Hemiculter

Hemiculterella

Hemicultrella

Hemidactylus (brooki =) brookii

Hemidactylus brookii

frenatus

gleadovii

Hemidesmus

indicus

(Hemionites =) Hemionitis

Hemionitis arifolia

Hemirhamphus dussumieri

Heracleum sublineare

Herminium angustifolium

——_—____—— gramineum

Herse convolvuli

Hesperocorixa linnei

Heterometrus scaber

Heterophragma adenophyllum

Heteropneustes fossilis

Heteropogon

contortus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

urcatus

vitifolius

Hierochloe clarkei

Hilsa ilisha

Hippotion celerio

Hirundo rustica gutturalis

Holarrhena antidysenterica

Holoptelea integrifolia

Homalium nepalense

Horeites brunnifrons

Hosackia

Hoya manipurensis

Hybanthus suffruticosus

Hyblaea puera

(Hydrila =) Hydrilla

Hydrilla

Hydrobryum

-—— griffithii

Hydroides norvegica

Hydrometra vittata

Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Hydroprocne caspia

Hydrus platurus

Hylophila bicolorana

Hyparrhenia griffithii

Hypena ignotalis

Hypericum elodeoides

—————— patulum

Hyperythra lutea

Hypomecia

Hypothymis azurea styani

Hystrix indica

Iasis zonaria

Ikedella misakiensis

——

436, 439, 440

PAGE

434, 443

314

218, 363

218

594

438

436

179

198, 200, 214

436

140

249, 250

349

378

314

437

490

121

121, 502, 503

441

315

588, 589

580

159

200, 210

219

237

318

490

244, 251

491

263

159

155, 550

280

395

INDEX TO SPECIES

XX1X

PAGE

Ilex 244, 245, 246, 248

—-- fragilis o 247, 253

Illicium manipurensis Ky 314

Impatiens 244, 245, 246, 247, 249

——_-———. arguta a 2a

—— bicornuta 252

——-—— discolor Zap

—_—_-——— falcifera 246, 252

—— laevigata 252

——-——- prainii 249, 252

—~ racemosa 246, 253

—— radiata 235

— scabrida 253

——. sulcata 253

—— uncipetala 253

Indigofera anil 315

——_—-- linifolia 437

Indoplanorbis exustus 119

Iniistius pavo 302

Inula nervosa 259

Ipomaea biloba 362

—- eriocarpa 262

—--—— quamoclit 244, 262

(Ipomea =) Ipomaea 244

Iris bakeri 314

—- wattii 314

Isachne miliacea 437

Ischikauia 62

Istiophorus gladius 488

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus 199, 205

Ixora parviflora 136

Jacaranda mimosaefolia 138

—— ovalifolia 138

Jacquinia ruscifolia 136

Jasminum dumicolum 316

Jatropha curcas 140, 244, 249, 435

gossypifolia 140

Juniperus recurva 247

Jussiea suffruticosa 439, 446

Justicia anfractuosa 314

—-—— betonica 438

—-——— khasiana 315

Kalanchoe rosea 315

Kandelia 380

Kerstania 378

—- nuristanica 378

Kigelia pinnata 138

Kitta flavirostris 347

Kuhlia taeniurus 300

Kydia calycina 438, 439, 442

Labeo boga 118,122

—--— boggut Seles ae al ls 928)

—--— calbasu 1195121; 123. 367

—--— dero 0 367

—--— fimbriatus .. 119, 123

—--— gonius 367

—--— kontius 119, 123

—--— pangusia 367

—--— rohita 367

Lactuca macrantha 245, 259

Lagerstroemia 434, 441

indica aft 136

- parviflora * 441

Laggera ue 444

XXX

PAGE |

Laggera pterodonta 442

Lantana camara 139

— -- indica 139

Lanius vittatus 159

Lastrea filix-mas 436

Lates calcarifer Ai 370

Laubuca 55, 62, 63, 64, 69

70, 84, 85, 97

—--—— atpar 367

—--—— caeruleostigmata 85

—--—— dadidurjori 92, 93

—--—— dadyburjori 93

—--—— guttatus 71

—--——— (Laubuca) laubuca Fo 2

—--—— laubuca .. at

—--—_— (Eustira) maassi a 91

—--—-—— slamensis D5) FL 2a See

Launaea nudicaulis a 537

Lawsonia 384

—— alba 115.436

_——- inermis 136

Lebedea martha 375

Lebistes reticulatus 118, 122

Lecanthus peduncularis 266

——-——- wightii .. 266

Leiuranus semicinctus 487

Lepidagathis hyalina 442

Lepidocephalus thermalis 119, 123

Lepistemon wallichii BTS

Leptadenia reticulata 357

pyrotechnica 37

———__—-— spartium 137

Leptochilus : 444

Leptonychia 376, 377

acuminata 377

——- moacurroides ; 0G

Leptoscarus coeruleopunctatus 303

Leptosia sefidi MF 237

Lespedeza formosa 247

——- stenocarpa 255

Lestodryinus pyrillae 393

Lethe europa a 375

Lethrinus frenatus 301

———_-——— hypselopterus 301

——-——— nebulosus 301

———-——— ornatus 301

—— ramak 301

———-—_—- rhodopterus 301

Leucaena glauca 135

Leucania albistigma 490

Leucas 444

——-—— aspera 539

linifolia 437

Leucichthys artedi 272

Leuciscus 55

atpar 66

—— cachius 66

——-——— aubuca 71

Leucomeris decora 314

Lingustrum myrsinites 315

Lilium mackliniae 314

Limenitis procris .. 375

Limnaea ne 279

Limonia acidissima 132

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Limosa lapponica lapponica . 199, 208

Lindenbergia grandiflora 263

——-- indica 249, 263, 539

a urticaefolia 263

—--- ruderalis 263

Lindernia anagallis 263

multiflora 482

—— ruelloides 263

Lingula iS 32

Linociera malabarica 438, 439

Liosomaphis berberidis 111

Lippia unica 396

Lithophasia 232

- cyaxares 231

_—- quadrivirgula 232

end f. jordana 232

—- venosula Mi 232

Litsaea polyantha 182, 444

Lobelia affinis 261

- pyramidalis 246, 261

——-— succulenta 261

Lobipes lobatus 576

Lonchura malabarica 100

Longiculter 61, 62

Loris tardigradus 391

Luciobrama 62

Ludwigia prostrata 447

Luisia teretifolia 442

Lunata 179

Lunularia cruciata 38

Lutianus gibbus 301

johni 301

kasmira 301

Lycium europaeum 138

Lycodon aulicus capucinus 219

Lycopodium 248, 448

—-- cernuum 442

Lygodium flexuosum 438, 439

-—— pinnatifidum 437

Lygosoma albopunctatum 218

Lyngbia 119

Lyngbya epiphytica 320

Maba buxifolia 435

Mabuya carinata 220

Macaca mulatta 154

Macaranga indica 439

—_—_———— peltata 444

Machilus macrantha 441, 442

Macrochirichthys 61, 63

Macroglossum gyrans 490

Macrones seenghala ba, 120, 124

Macropharyngodon meleagris 303

Macroplectra nararia é 491

Macropodus cupanus 118, 122

Macrosiphum euphorbiae 115

—_—_—_____——— hellebori 115

Macrothrix 119

Madhuca latifolia 434

Maerua arenaria 130

Maesa rugosa 316

Makaira marlina 488

Malacosoma indica 179

Maldivus * 206

Malvastrum coromandelianum 461, 472

Mangifera indica

Marchantia nepalensis

palmata

Margaronia caesalis

suralis

Margarya

Marsilea

——--— aegyptiaca

——--— ballardii

—--——— brachycarpa

—--——— brachypus

—--—— condensata

—--— gracilenta

—--——— minuta

—--—— quadrifolia

—--—— tenuifolia

—--—— vestita

Mastacembelus armatus

Mastogloia recta

y. pulchella ms

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

EPS, 133,381

433, 438, 439

2RP 290, 294, TES)

209, 295, 29)

288, 296

en peo oor, 20)

288, 290, 291,292

293, 294, 396

291, 292, 29%

2875299

295

369

495, 507

496, 507

Meconopsis (nepalensis =) nipalensis 247

a nipalensis 250

Megaderma lyra 155

Megalobrama 62

Melanitis leda Rp)

Melanoides tuberculatus 119

Melasma arvense 263

Melastoma 245

Melhania hamiltoniana 131

Melia azadirachta 132

Melicharia obtusangula 492

Melichthys ringens 303

Melochia corchorifolia 437

Melosira 118

granulata ite 494, 507

vy. angustissima 507

vy. muzzanensis 494, 507

—______ ——_———_ . typica .. 494

Membranipora tenuis 589

Memecylon gracile 444

Mergus 333

Merismopedia 118

Merops philippinus 351

Merremia emarginata 538

Mesocyclops 28, 29, 119

Metanastria 229

Metzgeria curviseta 41

—— hamata 39, 40

himalayensis 4]

Metzia 62

Microcystis LEB 121

Microglossa albescens 245, 259

Microhyla zeylanica 11

Micromeria biflora 244, 266

Micropternus brachyurus 351

Micropus apus 352

Microstegium monanthum 444

Microtarsus poioicephalus 159

Milletia 442

Millingtonia hortensis 138

Mimosa hamata 129, 135

—--——— rubicaulis 135

Mimusops elengi

-——— hexandra

Minthea rugicollis

Mitragyna parvifolia

Moghania

——-—— strobilifera

Monotaxis grandoculis

Morinda tinctoria

Moringa

—--—— oleifera

—--——— pterygosperma

Morus alba

serrata

Motacilla flava

Mucuna florida

Mugil

—--— cascasia

—--— cephalus

—--— corsula

—--— cunnesius

—--— parsia

—--— tade

Mulloidichthys samoensis

Muntiacus muntjak

—_——--——— reevesi

Muraena

Murraya koenigii

Mus castaneus

—— ceylonus

—— kandianus

—— kandiyanus

——— manei

—— musculus

— castaneus

sinicus

nemoralis

—— rama et

—— tetragonurus

Musa rosacea

Mussaenda e

frondosa

glabrata

hirsutissima

laxa

Mycalesis :

Myriactis wallichii

Myrichthys colubrinus

Mystus (Mystus) aor

cavasius

— tengara

Myzus pseudosolani

Nais

Nandus nandus

Nangra punctata

Naso tuberosus

——- unicornis

Natrix stolata

Navicula

Carassius

cuspidata ft brevirostrata

vy. ambigua ..

- (Osteobagrus) seenghala

ambigua. i craticula. .

08,4

PAGE

136

222

442

437

438

301

436

381

133

140

198, 200, 214

438

42-53

369

.. 44,45, 46, 53

44, 45, 46, 53, 369

VO eee sic 7

43, 44, 45, 46, 48

50, 51, 52, 53

44, 45, 46, 53

439, 441, 443, 445

A 592

592

375

260

487

368

110

119

369

368

305

552

118

497

496

496, 497

302,

XXXli INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Navicula cuspidata v. ambigua

f. craticularis ; 496, 497

cryptocephala 497, 507

—___—_—_— cuspidata 507

f. brevirostrata 508

v. conspicua 508

— v. genuina 497

vy. subsalina 497, 507

minuta .. ; 497, 508

y.genuina .. 497

————— mutica .. an 508

———-pupula .. | a 508

vy. capitata .. 508

y. elliptica .. 508

pygmaea Ay 498, 508

————— radiosa Be 508

Nectarinia asiatica ay 420-428

jugularis = 426

zeylonica oe 422

Neenchelys oh Be 512

——_———— buitendijki 512-517

———_———— microtretus 512, 516

Neillia thyrsiflora Y 2395)

Nemachilus corica ore 368

—— montanus Es 368

— zonatus a 368

Nematabramis .. tes 61

Neochela 64, 65, 92

Neolitsea zeylanica ; 266

Neopsittacus musschenbroekii 324

Neothauma 7 34

Nephrolepis cordifolia Ae 439

Neptis hylas ahs m 375

Nerium indicum .. de 157

Nervilia crispata in 447

Nettion formosum A 359

Neurospora crassa a 278

Nicholsiculter a5 o 62

Nicoira trijuga thermalis a 220

Nicotiana tobaccum a? 437

Nitellafurcata .. an 444

Nitzschia Noe <2 118

amphibia : 508

—--——-_ y. acutiuscula 508

commutata v. pamirensis 504, 508

frustulum oe 508

— gandersheimiensis .. 505, 508

obtusa y. scalpelliformis 508

palea mo. 5 508

sublinearis ae 508

thermalis y. minor .. 504, 508

tryblionella y. levidensis 504, 509

Noctuelia superba. . re 7eM|

Nonagria typhae .. ig: 235

Nostoc op ae 119, 320

Noteus aN fe 119

Notonecta ye 119

Notopterus chitala se 369

—————— notopterus 120, 124, 369

Novaculichthys taeniourus 302, 305

Nucifraga caryoctactes hemispila 347

Numenius arquata 199, 208

—— phaeopus phaeopus 198, 199, 208

Nuria danrica : 119, 123

Nyctanthes

arbor-tristis

Nymphula stagnalis

Oberonia denticulata

ensiformis

iridifolia y. denticulata

197, 199, 202, 562

Oceanites oceanicus

Ocimum gratissimum

- sanctum ..

Odonata

Oedogonium

Oenanthe thomsonii

Olax scandens :

Oldenlandia corymbosa

Omphalophana durnalayana ..

Ompok bimaculatus

Operculatus aberrans

Ophelia a

—-—— bicornis

Ophicephalus RY ‘a

———__—_—_———- gachua

Ophiocephalus punctatus

Ophiopogon clarkei

—-—_—_———— intermedius

Oplismenus ‘

——————- compositus

Orobanche acaulis

-—— nicotianae

Orsotrioena medus

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Oryza meyeriana ee,

—--— sativa

Osbeckia nepalensis

truncata.

Oscillatoria ;

ornata

proboscida

unigranulata

Osmunda ;

a claytoniana

Osphronemus goramy

Osteocheilus thomassi

Ostodes paniculata

Osyris arborea

Oxalis corniculata

Oxygaster ;

Oxyspora cernua ..

—— paniculata

Pampus argenteus

Pandorina

Pangasius pangasius

Panicum brevifolium

—--——— colonum

——s:

miliare

Panthera tigris

Pantoporia nefte ..

—_—_—____—— perius

Papilio demoleus ..

polytes

Parabolocratus arcuatus

Parabramis

—

quadripunctulata y.

crusgalli v. frumentaceum

PAGE

441, 443

136, 434, 437

441, 442, 448

491

482

442

482

oi,

EIS

119

"316

BE,

60, 61, 62, 97

316

369

118

115125

439

113

437

433

550

375

Wb)

179

492

Parachela

Paradanio Le

- elegans

Paradoxornis nipalensis

Paragrewia

—___—_——— poilanei

Paralaubuca ‘

Parameria pedunculosa

Paramignya scandens

Parapelucus

Parasa

Paris polyphylla

Parkinsonia aculeata

Parnassia nubicola

Parochetus communis

Parthenos sylvia

Parupeneus trifasciatus

Paspalidium flavidum

Paspalum scrobiculatum

Passiflora assamica

Pavetta subspicata. .

Pediastrum ae

Pedicularis bifida

—-- carnosa

——--——_ gracilis

———--——_ longiflora

——--—— regeliana

Pegasus draconis .

Pegea confoederata

Pelamis platurus

Pellia calycina

—-— epiphylla

—-— fabbroniana. .

—-— nessiana :

Pennisetum hohenackeri

— glaucum

typhoides

— typhoideum

Peporomia

dindigulensis

reflexa

Peridinum

Perilampus

atpar ..

— cachius

——_———— devario

fulvescens

guttatus

laubuca

——__——— macropodus

psilopteromus

Periplaneta australis

Periploca

Peristrophe bicalyculata

Phacellaria wattil ..

Phacus

Phaethon lepturus lepturus

Phalacrocorax niger

Phaseolus angularis

-— radiatus

Phaulopsis dorsiflora

Phoenicopterus ruber

Phoenix

se palludosa~

INDEX TO SPECIES

118

263

245, 246, 263

245, 263

247, 263

Ploceus philippinus

XXXiil

PAGE

Phoenix sylvestris .. 140

Pholidota imbricata 442

Phrynium ee 444

Phyla nodiflora.. 539

Phyllanthus debilis 439

——- emblica 249

—_--— griffithii : 315

——--—_—_—— narayanaswami .. 440

—_——--—_—_— niruri 541

a urinaria 439

Phylloscopus magnirostris 348

——_-- maculipennis maculipennis 348

——-- nitidus nitidus 349

——-- pulcher pulcher 348

mae — reguloides reguloides 348

Physalis minima .. Paes 538

—-- peruviana 435

Phytometra daubei 259),

Picus canus 350

—--- chlorolophus- 350

Picumnus innominatus 351

Pieris brassicae 179

—-— formosa 261

Piezodorus rubrofasciatus 491

Pilea minuta 315

Pimpinella diversifolia 258

--—— flaccida 314

anne heyneana 438

——--—-—— monoica 115, 445

-- sikkimensis 316

Pinnularia a 118, 396

- acrosphaeria 509

+ -- minor 509

——_-——_ biceps v. amphicephala 498, 509

——--——— braunii amphicephala 498

——-— kolhapurensis 498, 509

——-——— notata v. rostrata 498, 509

a subcapitata : 498

-—_—_ ——_-——__ y. genuina 498

Pinus 248

—-— longifolia 140

—-— roxburghii 244

—-— wallichiana .. 245, 246, 247, 248

Piper gamblei 315

—-— muneyporence 315

Piptanthus nepalensis 247, 248

Pithecolobium dulce ~ 129, 135

Plagiochasma a es 39

—___—__—_—— appendiculatum 38, 40

articulatum 38

cordatum 38, 40

intermedium 39

nepalensis 39, 40

——¥-— simlensis 39, 40

Plagiochilla 39

Plagiochilla mittenii 39

Platycara notata 528

Plautia fimbriata .. 492

Plea 119

Plectranthus ae 444

-———— striatus graciliflora 266

Pleomele terniflora Bs 439

Pleurospermum apiolens 258

100-106, 391

XXXIV

PAGE

Plumeria acutifolia 137

Pluvialis (dominca =) dominica fulva 199

——--— dominica fulva 207 |

Podolotus 378

Pogonantherum rufobarbatum | 315

Pogostemon plectranthoides .. 439, 440

Poinciana elata 134

-—— pulcherrima 134

——-—— regia 134

Pollinia pentasperma 316

Pollinidium binatum 435

Polyalthia cerasoides 438

——-—— longifolia 115, 130

——-—-—— suberosa 437

Polycarpaea corymbosa 533

Polygala erioptera. . 593

——-- persicariaefolia 251

Hane triphylla 244,251

Polygonum paleaceum 315

paniculatum 246, 266

————— rude .. 315

—— viviparum 245, 266

Polynemus sexfilis 300, 305

Polyophthalmus a7 372, 373, 374

——_—___— pictus : S12, 19

Polysolenia wallichii 315

Polytela gloriosae 182

Pongamia glabra .. 133

pinnata.. 133, 438

Porana stenoloba .. 262

Portulaca oleracea 533 |

Potentilla 248

—_—-—— fulgens 248, 256

——-—— kleiniana 248, 256

—— manipurensis 315

Pouteria tomentosa 445

Pouzolzia viminea. . 267

Precis almana 375

—--— atlites 375

—--— hierta 375

—--— lemonias S75)

Presbytis 391

Primula glomerata — 245, 246

—- listeri 316

Prinsepia 248

utilis 248, 256

Procellaria ’ 199, 202

oe carneipes 202, 216

——---——lherminieri nae 201, 211

ee bailloni 199, 200, 201

——--—— --——— persicus 200, 201

——--—— pacificus a 202

—_—--__—__ —_-- (? chlororhynchus) 216

Procolobus tS 391

Prodenia litura 178

Prosopis glandulosa 134

—--——juliflora .. 134

—--—_—_ Spicigera 129, 134

Protegatus 215

Protulotoma 34

Prunus 114

— jenkinsii 315

Pseudodiaptomus 119

Pseudolaubuca 62

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Pseudopanthera syriacaria 237

Pseudupeneus macronema 301

pleurospilos 301

Psidium a 248

—--———guayava 135, 249

Psilorhynchus balitora 368

Psittacula calthorpae 324

(calthropae =) calthorpae 200, 213

Psychotria symplicifolia 315

Pteris pellucida .. ne: 437, 439

Pterocarpus be 434

- marsupium a 436, 440

Pterospermum acerifolium 438

—_____—_-—-—_ heyneanum 437

Pterois volitans 302

Pteropus ariel 3555

— giganteus ee 6

ariel 3; 5;.6, 9,334, 335

—_——— giganteus 3250

hypomelanus Le 9

——-- maris 4, 6, 9, 334

335, 337

medius . 325

subniger 9

Ptyas mucosus 173, 366, 579

Punica granatum .. ae 136

Puntius conchonius 367

—-- punjabensis 367

—-—— sarana 367

—-— sophore 367

—-— stigma 393

—-—— ticto 367, 393

—-- vittatus 393

Pupalia atropurpurea 438

Pycnonotus cafer .. 162

Pygeum 448

—- + acuminatum 442

Pyrilla Be 393

—--— perpusilla 393

Pyrus foliolosa 256

—-— malus 381

Python molurus 578

Quercus 245

+ semecarpifolia 346, 350

Quelea quelea 392

Quisqualis indica 135

Ramanella He ne 307

——-- obscura m 307, 312

——--___— palmata a 307

——--- variegata Be 307-308

Rana corrugata .. 11

—-— cyanophlyctis cyanophlyctis 308

—-— limnocharis greenii Bis it

Ranatra ; 119

- elongata .. 580

Randia ee 441

—- brandisii .. & 435

Ranunculus diffusus fe 245, 250

Raphidophora ae 443

Rasbora me 93, 97

—-- daniconius 119, 121, 123

Rasborichthys oe a 61, 63

Rattus norvegicus 324, 450-458

— rattus 8, 450-458

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Rattus rattus alexandrinus. .. 4

ceylonus 7,9

——. kandianus 7,9

rufescens at 7

Recurvirostra avosetta 170

Rhacophorus cruciger 14

TO cruciger 11-16

——_____—_—_ —_-—— eques .. 11

Rhinecanthus aculeatus 303

Rhinoceros bicornis ae 158

sondaicus ef 554, 555

sumatrensis 555

——_—_———. unicornis 157,-553, 555

Rhipidura hypoxanthum &: 349

Rhizophora a 380

Rhododendron 245, 247, 248

-- arboreum 244, 246, 247

———-- barbatum 247

ee campanulatum 246, 247

ee campylocarpum 246, 247

——_-- elliottii 315

——---- johnstoneanum 315

——---- lepidotum 246

—_—_-- manipurense .. 345

——-- setosum 246

-- wattii 315

Rhodonessa caryophyllacea 569

Rhopalodia 118

———_——_— gibba or 503, 509

—____—— —-— yy. genuina .. 503

—____—_ —-— y. ventricosa 504, 509

Rhopalosiphum avenae 113

—_—__—_—————- nymphaeae 114

padi 114

rufiabdominalis 113

Rhus javanica - 254

mysorensis .. 129, 133

—-— parviflora 244, 249, 254

—-— semialata : 254

Rhynchobdella aculeata 369

Rhynchoglossum obliquum 264

’ Rhynchosia ; 444

Rhyncotechum alternifolium . 315

Riccia natans on a3 39

Ricinus communis 140

Riopa albopunctata 218

Rita rita 368

Rivea hypocraterif ormis 138

Rohanus a * 62

Rohtee cotio a 367

Rosa 248

— — sericea 245, 247

Rubia cordifolia 438, 439

Rubus assamensis 315

burkillii 315

fockeanus 256

lucens 315

opulifolium 315

paniculatus 244

Ruellia E 383

aspera 383

scabra 383

Rungia parviflora 539

Saccharum officinarum 115

XXXV

PAGE

Saccharum spontaneum 435

Saccobranchus fossilis 120, 124

Saccolabium . 444

Sacculina ah 24

Sagina procumbens 251

Salarias ; 303

——— fasciatus 303

Salmalia 434

——_—--— malabarica 131

Salomonia cantoniensis 251

Salvadora oleoides 137

——-——— persica .. 129, 137

Sanseviera 434

Santalum album 139

Sapindus emarginata 133

trifoliatus 133

Sapria himalayana 316

Sarkidiornis melanotos 570

Satyrium nepalense 244, 268, 444

Saxifraga 247

brachypoda v. fimbriata 245, 256

corymbosa 256

fimbriata 256

hookeri .. 256

nutans 245, 256

strigosa .. 245, 251,

Scenedesmus 118

Schefflera stellata 447

Schima wallichii 248

Schizachyrium 396

Schizaphis graminum Be 115

Schmeili f/ marmagoensis Esp 29

—--——— hastatus ah 29

—--—— schmeili ate 29

Schoutedenia emblica 114

—--—— andhraka 114

Schrebera swietenioides 441

—_—-—— wallichii 441

Scomber microlepidotus 370

Scopula caesaria 49]

Scorpaenopsis cirrhosa 302

Scotophilus temminckii consobrinus 191

—_—_—_—~ wroughtoni 191

Scutellaria discolor aS 266

——-—-— khasiana 315

Scytonema ocellatum sos SES; SLO, 320

Securinegea leucopyrus ye 139

Seicercus burkii ‘ 348

Selaginella barbata 437

Selar crumenophthalmus 300

Selenarctos thibetanus 334

Selinum tenuifolium 258

Semecarpus anacardium 436

Senecio alatus 260

- graciliflorus 245, 260

—-——linifolius .. 315

nagensium 316

rhabdos 316

Sericocalyx 2: 33 384

scaber at 383, 385

Serissa foetida me 244

Setaria italica 115

palmifolia 445

Shorea robusta... 182, 244, 518

XXXVi

Sida

—— acuta

—— cordifolia

—— spinosa é

—— veronicaefolia

Siegesbeckia orientalis

Siganus oramin

Sigara distincta

—--— dorsalis

—--— fossarum

—--— lateralis

—--— nigrolineata

Silonia silonia

Siphonophora convolvuli on

Sisor Rance nors ald

Skimmia laureola . HA

Smilax

ee macrophylla

myrtillus

orolifera

Smithia

Solanum kurzii

————— nigrum

seaforthianum

wenlandi

———— xanthocarpum

Solenopsis

od geminata

Sonerila stricta

Sophora secundiflora

Sorbus foliolosa

Sorex caerulescens ae

—-— giganteus .. eA

—-— pilorides

Sorghum vulgare ..

Spermacoce stricta

Sphaeranthus indicus

Sphagnum :

Spyraena obtusata

Sphyrna blochii

Spilanthes acmella

Spiranthes australis

(Spiranthus =) Spiranthes

Spirogyra

Spirulina

laxa

nordstedtii

subsalsa

Spizaetus nipalensis

Squatarola squatarola

Stachya melissaefolia

Stauroneis phoenicenteron

Stellaria sikkimensis

Stenoloma chusanum

Stenorhynchus

Sterculia

—--——— urens

—--—— villosa

Sterna albifrons saundersi

—--— anaethetus ..

—--— dougalli korustes

—--— fuscata

—--— sumatrana .. ah

mathewsi.. .

—— Se

PAGE

443

534

533

437

302

580

579

580

120, 124, 368

249, 258

200, 211

197, 200, 211

200, 211

197, 200, 211

211, 569

200, 211, 567

‘INDEX TO SPECIES

Stethojulis re a

Stichoneuron membranaceum

Streptopelia chinensis

Striga euphrasioides

Striglina scitaria

Strobilanthes Ny

a (acrocephala =)

acrocephalus ..

acrocephalus

atropurpureus

callosus

kunthianus

maculatus

— scaber

—

Strychnos

nux-vomica

potatorum

Suana concolor

Sula dactylatra

—— leucogaster

Suncus caeruleus caeruleus

murinus

———— —_--— caerulescens ..

—---—— giganteus

—--——— murinus

Surirella

ee tenera

Swertia angustifolia

y. wallichii

—-—— dilatata

—-—— nervosa

= purpurascens

Sylepta derogata ..

Symplocos

——---—_ ramosissima

——--—— theaefolia

Synedra oe

—-——- acus

—-—— rumpens y. familiaris . .

—-—— ulna

—-—— —— amphirhynchus

—-———_ —— y. biceps

— y. danica

v. subaequalis

Synodus indicus

Syntomis aequipuncta maraschi

aurivala _

higginsi .

minuta ..

sintenisi

| Sypheotides indica

Syzygium

—_-——_ cerasoides

——-——- cumini ..

———_-— nervosum

operculatum

Tabellaria

Taia

Tamarindus indica

Tamarix dioica

—--—— ericoides

—--—— gallica

v. pulchella

y. wallichiana

PAGE

303

315

161

|. 249, 264, 539

491

185, 383

265

265, 316

265

185

315

383

434

436

436-437, 438

182

199, 203, 358

199, 202

ane 4

3-4, 9, 450-459, 552

118

509

244, 262

245

262

245, 246

262

491

247

246

245, 246, 261

118

129, 134, 433, 439

130

INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Tarphochlamys affinis a 265

Tchitrea paradisi .. ‘oat 160

Tecoma stans 138

Tecomella undulata 138

Tectona Me 485

—-——. grandis 434, 437, 483, 485

Tephrosia purpurea 535

roxburghiana 440

Teramnus labialis 441

Teredo 394

Terminalia 434, 436, 437, 439, 441

443, 444, 445, 447

——--——- arjuna #: 441

———--—— belerica 135, 438, 440

——--—— (bellerica =) belerica 440

-—— tomentosa . 438, 441, 442

Tesia castaneocoronata 349

Tetracerus quadricornis 339

Tetraneura cynodonti coimbatorensis 112

——--—_—_ hirsuta ee 112, 115

——_--- Javensis 112

Tetrastigma lanceolarium 439

— serrulatum 253

Thalasseus bengalensis : 200

—_--——_ bengalensis 212

——- bergii velox 200, 212

——---—— sandvicensis sandvicensis 357

Thalassodes immissaria 491

Thalassoma hardwickii 302

—_—- janseni 302

——__-——__-—_ lunare a 302

Thalictrum ueclidenu a 245, 250

Themeda ‘ ; 443

— tremula . : 436, 444

(trianda =) triandra 436

triandra .. 435, 436, 444

Theretra 179

Thermocyclops 29, 31

Thevetia neriifolia. . 137

Thoracophelia SIP

Thuja orientalis 140

Thunbergia fragrans 437, 444

Thynnichthys sandkhol 118, 122

Thysanolaena procera 438, 439, 440

Tilapia mossambica 1215123

Tiliacora racemosa 130

Tinospora cordifolia 129, 440

Toona ciliata 132

Torenia multiflora 482

Toxabramis 62

Toxoptera aurantii 115

——--—— odinae.. 115

——--—— rufiabdominalis 113

Trachelospermum articulatum 315

Trachinotus bailloni 300

Trema politoria 244, 267

Tretopteryx pertusalis 237

Trianthema monogyna 335

Triatoma rubrofasciatus 492

Tribulus terrestris 354

Trichodesma khasianum 315

—-- zeylanicum 442

Tricholepis glaberrima 536

Trichomanes bipunctatum 438

XXXVII

PAGE

Tringa glareola. .. ‘ 199, 209

——w— nebularia .. 198, 199, 209

totanus eurhinus 199, 208

Triphaena subsequa 231

Triptostegia glandulifera 258

Triumfetta 441, 443

——--——— bartramia 534

——--——- pilosa 251

——--—— rotundifolia ba 534

Tsuga : 247, 248, 347, 349

—--—— brunoniana Re 346

——--——— dumosa 245, 247, 248

Tulotoma 34

Tupistra wattii 316

Turdus ruficollis .. 348

Tylonycteris pachypus fulvidus- 190

Tylophora dalzelli. . : 439

Tylosurus leiurus 299

Typhlops braminus 218

Ulothrix 119

Uperodon systoma | 312

Uraria clarkei 316

Urena lobata 461, 470, 472

—--— sinuata 461, 470, 472

Utetheisa lotrix lotrix 490

— pulchella 179

pulchelloides ag 490

—_—-— -- pulchelloides 490

Utricularia bifida .. 244-245, 264

Vanda parviflora .. 437

—w—-tessellata .. 439

Valeriana hardwickii 244, 258

Vandellia multiflora 482

Varanus niloticus .. 331

—--—— salvator .. 571

Ventilago calyculata 437

Verbena officinalis 265

Vernonia 1553. 956

—-- cinerea 536

—--—— cylindriceps 315

—--—— teres 260

Vetiveria zizanoides 434

Viburnum 247, 248, 349

-—-— atrocyaneum 316

-——— erubescens 245

—— stellulatum vy. glabrescens 244, 258

Vicoa indica oe 440

Vipera russelli VWs

Virachola isocrates 179

Viscum ovalifolium 314

Vitex negundo 139

—-— peduncularis y. roxburghiana 438, 439

Vitis ae + 179

capriolata 253

Wallago attu 120, 124, 368

Webera corymbosa 436

Wendlandia : 441

—— gamblei 442

Wikstroemia canescens 244, 266

Withania somnifera 538

Woodfordia : .. 249, 441, 445

—— ——— fruticosa 244, 436, 437, 438

Wrightia tinctoria re 129, 137

tomentosa 137

XXXViil INDEX TO SPECIES

PAGE

Xanthium strumarium F 536

Xantho (Leptodius) sanguineus 23

Xanthodes graellsii : 490

Xenopsylla astia .. 3% 452

——————. cheopis 452

Xylia a 434, 436, 438, 443,

5, 447

—-— xylocarpa .. 438, 439, 440, 441, 442

Xenentodon cancila 369

Xenopsylla astia .. pa 5

Ypthima baldus 2 180

cantliei As 180

ceylonica hiibneri .. 180

nareda .. oe 180

Yuhina occipitalis occipitalis 348 |

Zanclus canescens

—-—— cornutus

Zehneria hookeriana

Zizyphus

————— glabra

jujuba

mauritiana

———— nummularia

rotundifolia

rugosa ..

xylopyra

Zoobotryon

Zoothera dauma dauma

dixoni

mollissima

PAGE

302

301

439

244, 443

: 445

et 133

129, 133, 249, 435

sti 133

133

437

133, 435, 444

589

348

Se -

Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society

Vol. 55, No. 1

Editors

sSLIM ALI & H. SANTAPAU, s.J.

APRIL 1958

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 publica-

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 under-

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

letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and sub-specific names

always begin with a small Jetter 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

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6. Text-figures, line drawings, and maps should be in Indian ink,

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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:

Roepke, W. (1949): The Genus Nyctemera Hiibner. Trans. ent.

Soc. Lond. 100 (2): 47-70.

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: (Roepke, 1949).

9. Synopsis: Each scientific paper should be accompanied by

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

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114 Apollo Street, Fort, bo EDITORS,

Bombay 1 Journal of the Bombay Natural

History Society.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 1

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS.

Part I—INrTRopUCTION. By W. W. A. Phillips.

Part Ii—Mammats. By J. E. Hill. (With two plates)

SOME NOTES ON THE REPRODUCTION, METAMORPHOSIS, AND THE ECOLOGY OF A

CEYLONESE TREE FroG: Rhacophorus Cruciger Cruciger (BLYTH). By

A. M. Morgan-Davies. (With two plates and one text photo) .

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. By R. B. Seymour Sewell.

Part I.

NOTES ON THE LIVERWORT FLORA OF EAST NEPAL. By M. L. Banerji. (With

two plates)

ON THE COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, AND TRANSPORT OF MULLET SEED IN

West BENGAL (INDIA). By K. K. Sarojini. (With one plate and one text

figure)

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES OF THE ORIENTAL GENUS Chela Hamilton. By

E. G. Silas. (With two plates and six text figures)

NOTES ON THE BAYA: BREEDING SEASON 1957. By V. C. Ambedkar

Two New Species OF Echinoderella (PHYLUM KINORHYNCHA) FROM THE

Bay OF BENGAL. By Richard W. Timm. (With two figures) ..

Some RARE INDIAN APHIDS. By S. Kanakaraj David

THE FooD AND FEEDING HABITS OF SOME FRESHWATER FISHES OF MADRAS STATE.

By M. D. Menon and P. I. Chacko

A Norte oN Aeginetia Acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. By N. A. Erady and

K. Rajappan. (With one plate) : }

THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) I. A. List OF TREES, SHRUBS, AND WooD Y

CLIMBERS. By Vijaya Shanker Sharma

OBITUARY :—

A. St. J. MacDonald

REVIEWS :—

1. A Practical Guide to Plant Sociology (P. V. Bole)

2. Voices of the Wild (H.A.)

3. The Hawfinch (R.R.) ae ae

4, A General Textbook of Entomology (E.G.S.)

5. The Mollusca of Krusadai Island. II. Scaphopoda, Pelecypoda and

Cephalopoda (E.G.S.)

6. Microscope : Construction, Use and Care (E. G. s. )

7. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. Vol. I No. 1 (K.A.

Chowdhury) we

8. Knaurs Vogelbuch (S.A.)

9. A Company of Birds (L.F.)

PAGE

100

107

110

117

125

129

142

144

145

147

149

150

151

[52

ii CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 1—(contd.)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

1. The Breeding Season of the Rhesus Monkey Macaca mulatta (Zimmer-

mann) in Rajasthan. By Ishwar Prakash (p. 154). 2. The Usefulness of Bats.

By Editors (p. 155). 3. Porcupines and Trees of Vernonia sp. By R. C. Morris

(p. 155). 4. Rabbits and Myxomatosis in the U.K. By R.C. Morris (p. 156).

5. Birth of a Great Indian Rhinoceros in Captivity (With a plate). By Editors

(p. 157). 6. The Muntjac in Britain. By G. Kenneth Whitehead (p. 158). 7.

Additions to the Birds of the Palni Hills (South India). By Norman Fuller,

S.J. (p. 159). 8. A new race of the Whiterumped Swift. By David Lack (p.160).

9, Variation in the output of song of a Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis

(Scopoli). By Jamal Ara (p. 161). 10. Notes on the Sarus Crane: Early

‘imprinting ’ of vital commands. By Salim Ali (p. 166). 11. The identity of

the Gullbilled Terns [Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin)] in India. By Humayun

Abdulali (p. 169). 12. The Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta Linn.)in Assam. By

Editors (p. 170). 13. Cormorants and Egrets fishing in co-operation. By D. J.

Panday (p. 170). Occurrence of the Common Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber -

Linn.) at Nandyal, Andhra State. By P. J. Sanjeeva Raj (p. 171). 15. Jumping

Snakes. By A.E. Butler (p. 173). 16. Rat-snakes ‘ Mating’. By K.R. Sethna

(p.173). 17. A Note on the Hilsa Fisheries of Assam (With one plate and a text-

map). By T. V.R. Pillay and A. N. Ghosh (p. 174). 18. ‘ An Indigenous Fishing

Rod and Tackle’. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 178). 19. ‘ Crop Pests and

their control in the Panjab’. By D.G. Sevastopulo (p. 178). 20. A new Butter-

fly from Assam (With a text figure). By T. Norman (p. 180). 21. Notes on the

Biology and Control of Brithys crini Fabricius. By D. G. Sevastopulo (p. 181).

22. ‘An Episode from the life-history of the moth Suana concolor Wlk.’ By

D. G. Sevastopulo (p. 182). 23. A Note on the diagnostic features of larvae of

Anopheles varuna lyeng. (With three text figures). By P. Sen (p. 182). 24.

Flowering of Strobilanthes. By R. C. Morris (p. 185). 25. The Phyllotaxy of

Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. By H. Santapau, S. J., and G. L. Shah (p. 186). 26.

The Coconut, Cocos nucifera Linn. Observations of the First English Jesuit in

India. By H. Santapau, S. J. (p. 188). 27. Export of Animals from India. By

Editors (p. 189).

GLEANINGS

NOTES AND NEws

PAGE

190

194.

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1958 APRIL Vol. 55 No. 1

Some Observations a

on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands

Part I—INTRODUCTION

W. W. A. PHILLIPS

Through the kindness of the Hon. Mr. Ibrahim Ali Didi, Prime.

Minister of the Maldive Islands, my wife and I were able to spend

almost three months studying and collecting the fauna of the Maldivian

Archipelago. After having been wrecked on Cassanfaru reef, we

arrived in Malé, the capital, on the 30th November 1956 and left

during the following February.

Bird-study was the chief object of our visit but mammals, reptiles,

amphibians, and many invertebrates were studied and collected as

and when opportunities occurred. We were fortunate enough, in this

connection, to have attached to us for the duration of our visit as

interpreter and guide Mr. Ibrahim Didi, who not only spoke and

wrote excellent English but knew the names, localities, and many of

the habits of most of the Maldivian birds and also of many other

members of the fauna of the atolls. This fact was of immense assist-

ance to us, both in the study of the habits and distribution of each

species, as well as in the collecting of specimens. Our work was

therefore greatly facilitated. William Perera, our taxidermist/collector,

who accompanied us from Colombo, also rendered admirable service

and prepared many excellent specimens. :

The Maldivian Archipelago, lying between latitude 8° north to 4 ,

south and longitude 72° to 74° east, is composed of a chain (double

SMITHSONIAN

2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

for much of its length) of coral atolls, resting on a submerged mountain

range, some 400 miles to the south-west of Ceylon. In the open

seas adjacent to the atolls depths of over 2,000 fathoms have been

recorded, while within the reefs 20 to 30 fathoms ts normal.

The atolls, or groups of islands and reefs which comprise the

Archipelago, number 19. They extend from north to south for a

distance of nearly 470 miles and are 70 imiles across at the widest.

Immediately to the north, across the ‘8 Degree Channel’, is Minicoy

of light-house fame, and still further north, across the ‘9 Degree

Channel’, are the Laccadive Islands, stretching northward almost

to the Indian coast. 300/400 miles to the southward of the most

southerly atoll, Addu, lies the Chagos Archipelago.

The islands which form the atolls are all quite small and low

lying; they are rarely more than 6 feet above sea-level. Some have

swampy areas in their interiors, and all have coral reefs around them.

Over 2,500 of them have been counted but less than 220 are

permanently inhabited. Most of the larger have been planted with

coconut palms among the succulent scrub and low undergrowth that

flourishes in their coral sands; a few have large evergreen trees,

mostly imported, growing round the villages and some of the swamps.

Although tropical, climatic conditions are equable being governed

by the two monsoons, the south-west blowing from April-August and

the north-east from October-February, bringing ample rain and cool

winds in their train.

Between 85,000 and 90,000 is the estimated population of the

Archipelago. The people depend chiefly upon fishing for a livelihood.

Male, the capital, is in North Malé Atoll, about the centre of the

group. It is reputed to have a-population of between 8,000 and 9,000,

living on an island 1 mile in length by about 4 a mile in breadth.

Owing to difficulties of inter-atol]l communications, most of our

specimens were taken in or near North Malé Atoll but a few were’

brought in by fishermen and others from outlying islands in other

atolls. The specimens were handed over, on our return to England,

to the British Museum (Natural History), where they have been worked

out by various members of the scientific staff, to whom our best thanks

are due for the extra work involved.

Little collecting has been done in the past in the Maldives, except

for marine forms collected by Gardiner during his expeditions. True,

he collected a few birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but only casually.

So, until our visit, much of the fauna of the Archipelago was unknown.

Speaking generally, there can be no question that the Maldivian

fauna as a whole is very closely related to that of the Indian

peninsula; in many cases it appears identical, amply supporting the

theory that most species have come to the atolls either from India or

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OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS — 3

from Ceylon in comparatively recent times. Many indeed, such as

the rats and shrews, have undoubtedly been imported unintentionally

by human agency. Few of the species have been isolated long enought

for them to have diverged even subspecifically. ‘There are, however,

several exceptions to this rule, notably three species of birds and the

Flying Fox (Preropus giganteus ariel) which can be distinguished as

indigenous forms.

For the benefit of other workers, it is intended to publish in this

series a number of papers drafted by those scientists who have exa-

mined the collections. These, it is hoped, will give a clear picture

of the type of fauna to be found in the Maldive Islands, where much

more collecting and systematic work is required before our know-

ledge of the fauna can be considered fairly complete.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our grateful thanks are due, firstly, to the Hon. Mr. Ibrahim Ali

Didi, Prime Minister of the Maldive Islands, who not only made our

visit possible but, by his thoughtful kindness during our visit, greatly

assisted our work and our comfort; to His Exceilency Philip K. Crowe,

the American Ambassador to Ceylon, and to Mr. Norman Costar,

C.M.G., the Acting High Commissioner, who facilitated our arrange-

ments and contributed in so many ways to our enjoyment; to our

many friends in Malé, who made our visit so pleasant, and especially

to Mr. Ibrahim Didi who did so much for us and gave us so much

information; to Dr. W. E. China, Keeper of Entomology, to Drs. H. W.

Parker and F. C. Fraser, Keepers of Zoology, and to Mr. J. D.

Macdonald, Deputy Keeper of Zoology, at the British Museum (Natural

History) for much help and advice, and to all those who have kindly

contributed papers in this series and whose names appear in the

headings of the respective papers.

Part II—MAMMALS

J. E. HILi

Dept. of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History)

There are few published records of mammals from the Maldive

Archipelago. Gardiner (1906), during a survey of the fauna of the

Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagos, recorded Pteropus medius

[=Pteropus giganteus giganteus later separated from the Indian

Flying Fox under the name Pteropus ariel by Allen (1908)], Suncua

4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

murinus, and Rattus rattus alexandrinus, the two latter forms

almost certainly introduced by man. More recently, Allen (1936) has

described Pteropus hvpomelanus maris from Addu Atoll, a form which

is a western outlier of a predominantly Austro-Malayan species. These

notes are based on a collection obtained by Major W. W.A. Phillips

on the more northerly atolls of the Maldive Archipelago (mainly on

Malé) during the period December 1956 to February 1957. The

collection includes all the forms previously listed from the Archipelago

except Pteropus hypomelanus maris, and adds the house mouse,

Mus musculus castaneus, certainly introduced by man, to the known

fauna of this group of islands. Major Phillips also notes that

domestic rabbits have been liberated and now run wild on certain

of the islands. He encountered no Microchiroptera during his visit

to the Archipelago. Major Phillips, who is well known for his work

on the mammals of Ceylon, has supplied the Maldivian names of |

the mammals and has been kind enough to add his field comments

to my own remarks on the material. His notes are placed in square

parentheses at the end of the systematic matter and are initialled

“W.W.A.P.’ All measurements are in millimetres, and are quoted in

the form of the minimum and maximum for each series, followed

by the arithmetic mean in parentheses.

Suncus murinus caerulescens (Shaw): Musk Shrew

1796 Sorex pilorides Shaw, Mus. Lever. 2 :31 (Not of Pallas, 1799, which is in-

determinable).

1800 Sorex caerulescens Shaw, Gen. Zool. Mamm. 1:533. India.

1831 Sorex giganteus Geoffroy, Voy. Bélanger Indes. Orient. Zool. 117. Bengal.

oo. .57.388-389;,..29 9. .57.390-392, aivenile 57-39 520 Allie

specimens, o%o% 57.394-395, 9 9 57.396-397, juvenile 57.398. Malé

Atoll.

Maldivian name: MHickundi

Dorsally, the normally coloured specimens of this small series are

(blue-grey and rarely have the hairs tipped with fawn or brown. In

this they differ from specimens of S.m.murinus from Madhya

Pradesh and Ceylon. [For notes on the latter race see Lindsay (1929)

and Phillips (1935) (called Suncus caeruleus caeruleus by these authors)].

The underparts are very slightly paler than the back while the

whiskers and the hairs of the tail and feet are white or grey-white.

The series as a whole averages larger than S$. m. murinus and in all

respects closely resembles specimens from Ceylon referred by Phillips

(1935) to S. m. giganteus [called caerulescens by Ellerman and Morrison-

Scott (1951)]. The specimens are accordingly referred to that race.

which Phillips observes is common around Colombo and other

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS — 5

Ceylonese seaports, having been introduced from India where it is

found in Bombay and at other ports in addition to its natural range

in the Darbhanga and Midnapore Districts. It has probably been

introduced to Malé through the agency of the dhows that ply between

that atoll and the western ports of Ceylon. Phillips (1935) notes

that albino or semi-albino specimens of this shrew are ‘not uncommon’

in Ceylon. External measurements of seven adults: head and body

133-158 (144), tail 80-98 (86), hindfoot 21-24 (22), and ear 14-16 (15).

[These shrews are very plentiful on Malé Island, especially in

and around the bazaar and residential areas. They live in the coral-

stone walls, under piles of loose building materials and refuse, and

less often in holes in the ground originally dug by large land-crabs.

Early in the dusk they come into the open and often invade houses

and shops, their high pitched squeaking giving warning of their

presence when they have been alarmed. Undoubtedly they are,

on balance, beneficial creatures as they help to rid the shops of many

large cockroaches and other all too plentiful noxious pests. Almost

50% of them are pure white, with dark eyes. Fleas (Xenopsylla

astia) were found on one specimen but generally they are parasitised

more by mites than by fleas.—W.W.A.P.]

Pteropus giganteus ariel Allen: Maldivian Flying Fox.

1906 Pteropus medius Temminck, Gardiner, Fauna and Geography of Maldive and

Laccadive Archipelago, 2, Supplement, 2:1049.

1908 Preropus ariel Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard, 52, 3:28, pl. figs. 1-3.

Malé Atoll, Maldive Islands.

1912 Pteropus ariel Allen, Andersen, Catalogue of Chiroptera, 1:335.

3 57.399, 9 57.400 Malé Atoll. ato 57.401-403, 9 57.404 Hululé

Island, North Malé.

Maldivian name: Va

The only specimens hitherto recorded in collections appear to be

the type and an immature female in the collection of the Museum of

Comparative Zoology, Harvard, and a male collected by Gardiner

now preserved in the British Museum (Natural History). (B.M.

8.12.26.1). There is also in the latter collection a dealer’s skin without

skull (B.M.1937.11.5.1) said to have originated from the Maldive

Islands. The six skins collected by Major Phillips conform closely

to Allen’s description (B.M.8.12.26.1 is preserved in alcohol and

therefore unavailable for colour comparison) and show no taxonomi-

cally significant differences in colour when compared with P. g.

giganteus from the southern provinces of peninsular India. The

forearm, however, is shorter than that of the mainland race. The skulls

6 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

of these specimens, when compared with those of P. g. giganteus, are

shorter, narrower, and have a shorter rostrum and comparatively

heavier dentition. A summary of their external and cranial measure-

ments and a comparison with those of twenty-seven skulls of P. g.

giganteus from the southern provinces of India is given in Table I.

TABLE I

COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF P.g. giganteus AND P.g. ariel

Dimension

Forearm

Condylobasal Length

Width of Brain-case (at

zygomatic root)

Zygomatic Width

Postorbital Width

Interorbital Width

c—m?*

c—m*

Mandible Length

Width m* —m?

Length p*

Width p*

Length m?

Width m?*

Pteropus g. giganteus

(27 specimens)

154—176 (169)

65.8—75.5 (70.5)

24.0 —26.4 (25.1)

34.4—43.2 (39.7)

95=11.2°0:1)

1.2—94 (8,3)

23:51 29154 (26:8)

27.6—32.4 (30.4)

49.9—58.5 (54.0)

13:4—22.3 (20;1)

4.3—5.1 4.7)

293, 93s)

4.8—5.7 (5.3)

2,4.—-3:01(3.5)

Pteropus g. ariel

(6 specimens)

137—160 (152)

61.2—70.7 (64.9)

23 4—25.7 (24.2)

31.8—43.9 (36.4)

8.4—11.3 (9.5)

8.9—10.4 (9.5)

235 21.0 (25,5)

26.6—30.3 (28.4)

47.0—56.5 (50.5)

17.8—21.0 (19.1)

4.2—5.0 (4.5)

sre soe) (Sid 6)

4.9—5.8 (5.4)

3.1—3.6 (3.4)

SS SSS SSS SS SSS SSS SSS SSS SSS SSS

As suggested by Allen (1936), this form is clearly an insular race

of Pteropus giganteus, defined by its reduced body and cranial size.

Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951) evidently overlooked this paper,

and following Andersen (1912) listed ariel as a species within the

giganteus group. Pteropus hypomelanus maris Allen, Rec. Ind. Mus.

38: 343, 1936 from Heratara, Addu Atoll, south end of Maldive

Archipelago is not listed in this work.

[Flying Foxes are plentiful throughout North Malé Atoll and are

reported to be moderately so in all the atolls. They appear to be

rather more diurnal than the mainland form and may be seen flying

over at any time throughout the day but more commonly, of course,

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 7

in the early evenings when many often come in to feed long before

sunset. Passing from island to island they fly high over the seas,

generally each on its own course.

There is no roost on Malé itself but two large colonies are to be

found on Hululé close by, where several hundreds spend the day

hanging from the branches of groups of large evergreen trees; in the

early evening they fly over to Malé to raid the fruit and crops, especi-

ally the mangoes. |

Although they are not eaten by the Maldivians, they are occasion

ally shot in order to control their numbers and protect the fruit crops.—

W.W.A.P.]

Rattus rattus ceylonus (Kelaart): Common Rat

1850 Mus ceylonus Kelaart, J. Ceylon Br. Asiat. Soc. 2:213. Ceylon.

1851 Mus nemoralis Blyth, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 20:168 (Not of de Sélys Long-

champs, 1841).

oo 57.405-406, juveniles 57.407-409 Malé Atoll.

Maldivian name: Meetha or Meeda.

These specimens represent the common House Rat and are very

similar to R. r. rufescens in appearance. Ellerman and Morrison-

Scott (1951) use ceylonus for the commen commensal form in Ceylon

tolfiowing Hinton (1919) who used nemoralis, but Phillips (1935) lists:

the Indian House Rat (R. r. rufescens) as introduced to the neighbour-

hood of ports in Ceylon and regards the native commensal form of

that island as Rattus rattus kandianus. This material is slightly

blacker and less rufous on the back than specimens of ceylonus from

a number of Ceylonese localities, but the difference is very small.

Rattus rattus kandianus (Kelaart)

1850 Mus kandianus Kelaart, J. Ceylon Br. Asiat. Soc. 2:212. Nuwara Eliya

Ceylon.

1850 Mus tetragonurus Kelaart, loc. cit. 217. Hendala, near Colombo, Ceylon.

1887 Mus kandiyanus Kelaart, loc. cit. 326 (Emendation in reprint of 1850 publica-

tion).

oo 57.410 Hululé Island, North Malé. 57.411 Malé Atoll.

Both specimens have the back yellowish brown coarsely streaked

with black, the hairs with slate-grey bases. The underparts of 57.411

are predominantly buff-yellow, the hairs having light grey bases and

yellow or buff tips. Those of 57.410 are cream white, with the hairs

light coloured throughout their length. The feet of 57.411 are brown but

those of 57.410 are much lighter and are predominantly whitish in

colour. They are slightly paler and less rufous than specimens of

kandianus, but otherwise closely resemble the Ceylonese form.

8 ..JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

_ [Rats of the Rattus rattus group are very plentiful throughout the

islands, both near habitations and amongst the undergrowth in the

coconut plantations. Largely diurnal in their habits, they may

commonly be met with during the heat of the day, climbing in the

bushes, poking amongst the low herbage, or climbing up the bare,

‘smooth stem of a coconut palm in order to nibble the miniature nuts

in the crown. Many of them have a loathsome appearance and

are, wisely, shunned by the local people for, although they do not

appear to harbour many fleas, they generally swarm with mites.

In Malé, they infest the bazaar areas, graveyards, and compounds,

but their numbers are kept in check to some extent by the domestic

cats that have been imported for that purpose. Breeding is probably

continuous throughout the year; during December, January, and

February numerous nests containing young were brought in—W.W.

A.P.]

Mus musculus castaneus Waterhouse: Hastern House Mouse

1843 Mus castaneus Waterhouse, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 12:134. Philippine Islands.

1852 Mus manei Kelaart, Fauna Zeyl. 64. Ceylon. (Gray, 1843, List. Mamm.111.

nom. nud.).

1865 Mus rama Blyth, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 34:194. Penang.

1922 Mus musculus sinicus Cabrera, Bol. Real. Soc. Esp. H.N. 22:166. Ningpo,

Chekiang, southern China.

Oo 57.412-415, 9 2 57.417-418. Juvenile 57.416, North Malé.

Maldivian name: Japan Meetha or Japan Meeda.

Schwarz and Schwarz (1943) use castaneus for the House Mice

from the Indian peninsula and Ceylon. These specimens agree

closely in size and dorsal colour with material from Ceylon and the

southern part of the Indian peninsula. Ventrally, however, four

specimens are slate-grey tinged with ochreous, while the remainder

are ochraceous cream with complete exclusion of grey.

[Curiously enough, House Mice were rather scarce, even in the

bazaar areas, possibly due to the presence of domestic cats and too

many House Rats and Musk Shrews. They live in the shops and

also in houses in the residential area and have habits as in other parts

of the world. Nearly 50% of them are ochraceous cream in colour,

ventrally.—W.W.A.P.]

{Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus).

Domesticated rabbits, of various colours, have been turned loose

on several islands, notably on Willingilli, close to Malé. They have

reverted to the wild state and hide amongst the undergrowth, but come

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 9

out to feed in glades in the evening. It is likely that they will

establish themselves as a feral species in due time.

CETACEA

Whales.

Whales visit the atolls irregularly, and are sometimes captured:

there appears to be no record of the species.

Dolphins. (Maldivian names: Comas, Firebocomas, and Onu-

thunmas).

It was our intention to collect specimens of Dolphins. However, it

was found that Dolphins and Porpoises are regarded with super-

stitious aversion by the local fisherfolk, so we were unable to procure

any for examination. Schools of both large beaked dolphins and

smaller porpoises were frequently observed close to Malé but no

reliable identification could be made. |

Deraniyagala (1956) states that he procured a water-worn skull,

without mandible, of Delphinus delphis Linnaeus on Furadifuri

Island W.W.A.P.] )

SUMMARY

The mammalian fauna of the Maldive Islands, as far as it is

known, consists of. two indigenous species of Megachiroptera, one

species of insectivore, one species of lagomorph, and two rodent species,

the latter comprising three races. All but the Megachiroptera have

been introduced by human agency. Of the fruit bats, Preropus hypo-

melanus maris is the western outlier of a predominantly East Indian

and Sundanesian species, linking that species to a more modified

member of the Pteropus hypomelanus group, Pteropus subniger, from

the Mascarene Islands, Réunion, and Mauritius. The other, Preropus

giganteus ariel, is an insular race of the Indian Flying Fox, as might

be expected. The musk shrew, Suncus murinus, is commensal and

has been widely distributed by man over many of the small islands

of eastern Asia and the East Indies. It, together with Rattus rattus

ceylonus, Rattus rattus kandianus, and Mus musculus castaneus, appears

to have reached the Maldives from Ceylon. This is not unexpected, —

since the principal communication with the Maldives is conducted

from the western ports of Ceylon while much less use is made of

routes to south Indian ports. Hewever, the rats especially show

small differences in colour from the Ceylonese races and, while this’

may indicate a slight degree of subspeciation, it seems quite probable

that the populations of shrews, rats, and mice found on the Maldive

10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Islands have been derived from several, including Indian, sources.

The rabbit, unlike the foregoing, appears to be a deliberate introduc-

tion to the Islands.

REFERENCES

Allen, G. M. (1908) : Notes on Chirop-

tera. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard

52) (3) 25-61; pl:

— — (1936) : Two new races of Indian

Bats. Rec. Ind. Mus. 38: 343-346. ~

Andersen, K. (1912): Catalogue of

the Chiroptera in the Collection of the

British Museum. 1: Méegachiroptera.

London: British Museum (Natural

History).

Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1956): Zoo-

logica] Collecting at the Maldives in 1932.

Spolia Zeylanica 28 : 7-15.

Gardiner, J. S. (1906) : The Fauna and

Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive

Archipelagos. Cambridge University

Press.

Ellerman, J. R. and T. C. S. Morrison-

Scott. (1951) : Checklist of Palaearctic

and Indian Mammals, 1758-1946.

London: British Museum (Natural

History).

Hinton, M.A.C. (1919): Report on the

House Rats of India, Burma and Ceylon,

Part II. Scientific Results from the

Mammal Survey, No. 18. JBNHS

26 : 384-416.

Lindsay, H. M. (1929): Indian

Shrews. Scientific Results from the

Mammal Survey, No. 48. JBNHS

33 : 326-340.

Phillips, W. W. A. (1935): Manual of

the Mammals of Ceylon. Ceylon

Journal of Science. Colombo : Colombo

Museum.

Schwarz, E. & H. K. Schwarz. (1943) :

The wild and commensal stocks of the

House Mouse, Mus musculus Linnaeus.

J. Mammal. 24: 59-72.

Some Notes on the Reproduction,

Metamorphosis, and the Ecology of a

| Ceylonese Tree Frog

Rhacophorus cruciger cruciger (Blyth)

A. M. MorGan-DAVvVIES, F.Z.S.

(With two plates and one text photo)

INTRODUCTION

Considerable work has been done on the taxonomy and distri-

bution of the amphibia peculiar to Ceylon, but our knowledge of their

life histories and ecology is extremely meagre. It was only very

recently (Kirtisinghe, 1957) that the tadpoles of Rana corrugata, R.

limnocharis greenii, Rhacophorus c. cruciger, Rh. c. eques, and

Microhyla zeylanica were described for the first time, and there are

still those of several Ceylonese Anura to be accounted for. The few

descriptions that have appeared concerning the purely Ceylonese forms

(Gunther, 1876; Kirtisinghe, 1957) merely give brief accounts of tad-

poles and supply little detailed information of their life histories.

In this paper I have dealt with the breeding, ovulation, ‘nest’

construction, larval stages, and metamorphosis of Rhacophorus c.

cruciger (Blyth) and have added some notes on its ecology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This work has been based on the observations of over fifty breed-

ing specimens in the field and under laboratory conditions and covers

a period of one year. Pituitary gland injections to stimulate breeding

activity have not been employed. Conditions under captivity were

made, as far as possible, to simulate natural conditions. The duration

of metamorphosis as recorded here is given from the observations of

a single batch of eggs kept under laboratory conditions. It, however,

coincides closely with the duration of metamorphosis observed for three

other batches bred in captivity and for a number of batches observed

in the natural state.

REPRODUCTION

On the evening of the 25th February 1957, immediately after a

shower of rain, three males and two females of Rhacophorus c. cruciger

2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

were collected from a small pond near Passara (2,400 ft.). One pair

were already in amplexus; the remainder were squatting upon rocks.

Two hours later all five animals were placed in a breeding cage and

throughout the period, from capture to being placed in their cage, the

mated pair did not break from the amplexus though they were handled

and carried about in a collecting bag. On a number of similar

occasions to separate a pair in this position was comparatively difficult

owing to the firm grip taken by the male and his tendency to lash out

with his hind legs. |

Amplexus in this and eight other cases observed was axillary.

Plate I (1) shows an earlier stage where the hands of the male were

placed over the shoulders of the female. The final position is shown

diagrammatically in Plate I (2) where the thumbs and fingers of the

tnale were clenched and gripped the female firmly immediately behind

the arm-pit. At the beginning of amplexus the snout of the male

was just aft of a line between the female’s eyes, and the vent of the

male was about a quarter of an inch forward of the cloaca of the

female. The legs of the male were fiexed with the feet usually resting

upon the thighs of the female.

Observations in the laboratory and field revealed that oviposition,

in some thirty instances, took place at night; no cases were recorded

during the day. For approximately two hours after being placed in

the breeding cage the mating pair continually walked around the sides

of their cage (a 4-sided glass aquarium with cement base and wire

mesh top, 30” x12” <9”) not settling down in one position for more

than a few minutes. Occasionally they would descend to the bottom

of the cage and immerse themselves up to their forelegs in water. On

a few occasions they became fully immersed and swam across the

cage. Throughout this period preliminary to egg laying the male made

spasmodic jerks with his body and legs.

The pair showed no signs of fear at their new and unusual sur-

roundings and finally settled down after some considerable fidgeting

of the female’s forelegs in order to get a firm grip of the vertical sur-

face of the cage. At 10.10 p.m. the female cocked her thighs and

shanks at an angle of approximately ninety degrees to the long axis of

the body, her heels touching immediately below and about a quarter

of an inch from the cloaca. At the same time the male assumed a

similar position taking his feet from the thighs of the female and

placing them between his and the female’s cloacal opening.

A colourless and sticky liquid was then emitted from the cloaca

of the female who immediately commenced to work her feet in a

sideways fanning motion from the ankle, thereby working the liquid

into a translucent frothy mass which became adherent to the side of

the cage. At 10.15 p.m. ova emerged from the cloaca of the female

Be ae ee ae

JOURN. DOMBAY NAL. r1isi. SUL.

tic).

lagtamma

ing (d

egg lay

ing

tion dur

OS1

crucigery Im ear

Male and female Rhacophorus c.

ili

amplexus.

Photos : A. M. Morgan-Davies

Journ. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLaTE II

4. Nest opened out to show distribution of eggs.

Photos : A. M. Morgan-Davies |

NOTES ON CEYLONESE TREE FROG 13

and the male assumed a strained attitude of the abdominal muscles.

The ova did not emerge in one sudden gush but slowly, a few at a

time, and at short intervals of ten to fifteen seconds. During these

intervals the female kept up a steady fanning motion with her feet

which distributed the eggs amongst the foam that was slowly increas-

ing in volume. At the same time the male worked his feet slowly up-

and-down from his cloaca, past that of the female, and into the centre

of the frothy mass. By 10.30 p.m. the frothy mass was a pale pink-

fawn colour and about two and a half inches in diameter and the

ova were expelled at slower intervals, the frothy mass becoming con-

siderably more tacky. The female grew more exhausted and her

breathing more laboured; her body had reverted almost to its normal

size.

At 10.45 p.m. the male slowly dismounted from the female who

had ceased depositing her ova. The colour of the frothy mass was still

a pink-fawn but of a very slightly darker hue on the outside; the

—

Four stages in the development of Rhacophorus c. cruciger (Blyth)

centre, however, was still white. Three minutes after the male dis-

mounted the female slowly moved away from the nest which was then

three to four inches in diameter and covering her feet and part of her

shanks. Ten minutes later she had parted from the nest and- was

14 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

obviously extremely exhausted with the effort of making her nest and

extracting herself from the mass of foam which had become extremely

tacky and disinclined to come away from between her legs. Twelve

hours later the coloration of the nest had changed to a pale blue-

green.

DISCUSSION ON BREEDING AND NEST-CONSTRUCTION

Rhacophorus cruciger is gregarious in its breeding areas. As many

as nine nests were found within an area of fifty square feet, whilst

outside of this area, although suitable for breeding and nest making,

none was found. The majority of nests were constructed on the

vertical sides of rocks, two to three feet above water level. A few

were found up to thirty feet high amongst the terminal foliage of trees

overhanging water, a few others attached to small sedge just above or

at water level. In all instances the nests were made overhanging still

water.

There is no doubt that it is the female alone who is responsible for

the production of the foam nest. To prove this a single gravid female

was placed by herself in a cage and that night a fully constructed foam

nest with eggs was made.

The foam is formed from the sticky colourless liquid emitted by

the female during ova deposition and which is slowly agitated into a

frothy mass by a sideways pendulum motion of the feet of the female

from the heels. The reason for the movement of the feet of the male

is uncertain; its likely object is to prevent the foam from spreading in

an upwards direction engulfing the feet of both sexes and thereby

making it increasingly difficult for them finally.to extract themselves

from their viscous egg mass.

Immediately after construction the nests are from two and a half

to three and a half inches in diameter and either a pale blue-green or

light fawn in colour. Their weight is approximately 350 to 500 grains,

but fluctuates according to weather conditions and age.

Plate II (4) depicts an opened-out nest twelve hours old. A centre

and an outer layer can clearly be seen; the former is still tacky and

contains the majority of ova, the latter is comparatively dry with an

outer crust which is brittle and parchment-like, although this may

not be quite the case if the nest is exposed to incessant rain and a

damp atmosphere.

From a count of ova in six nests it wouid appear that the number

of ova in each nest may vary from 240 to 300 which represents the

whole complement of each female. The average diameter of the ova

is 2 mm. with a maximum and minimum diameter of 2.4 and 1.8

mm. + 0.10 mm. Their colour is a pale cream throughout.

NOTES ON CEYLONESE TREE FROG 15

A great number of nests found in the Passara area were infested by

the dipteran fly Caiusa indica which deposits its eggs upon the frothy

mass within a few hours of its formation and before it gets its crisp

and brittle outer casing. The damage caused by this fly is very con-

siderable and the number of frog’s ova that finally hatch in an infected

nest is negligible or even nil. From this one would assume that, apart

from the brittle outer casing possibly serving as an_ insulator

from excessive temperatures, it must also serve as a barrier to

intruders as no nests became infected once this outer casing became

set and hardened.

METAMORPHOSIS

Bire-teoedine stage.

The early embryonic stages are passed within the nest, and not till

about the fifth or sixth day when the nest collapses due to the weight

of the developing ova, do the tadpoles fall to the water. During the

first three to five days of aquatic life the yolk sac and external gills are

clearly visible. The upper side of the head and body and the tail

muscle is a pale buff; the abdomen is a creamy white with the anterior

abdominal vein clearly visible. About the tenth day after emerging

the external gills are absorbed, pigmentation becomes more intense,

and the tadpole more active. At this stage the measurements of the

tadpoles are approximately: total length 10 mm.; length of head and

body 4 mm.; width of body 1.75 mm.; depth of tail 1.9 mm.

Recding stage:

During the next eighty days the tadpoles increase in length to

about 50 mm., by which time they have acquired a characteristic

pattern of body and tail pigmentation and the hind limbs are fully

developed. The coloration at this stage is a dark olive. The tail

musculature and dorsal fin membrane are heavily covered with

melanophores, whereas in the ventral fin membrane the melano-

phores are sparsely scattered. At this stage the measurements of the

tadpole are as follows: total length 50 mm.; length of head and body

19 mm.; width of body 10 mm.; depth of tail 7.5 mm.; length of tibia

oes im,

Within the next twenty days the forelimbs emerge, the melano-

phores in the ventral fin membrane are more intense, and the markings

approximate very closely to the adult frog. The tail is then totally

absorbed and the measurements of the young frog at total metamor-

phosis are approximately: length of head and body 20 mm.; length

of tibia 11 mm.

16. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY

In the south-east of Ceylon breeding coincides with the north-east

monsoon. rains for the seven months extending roughly from October

to April, the early months being those of greatest intensity. During

these first months of breeding when the rainfall is more or less regular

Ova deposition is at a far greater intensity but thereafter it declines

and normally precedes a fairly heavy shower or a few days of continual

mist. : :

COLORATION

The most usual coloration of the adult frog would appear to

range from a pale yellow to yellow-ochre, pale pink to a burnt sienna,

various shades of grey, greenish brown, sepia, and olive. In the paler

range of colour variations the hour-glass marking on the dorsum

is either very faint or entirely lacking; in the darker colour

range this characteristic marking is most pronounced. At night the

usual colour is from a pale straw yellow to yellow-ochre; during the

day it may vary very considerably between individual specimens under

the same conditions of light and temperature. The colour of the young

frog at metamorphosis is normally a silver grey.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

[am most grateful to Mr. P. Kirtisinghe, Reader in Zoology in the

University of Ceylon, for his valuable guidance, encouragement, and-

criticism in connection with the preparation of this paper.

REFERENCES

Ginther, A. (1876): Notes on the two new species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.

Mode of Propagation of some Cey- 17(4): 377-380.

lonese Tree-frogs with descriptions of Kirtisinghe, P. (1957): The Amphibia

of Ceylon.

Evolution: the Taxonomer’s Approach

R. B. SEyYMouR SEWELL

PART I

The Science of Taxonomy and Systematics must be the oldest science

in the world for it began, so we are told, with Adam : ‘ and out of the

ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the

air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them : and what-

soever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the air, and to

every beast of the field’ (Genesis II, 19-20). But since that early date

the science has undergone a number of modifications and changes.

One of the earliest schemes of classification of which we have definite

knowledge was that put forward by Aristotle about 2000 years ago ;

in this he divided the then known animals into groups, of which the

components all possessed certain characters. As our knowledge in-

creased of the existence of the numerous forms of animals these were

grouped together in accordance with their structure or morphology :

one of the earliest scientists who specified that Taxonomy must be based

solely on structure was de Candolle, a botanist, and he laid down the

principle that physiological characters, which we now know are of such

great importance in the life of organisms, were useless in classification,

which must be based on comparative morphology.

The present day study of Systematics may be said to have commenced

with the publication of the 10th Edition of Linnaeus’s SYSTEMA NATURAE

in 1758, in which animals and plants were given a double name, the first

being generic and indicating the group to which an animal or plant

belonged, and the second being specific indicating that this form differed

from all other forms in the genus. This and all other individuals

that agreed with it exactly formed a species, and if there were present

only slight differences then these were regarded as variations. With the

invention of the microscope more and more details of structure could be

detected and it gradually became necessary to divide the larger groups,

the genera into smaller subgroups and the species into subspecies, and

within these much smaller groups it became recognised that even the

offspring of a single pair of progenitors were different from each other

and from their parents. Linnaeus! (1775, Part I, Section Ixxvii, p. 51),

1 Linnaeus, 1775. THE ELEMENTS OF BOTANY (PHILOSOPHIA BOTANICA). Trans. by

Hugh Rose, T. Cadell, London.

18 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

after reviewing previous attempts at classification, remarks : ‘ Besides all

the above-mentioned systems . . . which may be called artificial there is a

natural method, or nature’s system, which we ought to endeavour dili-

gently to find out .. . and this system of nature is no chimera will appear

... from hence, that all plants, of what order soever, shew an affinity to

some others to which they are nearly allied’. Not long after Linnaeus

had formulated his classification, Lamarck! clearly foresaw the difficulties

that would arise if too much attention was paid to details of structure for

he wrote (1809, ch. II, p. 50): ° It is useless for naturalists to take up all

their time in describing new species, fastening on all the shades of

difference and the minute particularities of their variations, so adding to

the immense list of known species... if the philosophy of the science

is neglected ; in that case their progress will be illusory and the whole

work will remain incomplete.’

About a hundred years after Linnaeus, the acceptance of the theory

of Evolution introduced another complexity into our scheme of classifi-

cation, for we now had to envisage a method by which animals that were

known to have existed in past geological periods could be related to those

that are alive at the present day ; to recognise, as Lamarck (loc. cit.

ch. I, p. 33) had done, that ‘there is no dividing line in nature itself bet-

ween one species and another’ ; we had to try and formulate a scheme

that would express a phylogenetic scheme of classification, a real ‘natural

history’, and it became generally accepted that the process could be

envisaged as a tree, which includes the main trunk with its numerous

branches, each branch giving off twigs, and these finally bearing the leaves,

which were supposed to represent the various species living at the present

day. But evolution does not stop short at this point, it is still going on,

and the animals that we know to-day are not only different from their

predecessors but will be different from their successors in some future

era.

So to-day the Taxonomist is brought face to face with one of

the problems that nature has set us, namely the way in which and by

which characters are transmitted from parents to offspring, and the nature

of the agencies that bring this about or that cause them to vary. Perhaps

a better simile than a tree would be that of a railway system in which

one starts from a large central station and thereafter as we progress the

names of ‘stations’ through which we pass change, as for instance we

pass from Liverpool Street and arrive at Broxbourne, then a little later

at Bishop’s Stortford, then at Audley End, and finally Cambridge, but

all the time travelling along a given line ; at intervals a branch line may

split off leading to Saffron Walden and this might even curve round again

and come near to, if it did not actually rejoin, the original main line, thus

1 Lamarck, 1809. PHILOSOPHIE ZOOLOGIQUE, Dentu, Paris.

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 19

indicating the process known to zoologists as ‘convergence’, or another

line might start from a different part of London and after travelling

through Hitchin eventually reach Cambridge by a different route, thus

indicating the polyphylitic origin of Cambridge itself. The late Dr.

Calman* (1930) in his Presidential Address to the Zoology Section of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science at Bristol remarked :

‘It may be a counsel of perfection to suggest that no one should introduce

a specific name without undertaking at least a partial revision of the

genus including it : but there are very many instances where the multipli-

cation of species might be postponed until we learn something about

those that are supposed to be known’ ; and a year later Gurney? (1931)

pointed out that in the group that he was then studying, the genus Cyclops

of the Copepoda, we had reached a stage where extensive and detailed

study had resulted in the creation of a number of subspecies and varieties,

often based on minute differences, in any given species and that it was

impossible to judge of the value of such small differences until we know

the range of variation that may be found in such a species, first in a stable

environment and secondly in environments of rather different character.

Lowndes* (1934), working on the same group, remarks : ‘That taxonomy

is getting to an impossible state must be recognised by everyone’ ; he

points out that, as was foreseen by Lamarck, “as taxonomy progresses

more and more detail is incorporated with the result that specific distinc-

tions, unless they are carefully tested by breeding experiments, become

more and more unreliable’. Chappuis, who is an authority on this group,

regarding Lowndes’s view remarks, as recorded by Lindberg* (1942),

that this author appears to have reached the paradoxical conclusion that

the more detailed the description of an animal the more the animal be-

comes unrecognisable, or in other words the better defined species is that

which is known only froma single specimen. But isn’t this an actual fact ?

Taxonomy was originally based on the species concept and in the

Linnaean tradition the description of a species applies solely to a single

individual, the ‘Type’, and the inclusion of small differences in the descrip-

tion makes it more and more difficult to determine whether these

differences are actually specific, unless we also know that they are

inherited, and we may be dealing with slight differences that are merely

individualistic as, for instance, the finger prints of human beings, no

1Calman, W. T., 1930. The Taxonomic Outlook in Zoology. Presidential

Address, Section D, Zoology : British Association for the Advancement of Science,

Bristol.

2 Gurney, R., 1931. BRITISH FRESH-WATER COPEPODA. Vol. I. The Ray Society,

London.

* Lownde2s, A. G., 1934. Copepoda. Report of an te to Brazil and

Paraguay in 1926-27. Jour. Linn. Soc. London, Zoology, Vol. 3

* Lindberg, K., 1942. Cyclopides (Crustaces Copepodes) rs ‘I'Inde, XVI. Notes

oe Mesocyclops rylovi Smirnov et Mesocyclops vermifer Lindberg. Rec. Ind. Mus.

> 149.

40 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. $5 (1)

two of which have so far been found to be identical though they may be

very nearly so in ‘true twins’. Even such minute differences can be

classified, but such a classification, though still morphological, is purely

artificial and not ‘natural’ in the systematic sense of the term.

More recently taxonomists have had to take into consideration the

conditions under which animals and plants live and the extent to which

differences in the environment may cause differences in the animal itself,

and they have to bear in mind the results obtained by the study of the

science of Ecology.

How THEN CAN ONE DEFINE A ‘SPECIES’ ?

The original conception was that a ‘species’ was a group of organisms

that closely resembled each other, any differences being merely trivial ;

but Darwin? (1892, p. 294) warns one that ‘it should also be constantly

borne in mind that any linking variety between two forms, which might

be found, would be regarded, unless the whole chain could be perfectly

restored, as a new and distinct species ; for it is not pretended that we

have any sure criterion by which species and varieties can be

discriminated’. Poulton? (1904) in his Presidential address to the

Entomological Society, under the title of ‘What is a Species’, lays down

that the gaps between species must be absolute, otherwise they would

not be different species, and he postulates that ‘inhibition of gene flow

results in the establishment of a new species population’, thus assuming

that all specific differences are due solely to genic action. He divides

species into two categories, Sympatric and Asympatric, the former being

those where two or more species inhabit the same area and are due to

ecological divergencies in this area leading to the separation of individuals

by reproductive isolation because they occupy different niches :

Asympatric species occupy different areas. But this so-called explanation

merely explains why a new and absolutely different set of organisms be-

comes established as a population ; it makes no attempt to explain how

the difference came into being.

Bateson? (1909), after discussing the sterility or partial sterility of

hybrids obtained by crossing different varieties, remarks : ‘We are con-

fronted with two distinct alternatives: (1) We may apply the term species

promiscuously to all distinct forms... There is no distinction, logical

or physiological, to be drawn between them. Some contain more factors

and others fewer, and (2) We may follow the conventions of systematists

and distinguish the outstanding and conspicuous forms... as species

1 Darwin, C., 1892. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, 6th edition.

2 Poulton, E. B., 1904. What is a Species? Presidential Address to the Entomo-

logical Society, London. 1922.

* Bateson, W. B., 1909. MENDEL’S PRINCIPLES OF HEREDITY. Cambridge Univer-

sity Press.

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 21

and leave the rest unheeded.’ Fisher+ (1930) defines species as follows :

‘The groups most nearly corresponding to species would be those adapted

to fill so similar a place in nature that any one individual could replace

another, or more explicitly that one evolutionary improvement in any

one individual threatens the existence of the descendants of all the others’.

The difficulty of accepting Fisher’s definition lies in the fact that in many—

one might say in most—cases we are profoundly ignorant of the exact

nature of the environment in which so many species live at the present

day, and know practically nothing about the environment in which those

animals, which are known to us as fossils, lived in past ages ; we may be

able to conclude with some degree of certainty whether they were terres-

trial, aerial, or aquatic, and the geological character of the deposits in

which their remains have been found will give a clue to whether the

aquatic environment was fresh-water or salt ; but any assumption regard-

ing the detailed and exact conditions of the physico-chemical nature of

the environment is pure guess-work. Furthermore, if we are to adopt

Fisher’s definition we must include all the various characters of an

organism, no matter how small the differences may be, and also make the

assumption that every character, such as the presence or absence of a

seta or spine in a particular position must be an ‘improvement’ and must

have a survival value for that individual. Among the Muscidae the

classification is largely based on relatively small differences in the

chaetotaxy, and Fisher’s definition ignores the possibility, even the proba-

bility, that many such small differences may be neutral, being neither

beneficial nor harmful so that their presence or absence would in no way

be a bar to one form occupying the same biological space as another ;

and yet if such a small difference were inherited it would constitute a

valid basis for regarding the two forms as two species. Hale Carpenter?

(1951), quoting from Mayr (1942) has pointed out that the modern defini-

tion of a species is a group of an actually and potentially interbreeding

natural population, which is reproductively isolated from other such

groups, and a subspecies is defined as ‘a geographically localised sub-

division of the species which differs genetically and taxonomically from

other subdivisions of the species’. He goes on to point out that

‘Nowadays it is recognised that no two individuals can be exactly alike

on genetic and biometric grounds and therefore no one specimen should

be considered typical : what is typical is the mean of the population, and

thus a population becomes the unit... Thus a biological definition

replaces a morphological one, stressing the completeness or incomplete-

1 Fisher, R. A., 1930. THE GENETICAL THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION. Claren-

don Press, Oxford.

2 Hale Carpenter, G. D., 1951. Taxonomy and Geographical Distribution.

Lectures on the Practice of Botanical and Zoological Classification. The Linnean

Society of London.

22 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

ness of the gap which separates species according to the presence or

absence of interbreeding ’.

But ‘nearly every morphological character used to separate species

may vary geographically within the species’ [Hale Carpenter (loc. cit.,

p. 51)] and in the case of a continuously and widely distributed species

the two ends of the chain may be so different that they certainly would

not interbreed.

The present-day position has been summed up by Smart (1950)!

as follows : ‘Until comparatively recently, the morpho-systematist was

expected to supply the definition of what constituted a species. As syste-

matic knowledge increased this task became more and more difficult,

and ultimately the systematist could do little more than say that a species

was such a segregate of organisms as he decided to designate as a

species |’?

THE INFLUENCE OF THE MENDELIAN THEORY OF INHERITANCE

The discovery of the work of Mendel and the gradual development of

the theory of Evolution by means of the ‘ genes’ in the chromosomes of

the nucleus created an immense amount of interest and enthusiasm among

biologists and they claimed that here was the true and only explanation of

how animals and plants have evolved in the past. But it seems to me that

they have overcalled their hand and haye claimed too much for this

theory. Hogben* (1930) points out that ‘to-day biologists are beginning

to realise that evolution must furnish an explanation of specific differences

which are not adaptive as much as of specific differences which are

adaptive’; but are any of the so-called ‘Mutations’ discovered in the

Mendelists’ experiments either adaptive or specific? They are for the

most part, if not universally, non-adaptive, if not actually lethal. The

Mendelians have merely shown that the inheritance of non-adaptive

characters may be transmitted to offspring according to certain

mechanisms, e.g. the genes. They have in no instance that I know of

+ Smart, J., 1950, Post-Darwinian Development of Taxonomy (Zoology).

Lectures on the Development of Taxonomy. The Linnean Society of London.

* Prof. Graham Canon in a letter has kindly reminded me that the difficulty of

giving a clear definition of what constitutes a species was clearly seen by Darwin (THE

ORIGIN OF SPECIES, 6th Edition, 1897, p. 34) who wrote : ‘In determining whether a

form should be ranked as a species or a variety the opinion of naturalists having sound

judgement and with experience seems the only guide to follow. We must, however,

in many cases, decide by a majority of naturalists, for few well-marked and well- known

varieties can be named which have not been ranked as species by at least some

competent judges’. It thus appears that we are no nearer reaching a final definition

of what constitutes a species at the present time than we were about 100 years ago,

when Darwin an Wallace first propounded their theory of evolution.

: ° Hogben, L., 1930. THE NATURE OF LIVING MATTER. Kegan Paul, Trench,

Trubner and Co. Ltd. , London. i

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 23

shown that the genes actually cause the change or that, in the majority

of instances, the mutational changes are in any sense specific, much less

that they are. generic. Dr Robert C. Miller, of the University of

Washington? (1946) writes : ‘ Sequence of events, however often repeated,

affords no proof of causal connection... If it be objected that this

strikes at the root of all scientific method, it may reasonably be replied

that the scientist should himself be the most eager to examine critically

the bases of his own procedure. Such an examination is inevitable when

the boundary between physical science and metaphysics becomes so

indefinite as it is at the present time’ ; and surely the same may be said

with regard to the boundaries between physics, chemistry, and biology.

He goes on to say that there are excellent pragmatic reasons for assuming

a causal connection between events or series of events characterised by a

high degree of statistical correlation . . . but it should be pointed out that

this assumption does not justify the ordinary idea that the event which

precedes in time is the cause, while that which follows is the effect.

The Mendelian discoveries introduced a complexity into the work of

the Taxonomist who is trying to identify the species to which a collection

of very similar specimens may belong. In December 1913 I collected a

number of small crabs that were living under stones between tide marks in

an area of about 25 square yards of a beach in Nankauri Harbour,

Nicobar Islands, and in November of the following year I obtained several

more specimens from the same area that agreed with those captured

earlier ; at first sight all these examples, of which there were 43, appeared

to correspond in the main with the description of the species Xantho

(Leptodius) sanguineus A.M.-Edw.; but a more careful examination

showed that these examples fell into four distinct groups, as follows :

Group I

Males with a typical male type of claw of chocolate-brown colour :

No. Greatest breadth of carapace Length of great chela

mm. mm.

1 16.0 18.0

2) 16.5 18.25

3 18.0 : 21.25

4 18.5 19.75

5 16.5 20.0

6 20.0 23,25

7 21.0 24.25

8 22.0 25.0

9 23. 30.25

10 27.0 34.5

11 28.75 36.0

12 33.25 39.25

3 Miller,.R. C.,.1946. Science, Vol. 75.

24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

GrovuP II

Males with a modified female type of claw of black colour :

No. Greatest breadth of carapace Length of great chela

mm. mm.

1 10.5 10.5

2 14.0 15.0

3 1725 17.85

4 18.75 20.75

5 20.5 23.0

6 PALS) 25.0

7 21.75 24.25

8 22.29 25.0

9 2320 DIS

10 2325 28.75

11 DIS 31.0

Group II

Females with a claw of the male type but smaller than in the true male, of choco-

late brown colour :

1 14°75 15.0

2 16.0 isla

3 17.0 L725

4 17.0 18.5

5 L715 16.5

6 18.0 19.0

7 18.75 19.75

8 20.0 20.0

9 20.5 20.0

Group IV

Females with typical female type of claw, coloured black:

1 12.0 13.0

2, [235 13.25

3 L275 14.0

4 13.0 13.5

Ss) 15.0 16.5

6 16.0 163)

| 16.5 i iegiss

8 16.75 16.50

9 Lied 16.75

10 18.75 16.50

11 22.0 22.50

In addition to the difference in colour of the male type of claw from

the female, chocolate-brown instead of black, the dactylus in the examples

of Group I is stouter and much more sharply curved, the teeth on the

biting margin are different and the terminal spoon is much larger and has

a larger horse-shoe shaped border ; in the females with the typical female

type of claw (Group IV) of which 9 out of the 11 were ovigerous, the

dactylus is not so strong as in the typical male ; it is less strongly curved

and the terminal horse-shoe is smaller. It must also be pointed out that

in none of the examples in Groups IJ and III was there any sign that the ~

individuals were or had been parasitised by Sacculina and none of the

specimens in Group III was ovigerous. The above differences between

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 2

the two groups in both sexes at once raised the question, had I here two

species ? I submitted this question to the late Dr Calman and he at once

said ‘Two species’. But had I? According to the Mendelian theory

by crossing males, of which half the number possessed a dominant male

gene and the other half a recessive, with females of the same species we

should expect to get the following result :

A... dominant male,

a... fecessive male,

bee ae female:

F, would give equal numbers of

A plus b and a plus b;

and at F., we should expect to get

1 Aa 1 Ab 1 ab and: 1. Db:

or Aa typical males with the male type of claw

Ab females with the male type of claw and probably infertile

ab males with the female type of claw and

bb typical females with the female type of claw and normally

ovigerous.

The proportional measurements of the carapace and chela give no

help in reaching a decision for the measurements of the two sexes fall

in continuous lines of growth, the male rate being on a curved line and

the female rate on a straight one, and the abdomen of the two sexes being

perfectly normal and characteristic of the two sexes. In many of the

Crustacea it has been shown that the heterogonic growth of such an

appendage as the great chela is due to two factors that are at work during

the course of development, the ordinary hormone that controls develop-

ment in both sexes and a sexual secretion that may modify the degree of

development in either sex.

At its inception the theory of the genetic inheritance of bodily charac-

ters by means of the genes in the chromosomes of the nucleus was most

attractive, one gene controlling one character ; but the enthusiasts soon

went far beyond this early conception.

It was postulated that all bodily changes are due to changes in the

genes and that these changes occur spontaneously and at random ; it

was supposed that sooner or later a mutation might arise that would

produce a change that gave the individual an advantage over all the

‘others and that from that moment Natural Selection set in and

the progeny of this fortunate individual caused the gradual elimination

of all the individuals of the original type. Bather’ (1928) in his Presiden-

Oe Bather, F. A., 1928, The Fossil and its Environment. Annual Address to the

Geological Society.

26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

tial address to the Geological Society asked : ‘Why do mutants so often

assume the same characters as the adaptive modifications? Does the

influence that produces the modification also induce a change in the

germ, and, if so, why is that change in the same direction as the modifi-

cation ?’. He suggests that there is a physico-chemical change in the

germ cells themselves as well as in the body. Simpson! (1951, p. 133)

very rightly observed that ‘The mutationist discoveries were bewildering

to many field naturalists and palaeontologists, because they in particular

were well aware that evolution cannot (the italics are Simpson’s) be a

purely random process and that progressive adaptation certainly does

occur’.

Fisher (1930, p. 13) admits that “however profound our ignorance of

the causes of mutation may be, we cannot but ascribe them, within the

order of nature as we know it, either to the nature of the organism or to

that of its surrounding environment, or more generally to the interaction

of the two’, and Lowndes (1932, p. 294)? endorses this view and remarks

that ‘it is generally considered that the cause of morphological variation

is to be sought for either in those processes that one may describe as

genetic or else environmental, but of course it will be conceded by any-

one that these two cannot be separated’. Simpson (loc. cit., p. 39)

points out that ‘surviving organisms must meet the minimum require-

‘ments of life in an available environment and changes can only occur

on the basis of what already exists. The environments available are not

limitless and each permits survival on its own terms only’, and he goes on

to say that even these broad rather obvious limitations suggest strongly

that orientation in evolution is not determined by some characteristic

within the evolving organism or solely by external factors in their environ-

ment but by both and by some interplay between the two. Of recent

years the view appears to have grown up that the environment can have

nothing to do with mutation and that adaptation is not in any way due

to environment though it is well recognised that environment may have

a profound effect on the development and growth of an organism, and

its continued existence by means of Natural Selection. Simpson (loc.

cit., 1951, p. 88) considers that ‘the development of the individual is

effected not only by the inherited growth determinants but also by the

conditions under which growth occurs. Greater or less differences in

the environment (for instance in soil or weather) affect them (the indi-

viduals) as they grow, no matter how near each other they may be’.

Carter? (1951) has emphasised that ‘throughout the evolution there was

1 Simpson, G. G., 1951. THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION. A Mentor Book. The

New American Library.

2 Lowndes, A.G., 1932. The Result of further Breeding Experiments on four

species of Cyclops. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (10), IX, 265-297.

>Carter, G. S., 1951. ANIMAL EVOLUTION. Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd., London.

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH a7

repeated change of habitat and habit as well as of structure’ and that

‘we may regard structural evolution as being in large part adaptation to

the new conditions to which the animal became exposed during or after

change in habitat and habit of life’. When discussing the character of a

cline, where a species exhibits continuous variation from one end of its

habitat to the other Carter (loc. cit., p. 159) claims that ‘many of the

changes that occur along the course of a cline are adaptive to changing

environmental conditions in the different parts of the range’. This type of

variation is claimed to be ‘non-genetic’ but associated with these adaptive

changes are genetic changes and these may be either adaptive or non-

adaptive. A little later (loc. cit., p. 164) he claims that ‘there is also no

doubt that animals vary and that some part of the variation, that part that

has a genetic basis, is inherited. It is irrelevant to the argument that

another part, phenotypic variation, is not inherited ; this must be simply

set aside and disregarded in any discussion of Darwin’s Theory’. Yet

later still he claims that “Phenotypic variations are not inherited, and are

therefore not themselves of evolutionary value : but they may prepare the

way for genetic differentiation... The characters so acquired may be

given a genetic basis by recombination or mutation (of the genes) when

these occur’.

WHAT EXACTLY DO WE MEAN BY ADAPTATION ?

One definition of adaptation, given by Allen (1929) in his Hooker

Lecture to the Linnean Society of London, states ‘by an adaptation we

mean nothing more than a character of an organism which has enabled a

species to survive itself as such or to survive until it is transformed into

another species. It is survival that gives the measure of adaptation’.

Fisher (1930) defines it in the following terms : ‘An organism is regarded

as adapted to a particular situation or to a totality of situations which

constitute its environment, only in so far as we can imagine an assemblage

of slightly different situations or environments in which the animal would

on the whole be less well adapted : and equally in so far as we can imagine

an assemblage of slightly different organic forms which would be less

well adapted to that environment’. What exactly he meant to be inferred

from this definition I do not know but, on the one hand, any number of

small differences may be found in the structure of an organism that would

appear to have no possible effect on its survival in any environment ;

and, on the other hand, recent investigations, especially by agriculturalists,

have shown that the presence or absence of trace elements in the soil

can have a quite marked effect on the well-being of the herds that feed on

the grass that grows on it ; and the possibility. that any watery habitat

having slight microchemical differences from other, otherwise similar,

28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

habitats may have a profound influence on aquatic organisms does not

seem to me to be unlikely.

A. R. Wallace (1889) long ago pointed out that most writers on the

subject considered that isolation was a very important or even an essential

factor in the formation of new species ; and both he and Darwin were of

the opinion that if the environments were absolutely similar for

two isolated portions of a species, then no divergence between the isolated

portions would take place. But, as Wallace pointed out, it is practically

impossible that the environment of the isolated portion can be exactly

like that of the bulk of the species ; differences will be physical, such as

climate and soil or water. Size of area, relation to winds, seas or rivers

would certainly differ, and biologically the differences are sure to be

considerable. He remarks that ‘While isolation is an important factor

in effecting some modification of species, it is so not on account of any

effect produced or influence exerted by isolation per se but because it is

always and necessarily accompanied by a change of environment, both

physical and biological. Natural selection will then begin to act in

adapting the isolated portion to its new environment’. . He sums up his

view (Wallace, loc. cit., p. 171-2) in these words: ‘I have shown that the

importance of geographical isolation for the formation of new species

by natural selection has been greatly exaggerated because the very change

of conditions, which is the initial power in starting such new forms, leads

also to a local stational segregation of the forms acted upon’ (the italics

are mine. R.B.S.S.)

Every zoologist, I imagine, who has studied the geographical dis-

tribution of an aquatic species, provided that the area of distribution was

sufficiently wide and embraced regions with different physicochemical

characters, must have realised that in different areas the individuals of

such a species often exhibit small structural differences. In many such

cases the differences may be correlated, in all probability, with slight

differences in the environment. During the course of growth and

development of each individual differences arise in the proportions of its

several parts, and it is just such differences as these, when found

in examples of what appear to be a form very closely resembling but yet

differing slightly from a known species, in a different locality isolated

from the original source of the type of the species, that have induced the

observer to conclude that he was dealing with a genetically different form

and gave it a new name with the status of a new subspecies or even a

species.

Gurney* (1933, p. 286) called attention to the fact that in a genus of

Cyclops, Mesocyclops Sars, Kiefer in his Key of 1929 included 16 species

* Gurney, R.,.1933, BRITISH FRESH-WATER COPEPODA, Vol. III. The Ray Society,

London. -

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 29

but added 4 more in an appendix ; a year later this number had increased

to 23, and by October 1932 had further increased to 35 species. In

1929 Kiefer divided the genus into two subgenera, Mesocyclops s. str.

and Thermocyclops Kiefer, and at the present time there are as many as

39 species and subspecies in this last subgenus alone. One of the charac-

ters, that has been used to discriminate between the species and subspecies

in this subgenus is the proportional lengths of the two spines that are

borne on the distal margin of the terminal segment of the endopod of the

4th swimming leg, and in the Table below I give these proportions in a

number of these subspecies or species :

GROUP I

Average |

SE ce |

. ; lengths of ter-

Species of Thermocyclops minal spines Range

of endopod 3

of P4. ©

Inner outer

oithonoides 4.100 1.0

retroversus 3.86 1.0 3.32 — 4.01 1.0

hyalinus persicus 2.85 1.0 2.8 — 2.9 1.0

ie hyalinus ZA 1.0 16 — 2.7 1.0

Pe ndalaganus 2.145 1.0 2.12 — 2.17 1.0

ee kivuensis 2.08 1.0

rp byzantinus 2.058 1.0 2.03 — 2.11 1.0

Ae macrolasius 2.055 1.0 1.93 — 2.14 1.0

iwoyiensis . 2.60 1.0 24 — 3.1 1.0

neglectus decipiens 2.67 1.0

i neglectus 239 1.0 2.0 — 2.78 1.0

re prolatus 1.79 1.0

infrequens nigerianus 2a 1.0

= eduardensis 2.20 1.0

Es infrequens 1.864 1.0 1.76 — 2.07 1.0

mongolicus 2.353 1.0

mahéensis 2.324 1.0 2.14 — 2.48 1.0

vermifer 2.28 1.0 1.89 — 2.83 1.0

Pachysetosus DA 1.0

rylovi 1.89 1.0 1.45 — 2.18 1.0

tenuis 1.889 1.0

inopinus 1.882 1.0

tinctus 1.765 1.0 1.57 — 1.96 1.0

operculatus aberrans 1.50 1.0

Schmeili f. marmagoensis 1.426 1.0 1.158 — 1.545 1.0

Bs schmeili 1.06 1.0 1.01 — 1.125 1.0

mass hastatus 0.895 1.0 0.83 — 0.96 1.0

dybowskii 0.842 1.0 0.80 — 0.895 1.0

In the above table the figures all refer to the proportions in the adult

female, as in most of these species the male is unknown. Gurney!

1 Gurney, R., 1931. BRITISH FRESH-WATER COPEPODA. Vol. I. The Ray Society,

London.

30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

(1931, p. 20) pointed out that ‘it is not impossible that some forms which

we know as subspecies or even species may be ‘‘adaptations”’ to particular

conditions, without genetical relation between separate colonies’, and it

seems obvious that no reliance can be placed on such small differences

in proportions of minute parts of an organism as specific characters till

we know far more about the development of such forms under natural

conditions in habitats of different characters.

As I have already pointed out, the modern trend of thought appears

to be that the environment per se has nothing whatever to do with the

adaptational evolution of an organism. Lowndes! (1934, p. 83)

remarks ‘I am convinced that the term Adaptation to Environment

in its generally accepted meaning is at the present time hardly a scientific

conception’, and he goes on to explain (loc. cit., p. 86) that ‘if the alteration

in environment has any marked effect at all it cannot be a beneficial one,

except in the rather rare case in which some particular gene mutation,

conferring some advantage, is submitted to natural selection’. Fisher

(1930) states that in the physical environment, geological and climato-

logical changes must always be slowly in progress and these as

they continue become harmful to the greater number, for the same reason

as mutation in the organism itself will generally be harmful ; but if muta-

tion in a gene or series of genes is ‘random’, why should it nearly always

be to the disadvantage of the organism? I do not profess to be a

mathematician, but it seems to me that if mutations are truly random

while the environment is slowly changing then just as many mutations

might be beneficial as might be harmful and that the great majority

might be completely neutral. Certainly no environment is static ; it is

continually changing within certain limits. In aquatic environments the

change is not only seasonal but is also diurnal, and every organism is

capable of adjustment to a certain range of change. It is only when this

range is exceeded or the change takes place too rapidly that it becomes

harmful or lethal. The geological environment to which Fisher refers is

characterised by changes that are for the most part extremely slow and

very gradual so that many generations of organisms will succeed one

another before any marked effect would be experienced, and the organism

would have ample opportunity to become adapted to the new environ-

ment.

Huxley? (1956, p. 321) has called attention to the information that

may be gained by a study of populations and their genetics. He remarks

that ‘The study of population genetics grades into that of taxonomy’ and

he claims that ‘Morphism (genetic polymorphism) provides natural

4 Lowndes, A. G., 1934. Reports on an Expedition to Brazil and Paraguay in 1926-

PA Copepoda. Jour. Linn. Soc. London. Vol. 39.

2 Huxley, J. S., 1956. Morphism as a clue in the study of population dynamics.

Proc. Roy. Soc. Series B, Vol. 145.

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 31

markers in the shape of readily distinguishable morphic forms (morphs)’.

‘Morphism’, Huxley claims (loc. cit.), ‘is a special type of adaptive

intraspecific differentiation’, yet it is claimed that phenotypic morphisms

may be dependent on the co-operation of two separate genes.

Valentine? (1956, p. 315) in a study of Variation and Polymorphism

in Viola claims that ‘Phenotypic plasticity is common in flowering plants

and it is clearly important in habitat adaptation’ but he goes on to remark

that ‘populations from different habitats which differ in phenotype can

sometimes be shown to differ little, ifat all, in genotype. Morecommonly,

however, such phenotypic differences are found to be partly under genetic

control’.

Kiefer (1952)?, who has been responsible for a large percentage of the

above list of so-called species and subspecies in the subgenus Thermocy-

clops, appears to be convinced that environment per se can have no in-

fluence on the actual production of new species and that these are always

the result of random changes in one or more genes in the nucleus of the

developing ovum : if we accept this view, then we surely must postulate

that, in every case in which we find a new variety or subspecies of a well

authenticated species in a habitat different from that in which the parent

species exists, the random appearance of a modified gene that has been so

beneficial as to have enabled the progeny to survive must have occurred

with extraordinary rapidity, or else assume that the change in the habitat

has so affected the gene complex thatit has caused the necessary change, in

which case we have reason to believe that a new species is in process of

being evolved. The only other explanation of this change is that such

minor morphological differences have arisen, not as a gene mutation but

from the direct effect of the environment on the organism and its develop-

ing ova, causing changes in the phenotype resulting from changes in the

rate of growth and associated alteration in the proportional size of parts

of the adult, and that this change will occur in successive generations as

long as the ‘species’ inhabits the same area.

Simpson (1951, p. 39) affirms that ‘in particular instances of environ-

mental change, evolving organisms do not respond in a uniform way, as

if the evironment were causing the change in structure’ : this sweeping

statement seems to me to ignore some of the most obvious changes that

have taken place in the evolution of large groups of animals during past

ages when they were evolving into new forms in a new environment.

Many animals of different orders and phyla exhibit very similar

adaptations, as for instance the evolution of suckers on the lower lip

1 Valentine, D. H., 1956. Variation and Polymorphism in Viola. Proc. Roy. Soc.

Series B, Vol. 145.

2 Kiefer, F., 1952. Copepoda Calanoida und Cyclopoida. Explorat. van het

National Albert Park, zending H. Damas 1935-36. Inatit. des Parks National. du

Congo Belge, Fasc. 21.

32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

and throat of hill-stream fishes and amphibia to counteract the effect of

the rapidly-flowing water (vide Hora,* 1930), or the evolution of a stream-

lined form of body in fishes, aquatic reptiles, and in mammals, that have

either always lived in or have reverted to an aquatic environment ; and

such changes must surely have occurred simultaneously with the change

of habitat. The adoption of an aerial existence has been accompanied by

the evolution of wings, as in insects, birds, in one reptile, the Pterodactyl,

and in bats ; and, though the mechanical structure in these various forms

has been different, there can be no doubt that the presence of a wing is

intimately connected with the aerial habitat. Conversely the change of

habit and the abandonment of this faculty of flight has led to the sup-

pression and disappearance of wings in insects and birds. In other

animals the development of a cylindrical worm-like form of body, as in

the earth-worms and in various genera of the sand-dwelling Copepoda,

must either have arisen first and have been the precursor of the change

of habitat or at least have been coincident with it. Conversely, in animals

that have never left their ancestral habitat, suchas the Brachiopod Lingula

and certain molluscs of the Oyster family, we can see that the animal has

remained practically unchanged at any rate externally. It would thus

appear that in the absence of any alteration of the habitat lies the possibi-

lity of a continuation of the same bodily structure.

Even at the present day we find certain instances in which a

geographical change of environment accompanied by relatively slight

changes in the physico-chemical character of the habitat seems to be

accompanied by and to be producing a structural change in the course of a

few generations. The study of the geographical distribution of a small

marine Copepod, Acartia clausi Giesbrecht, has indicated that the species

is world-wide in its distribution and has developed small structural

differences in different regions that have resulted in these variations being

given specific or subspecific names, such as Acartia simplex Sars and

Acartia ensifera Brady, both from the south-west Pacific region, Acartia

clausi gaboonensis T. Scott from the Gulf of Guinea, and A. clausi hud-

sonica Pinney from Hudson Bay. Steuer? (1923, 1929) has called atten-

tion to certain differences, especially that of size, in examples of this

species that have been taken in different areas of the north Atlantic and

its offshoots ; there is a ‘giant’ race in the North Atlantic Drift and a

‘dwarf’ race in the Canary Current and in his later paper he suggests that

these differences may be due to the varying salinities in the different

+ Hora, S. L., 1930. Ecology, Bionomics and Evolution of the Torrential fauna,

with special reference to the organs of attachment. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London

Series B, Vol. 218

2 Steuer, A., 1923. Baustein zu einer Monographie der Copepoden-gattung

Acartia. Arb. Zool. Inst. Wien, I, pt. 5.

Steuer. A., 1929. Die Arten der Copepodengattung Acartia in der Mediterranean

Provinz. Sitz. Ber. Akad. wiss. Wien 138.

iss:

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 33

regions, the larger examples being found in water of higher salinity,

as is so commonly the case in organisms inhabiting the sea :

Area Total body-length in mm.

2 3

East coast of North America ~ 1.12-1.25 1.0-1.1

North Atlantic Drift 1.131-1.265 1.04-1,124

North Sea, Norwegian coast 1.15-1.47 1.0-1.31

Bay of Biscay 1.2 1.08-1.18

Adriatic 1.222-1.307 1.131-1.209

Canary Current 0.977-1.07 0.99

Associated with this change in size there is a corresponding change in

the number of small spinules that are present on the postero-lateral margin

of the 5th thoracic segment (vide Sewell, R.B.S., 1946)? :

Area Number of spinules on post. margin of

thoracic segment 5.

oe J

left right left right

East coast of North America 0 a

North Atlantic Drift 1-6 1-5 2-5 2-5

Norwegian Coast 4-6 Se!

Adriatic 2-4 3-5 4-6 3-5

Canary Current Q-3 0-4 0 0

Thus as we trace the distribution of this smail planktonic organism

in its drift round the clock-wise circulation in the north Atlantic we get

a gradual increase in size and in the number of spinules in succeeding

generations as we pass from west to east in the North Atlantic Drift and

its offshoots and this is followed in later generations by a decrease in

size and in the number of spinules as we pass back again from east to

west in the Canary Current and the North Equatorial Current to the east

coast of North America ; but where the species has passed out of this

circular movement, as in the North Sea and the Adriatic, the number of

spinules continues to be high and it would seem probable that here a

phenotypic variation has been changed to a genetic character, as was

suggested by Carter (vide supra, p. 27).

Gurney (1931 p. 29)”, as I have already mentioned (vide supra. p. 30),

has remarked that ‘it is not impossible that some forms that we know as

subspecies may be ‘‘adaptations’’ to particular conditions without genetical

relation to separate colonies, and he goes on to give as an example of this

the case of the multiple origin of the Copepod Limnocalanus macrurus

Sars from L. grimaldii (De Guerne), a species that appears to be universal-

ly distributed throughout the Arctic region, in both the Baltic region

_ *Sewell, R. B. S., 1948. The Free-Swimming Copepoda : Geographical Distribu-

tion. Sci. Reports, John Murray Expedition 1933-34 Vol. VII, No. 3.

4 ; Gurney, R., 1931. BRITISH FRESH-WATER COPEPODA. Vol. I. The Ray Society,

ondon.

34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

and the Great Lakes of North America, probably as a result of the change

from a salt to a freshwater environment at the close of the last Glacial

Epoch, a change that must primarily have induced a physiological adapta-

tion, which has been followed by a morphological change. Annandale?

(1924) studied the mollusc fauna of lakes across the width of Asia, and

called attention to the frequency with which ‘the earlier’ shell form com-

mences with a smooth shell and gradually passes through a stage exhibit-

ing spiral ridges to, finally, forms with a tuberculate shell, the tubercles

being situated along the lines of the former ridges. In the Cretaceous

the parent marine form managed to invade fresh-water throughout the

Tropical belt and gave rise to a number of different genera : in America

there arose the genus Tulotoma, in the Pleistocene beds of Europe we get

the subgenus Protulotoma; in Asia we have the genera Taia and Margarya,

and in Africa in Lake Tanganyika we have the genus Neothauma, and in

the Philippine Islands the genus Dactylochlamys. Conditions of life in

all these areas do not seem to. have been identical but Annandale has

remarked that ‘We have evidence in Taia as in Margarya that the most

highly sculptured forms are of multiple origin and have been evolved

independently in different lakes’; and Baini Prashad? (1928), when

commenting on the same phenomenon, notes that the more highly sculp-

tured forms are all found in lakes or other big areas of water in which the

conditions of life are uniform and where almost always species of different

families and genera become specialised ; and during the time that has

elapsed between the Pliocene and the present day many of the lakes have

become smaller in size or have dried up altogether. Annandale sums up

his conclusions in the following words : “These somewhat isolated living

and fossil species . . . provide additional evidence, in itself of little impor-

tance but cumulative in value, that in certain regions of the earth’s surface

there is or has been some influence at work which has produced a similar

collective peculiarity in the shells of the Viviparidae on diverse occasions

and in different parts of the world... What the influence is or was we

do not know. I would hazard the suggestion that it had something to do

with a peculiar stimulus in the water which exerted its influence for long

periods and from generation to generation, ultimately affecting the germ-

plasm as well as the soma of the molluscs’. Annandale goes on to argue

that the presence of this sculpturing even in the embryonic shells of the

more specialised forms of both Taia and Margarya seems to prove that

the effect is not due merely to the effect of the environment on

the individual. ‘Once the tendency has been implanted in the race, it

can have full play only in favourable environment ’; and he sums up his

1Annandale, N., 1924. The Evolution of the Shell-Sculpture in Fresh-Water

Snails of the Family Viviparidae. Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Ser. B, Vol. 96.

2Prashad, Baini, 1928. Recent and Fossil Viviparidae. A Study in Distribution,

Evolution and Palaeography. Mem. Ind. Mus. Vol. 8, No. 4.

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 35

position in the words : ‘My explanation of the phenomena discussed in this

paper implies an acceptance of the doctrine of the survival of the fittest

and at the same time a firm belief in the inheritance of one kind of acquired

character. The traumatic injury of an individual can probably not affect

the race, but unless we assume that the long continued and gradual in-

fluence of environment can do so it is difficult to see how adaptive charac-

ters can ever have arisen’. In the case of these Viviparidae, studied by

Annandale, it is difficult to see why the possession of a tuberculate shell

should be an advantage, though there is no reason to doubt that it was not

actually harmful and if due to a gene then this gene must somehow have

been altered to produce a tuberculate shell or else had been supplanted

by a new gene that produced this change, and that this change occurred

in a number of widely-dispersed areas and in different geological periods.

It seems probable that similar evolutionary changes are taking place at

the present day in cases in which examples of different genera belonging

to different suborders of the Marsupialia have undergone identical changes

when transferred from Australia to New Zealand. Le Souef! (1930)

recorded such changes in three species of Wallaby which had been

introduced 60 years previously and in each case the fur had become longer

and more silky, the coloration darker, and the markings more

pronounced : a fourth species introduced at the same time had not at the

time of Le Souef’s writing shown any change but exactly similar changes

had taken place in Opossums that had also been transferred. As I

pointed out (Sewell?, 1931) we have here a clear case of identical changes

taking place in examples of species belonging to different sub-orders of

the Marsupialia that had been transferred from one habitat to another,

namely from Australia to New Zealand.

When Nelson Annandale was showing his results of the study of the

production of tuberculate shells in the Viviparidae to another zoologist,

his visitor remarked ‘Well, I think that ought to convince the sceptics

that environment can produce adaptations’. To which Annandale

replied ‘I fear, my dear Sir, that you underrate the ingenuity of the Mende-

lists’. Such changes as I have noted above suggest the possibility, which

Simpson denies, that a change from one habitat to others with identical

characters but different from the original environment may produce in

any given species identical changes in structural characters. Such

changes as have been found in species that occupy different environments

have in many cases induced Taxonomists to regard the slightly different

organisms as constituting a new subspecies or even species, and to assume,

since they believe that all mutations are caused by corresponding changes

in the gene-complex, that there has been a most convenient, though

1Le Souef, 1930. Australian Zoologist, Vol. 6, p

2 Sewell, R. B. S., 1931. Presidential Address iS Re, Asiatic Society of Bengal.

36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

random, change in the genes. Fisher (1930) remarks that “the investigator

who faces the fact as an unavoidable inference from what is now known

of the nature of inheritance will direct his enquiries confidently towards

a study of the selective agencies at work throughout the life history of a

group in their native habitats rather than to speculation on the possible

causes which may influence these mutations... The experimental

study of agencies capable of influencing mutation rates is of the highest

interest for the light it may throw on the nature of these changes...

We should altogether misinterpret the value of such researches were we

to regard them as revealing the causes of evolutionary modification’.

And yet if we are to reach a knowledge of the real and fundamental causes

that can influence a gene or a group of genes to change their function

it is essential to take into consideration the possibility that the external

environment may have something to do with this change. It would seem

that for some time in the foreseeable future the Taxonomer will have to

go on as he has done in the past, relying mainly on morphological charac-

ters as the criteria for diagnosing species but at the same time he should

try to obtain as full an account of the physico-chemical character of the

environment as possible, especially in the case of those animals that

inhabit an aqueous habitat; he should not be content to investigate

merely the temperature, gaseous content, and pH, but should arrange for

a competent chemist to carry out a complete analysis of the salts in solu-

tion. As Hogben (1930, p. 283) has remarked : ‘A biologist should not

be prevented from studying physical chemistry to an advanced stage

because he has neither time nor inclination to devote to a tedious routine

of analysis’, and, if he has neither the time nor the necessary knowledge

to carry out such analyses himself, he should, if possible, get an expert

to do the analysis for him.

(To be continued)

Notes on the Liverwort

Flora of East Nepal

- M. L. BANERJI

Botany Department, Meerut College, Meerut, U.P.

(With two plates)

The hepatic flora of the kingdom of Nepal was first made known

by the collections of Wallich from the central part and of Hooker from

the far eastern part of Nepal. These collections were worked up by

Mitten (4). According to Stephani (6), who greatly enhanced our

knowledge of the Hepatics, there are 62 species over 32 genera that

occur in Nepal. Kashyap (3) mentions many species that he has

not seen but which were described by Stephani. Chopra (1) lists

the same species as given by Stephani. Horikawa (2) records

the mosses and hepatics collected by the Japanese expeditionists from

west Nepal during 1952 and 1953. It is interesting to note that

there are no members of the Anthocerotales and Marchantiales in the

lists. More recently Pande received a collection of Hepatics from the

British Museum, London. This collection was made during 1949-54

by Sykes, Stainton, Williams, and Polunin from west Nepal, and a

tentative list of the Liverworts has been published (5).

- T have been interested in the study of the vegetation of east Nepal

since 1948, and been collecting liverworts as well. In my collection

are some species that are additions to the bryology of Nepal. Certain

species that Kashyap described on the authority of Stephani have also

been collected. There are some species that have morphological

features of interest.

The following is the list of specimens collected :

Anthoceros gollanii St.

On moist rocks at 5,000 ft. near Chainpur. (May ’52). An

addition to the bryology of Nepal.

Anthoceros erectus Kash.

- On soil at 4,500 ft. at Sundrijal near Kathmandu (May ’52).

38 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Marchantia nepalensis L. et L.

On rocks at 4,500 ft. near Charikot (April ’52); also along sides

of streams at 3,500 ft. near Chainpur (May ’54), and at 6,000 ft.

near Those (Sept. *56).

Abnormalities in female receptacles are very common.

Marchantia palmata Nees

Along sides of streams at 3,500 ft. near Chainpur (May ’54) and

at 6,000 ft. near Those (Sept. 56). Growing mixed with M. nepalensis

at both the localities.

Lunularia cruciata Dum.

Growing on the sides of walls and embankments at 4,200 ft. at

Kathmandu (May ’52). An addition to the bryology of Nepal.

Dumortiera hirsuta Reinw.

Growing in a cave along with Conocephalum at 5,500 ft. in Tinjura

forest between Dhankuta and Chainpur (May ’54); in flowing water

at 6,000 ft. near Those (Sept. ’56), and 7,500 ft. at Phaplu (Sept. *56).

Conocephalum conicum (L.) Necker.

On the sides of a spring at 5,000 ft. at Tenkhu (May 53): in a

cave along with Dumortiera at 5,500 ft. in Tinjura forest (May ’54);

in flowing water at 6,000 ft. near Those (Sept. ’56), and at 7,500 ft.

at Phaplu (Sept. 56). }

Asterella blumeana Nees

On rocks at 5,900 ft. near Charikot (April 52). An addition to

the bryology of Nepal.

Asterella angusta St.

On rocks at 4,500 ft. at Those (Sept. *56).

Plagiochasma appendiculatum L. et L.

On rocks at 5,000 ft. near Charikot (April ’52): at 4,500 ft. near

Chainpur (May °54); and 4,500 ft. beyond Bhandara (Sept. °56).

Plagiochasma articulatum Kash.

On rocks, drying up; at 3,000 ft. near Dolakha (Sept. ’56). Addi-

tion to the bryology of Nepal.

Plagiochasma cordatum L. et L.

On rocks at 12,000 ft. near Kalinchok (April ’52).

NOTES ON THE LIVERWORT FLORA OF EAST NEPAL 39

Plagiochasma nepalensis St.

On rocks at 4,500 ft. near Chainpur (May °54). Kashyap has

- described P. simlensis and also agrees that Stephani’s nepalensis appears

to be the same as P. simlensis.

Plagiochasma sp.

A material collected from Chainpur area at 4,500 ft. agrees partly

with the description given for P. intermedium by Kashyap.

Riccia natans Linn.

Floating in slow moving stream at Godavari at 3,000 ft. (May ’52).

Pellia fabbroniana Raddi [syn. P. calycina (Tayl.) Nees]

On moist rocks at 4,500 ft. at Sundrijal near Kathmandu (June ’52).

Pellia epiphylla (L.) Lindb.

In flowing stream at 7,500 ft. near Phaplu. Found growing in

association with Dumortiera (Sept. °56). An addition to the bryology

of Nepal.

Metzgeria hamata Lindb.

On tree trunk at 8,000 ft. near Dongen (May ’53). An addition

to the bryology of Nepal.

Frullania pyriflora St.

Epiphytic at 8,000 ft. beyond Papung (May ’53). An addition to

the bryology of Nepal.

Plagiochilla mittenii St.

On wet rocks at 8,000 ft. beyond Papung (May ’53). An addition

to the bryology of Nepal.

Plagiochilla sp.

On moist rocks at 8,000 ft. in Tinjura forest (May 54). The

material agrees with the description of an unidentified specimen given

by Kashyap and referred to as Sp. ‘B.’ from western Himalayas.

Plagiochilla sp.

Also collected from the same locality as the previous specimen.

Does not agree with any described specimen in Kashyap’s Liverworts

of the western Himalayas. Unidentified.

Chiloscyphus sp.

Collected on moist soil and rocks at 8,000 ft. in Tinjura forest

(May ’54). Unidentified.

40 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

The species that possess features of interest are:

Plagiochasma cordatum L. et L.

The pores are large and bound by 4 series of 8 cells. Rarely

there are 5 series, and also there are 9 cells in a ring. The pores are

very much raised from the surface of the thallus. On comparison

with the other available material it was noticed that no other species

had such projecting pores. The radial walls are very thick, and we

do not have any material which has such thick-walled pore-cells. The

epidermal cells also attract attention in having the angles very much

thickened. Plagiochasma appendiculatum is reported to have varia-

‘tions in the number of cells bounding the pores and the trigones are

insignificant. ‘Thus the elevated pores along with the much thickened

radial walls and the prominent trigones mark out the species

from Plagiochasma appendiculatum.

Piagiochasma nepalensis St.

The pores are minute, bound by 4 or 5 cells; and there are two

rings of cells. The radial walls are slightly thickened. The pores are

slightly raised from the surface of the thallus. The epidermal cells

are not angled and the walls are uniformly thickened, although the

thickening is not very heavy. Kashyap (3) has taken his P. simlensis

to be the same as P. nepalensis. On comparison with material which

totally agrees with the description of P. simlensis it is found that the

specimens collected from East Nepai are very different. It is felt that

P. simlensis and P. nepalensis are two different species.

Conocephalum conicum (L.) Necker.

The majority of the smooth and tuberculated rhizoids are twisted

in the material collected from Those and Phaplu. There are some

rhizoids that have few tubercles.

Pellia epiphylla (L.) Lindb.

Macvicar described interlacing thick bands on the walls of the

cells of the midrib for this species as well as for P. nessiana. Speci-

mens of P. epiphylla collected from east Nepal possess interlacing

thick bands in practically the whole of the midrib, even the cells of

the wings possess these bands. In the middle of the smaller cells

there is a single band, while the larger cells may even have two bands.

In a transverse section of the thallus the bands are seen to taper

gradually, and this observation is substantiated in the longitudinal

vertical section as well.

Metzgeria hamata Lindb.

The thallus is strongly convex. The hairs on the midrib are mostly

straight; some curved hairs also occur. The hairs on margins are

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

OHA

1-2 Straight and curve

hamata :

Figs. 1-4 Metzgeria g

Figs. 5-9 Plagiochasma cordatum : 5-6 usual pores, 7-8 pores

umber of cells, 9 epidermal cells with prominent trigones.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

CRS

7 Figs. 10-14 Plagiochasma nepalensis, 10-13 pores in side views and surface views,

14 epidermal cells. Figs. 15-18 Pellia epiphylla; 15 t. v. s. thallus (20 w), 16-17

thickening bands of the midrib and wing respectively, 18 1. v. s. of the thallus. Fig. 19

rhizoids of Conocephalum conicum.

NOTES ON THE LIVERWORT FLORA OF EAST NEPAL 41

in two rows:one row developed from the dorsal surface and directed

upwards, and the other row developed from the ventral surface and

directed downwards. The hairs are mostly curved; some straight hairs

also occur and they are smaller than the curved hairs. Along the margin

also occur hair-like rhizoids with their tips expanded. These rhizoids

have been described by Kashyap (3) as ‘hamate hairs’. I feel that

Kashyap’s Metzgeria himalayensis is not different from Lindberg’s.

hamata. Kashyap has figured curved hairs in his species and under

the synonymy has given Stephani’s Metzgeria curviseta. Lindberg’s

name being the oldest is valid, and Kashyap’s himalayensis goes down

as a synonym.

Dumortiera hirsuta Reinw.

An examination of the material collected from three different

focalities growing under different conditions leads to the conclusion

that all the specimens are referrable to only the one species hirsuta.

The upper epidermal layer is smooth or with a few papillate cells, or

the entire surface is covered with papillate cells, thus the surface is

velutine. These differences in the upper epidermal layer along with

the differences in the length of the carpocephalum are the effect of the

conditions under which the plants grow. Specimens growing under

water have the upper epidermis entire or with a few papillate cells far

apart, and the average length of the carpocephalum is 3.5 cm.; while

specimens growing in exposed situations have the epidermis velutine

and the average length of the carpocephalum is 2.5 cm.

It may also be mentioned here that I collected Sphagnum from

east Nepal; in FAUNA AND FLORA OF NEPAL HIMALAYA (p. 279) Horikawa

mentioned that Sphagnum was non-existent on moist ground in Nepal

Himalayas.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to Dr. S. K. Pande for going through the manuscript

and making valuable suggestions. I would also like to express my

gratitude to the Bombay Natural History Society and Sir Dorabjee

Tata Trust for financing the 1956 tour to East Nepal.

REFERENCES

(1) Chopra, R. S. (1943): Census of (4) Mitten, W. (1860-61): Hepaticae

the Indian Hepatics. Journ. Ind. Bot. Indiae Orientalis. Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc.

Soc. 22. 5 : 18-19.

(2) Horikawa, Y. (1955): in Fauna (5) Pande, S. K. and Ram Udar

and Flora of Nepal Himalaya. Vol. 1. (1957): On the Hepatic flora of Nepal.

Japan. Abstract. Proc. 44th Ind. Sc. Cong.

(3) Kashyap, S. R. (1929-34) : Liver- (6) Stephani, F. (1900-24) : Species

worts of the Western Himalayas and MHepaticearum. Vol. 1-6. Genéve.

Punjab Plains. Vol. land 2. Lahore.

On the Collection, Acclimatisation,

and Transport of Mullet Seed in

West Bengal (India)’

K. K. SAROJINI

(Central Inland Fisheries Research Station, Calcutta)

(With one plate and one text figure)

INTRODUCTION

The culture of grey mullets in embanked brackish-water areas is an

established indigenous industry in the estuarine areas of West Bengal

(Hora and Nair, 1944; Pillay, 1954) and experimental mullet farms

have been established in the State ot Kerala (John, 1948; Pillay, 1948).

Mullets are also cultivated in freshwater ponds in the coastal areas of

West Bengal and in the Madras State (Pillay, 1949; Job and Chacko,

1947).

Culture of mullets in Bengal is carried out in bheris, which are

embanked brackish-water areas in the process of reclamation for paddy

cultivation. The stocking is effected by merely letting in tidal water

which brings in the fry. This is done only during the winter months

when fry of certain quick-growing species of mullets are available.

But along with them come other slow-growing species which usually

form the bulk of the mullets in the bheris. By selective stocking, fish

culture in these bheris could considerably be improved and a greater

production of economically important fishes could be obtained. At

present there is no organised mullet seed industry to cater to the re-

quirements of the fish farmers. For the organisation of such an

industry, a knowledge of the different species of mullets available in

the area, the method of distinguishing the fry of the different species,

the seasons of occurrence of the fry, the types of areas from where they

could be collected, and the methods of collecting, conditioning, and

transporting them is very essential. With the object of obtaining such

information certain observations were carried out on the mullet fry

1 Paper presented at the 7th meeting of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council held at

Bandung, Indonesia in May 1957. Abstract of the paper is being published in the

Proceedings of the Council.

COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED 43

resources of West Bengal and the findings are briefly described in this

paper.

In the field surveys connected with the earlier part of the work,

I received the assistance of Sri J. C. Malhotra of this Station, to whom

my thanks are due.

COLLECTION OF MULLET FRY

The fry of saltwater mullets can be collected from almost all

the estuarine waters in West Bengal up to the tidal zones. But

shallow marginal areas of rivers, tidal streams, creeks, swamps, and

inundated fields are more suitable for their collection. Where a fresh-

water stream joins the river or a brackish-water area, there may

usually be seen schools of mullet fry which swim against a slow

current of water and may then be easily collected in large numbers.

In estuarine and coastal swamps and creeks subject to tides, the fry

are, however, stranded in shallow pools and puddles when the tide

recedes (Plate, fig. 1).

Experimental fishing in the river Hooghly at Bhagbazar during

different periods of the year has shown that the largest catches of

fry can be obtained during the spring ebb tides, just before the high

tide sets in. Collection is often difficult at very high tides when the

current is strong.

In order to examine whether there is any marked lunar periodicity

in the availability of mullet fry as generally believed, quantitative

collections of Mugil parsia try were made from the Hooghly at Calcutta

on every alternate day during four consecutive lunar cycles commenc-

ing from December 1954 to March 1955. The quantitative estimates

of fry collected indicate that there is a somewhat marked periodicity

in the availability of fry of M. parsia in the river at this point.

Collections were richest about 4 to 6 days after the full or new moon.

The causative factor, however, appears to be physical, the strong

tides operative at the time of the full and new moons bringing more

fry farther up the river than at other times. These observations,

however, do not throw any light on the existence or otherwise of a

lunar periodicity in the actual spawning of the species. The quantita-

tive study has also shown that the peak of abundance of M. parsia

fry in the Hooghly is reached during the latter half of February,

their number declining thereafter. By the end of March the fry were

no longer present in the collections at Calcutta.

Small-meshed drag-nets or dip-nets are generally used by the local

fisherfolk for the collection of mullet fry in this State. Where the

river banks are not steep, collections can be made with either of

these two types of nets. The drag-net, locally known as jnhaji jal,

44 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

is rectangular in shape (about 44 ft.x2 ft.) and has two bamboo

sticks attached along its width at the two ends (Plate, fig. 2). Two

persons are required to operate this net, of whom one carries a float-

ing earthen pot tied to his waist for keeping the catches. The net

is held by means of the bamboo sticks at the ends and dragged along

the marginal areas of rivers and in shallow waters. In dragging, the

net forms a hollow in which the fry are collected during the operation.

The common dip-net used is known locally as the chakni jal. It

consists of a circular bamboo frame about 2 ft. to 24 ft. in diameter,

to which is attached a very fine-meshed net which sags in the middle

to form a deep bag. This net is used either as a typical dip-net

(Piate, fig. 3), or as a drag-net by attaching a string to the frame

where it touches the bottom and holding the opposite point of the

frame with the other hand and dragging in shallow inundated areas

(Plate, fig. 4). Sometimes a number of such dip-nets may be operated

in a circle. Basu (1946) has described the use of the coarse cheese-

cloth-like hand-woven towels (gamcha) for the capture of mullet

fry. Pillay (1949) has also commented on this.

Where feasible, especially in rivers, mosquito netting stitched in

the form of a happa (rectangular bag) can also be used, either as a

stationary net where the current is strong, or as a drag-net where the

current is feeble.

SEASONS OF OCCURRENCE OF FRY

Five species of grey mullets are known to be present in the

estuarine waters of West Bengal. Fry of one or more of these are

present in the waters throughout the year.

The surveys undertaken during the present investigations have

shown that fry of M. parsia are available in very large numbers all

along the coastal and estuarine areas of Bengal from December-

January to March; fry of M. cunnesius and M. tade from June-July

to August-September and of M. cersula from August to October. Fry

of M. cephalus are available, though not in abundance, in the coastal

areas of Contai (Junput) and in the lower reaches of the Sundarbans

from March to May.

KEY FOR THE FIELD IDENTIFICATION OF FRY OF BENGAL MULLETS

1. Ventral profile of head arched aes is wee

Ventral profile of head not arched... ess Pes eee

2. Dorsal and ventral profiles of body similar 3

Ventral profile of aoe distinctly more convex than the dorsal

profile .. M. corsula

3. Dorsal profile from first dorsal fin to tip of snout gradually

declivitous . M. parsia

Dorsal profile from first dorsal fin to orbit horizontal and from

orbit to tip of snout declivitous and slightly convex .. M. tade

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COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED 45

4. Ventral profile of head steeply declivitous from tip of snout

to opercle os sy w,

Ventral profile of head from snout to orbit steep and angular,

and arched thereafter .. af a. .. M. cunnesius

M. cephalus

Text-figure 1. The Common Mullet Fry of Bengal.

a. Mugil corsula 27 mm. d. Mugil cephalus 26 mm.

b. Mugil parsia 20 mm. e. Mugil cunnesius 23 mm.

c. Mugil tade 20 mm.

DESCRIPTION OF FRY

Mugil corsula Hamilton

The fry of this species are easily distinguishable by their slender

rounded body, the characteristic profile, and the eyes which, though

not so prominently bulging as in the adult, form a sufficiently reliable

46 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

criterion for their identification. The dorsal profile from D, to the

nape is gradually declivitous, after which it is more or less horizontal

to the tip of the snout. Coloration is dull brown dorsally, extend-

ing to the sides, and dull white and somewhat silvery on the lower

aspects. Fins are a uniform grey.

Proportionate measurements: Head 4.00-4.20 in total and

3.27-3.46 in standard length. Height of body contained 5.40-6.00 in

total and 4.50-4.86 in standard length. Height of head about equal

to its width and contained 1.83-2.10 in its length.

The characteristic bulging eyes of the adults are clearly manifest

by the time the fry attain the fingerling stage.

Mugil parsia Hamilton

The fry of this species have no specially outstanding characteristics.

The body is of medium height and thickness. The ventral profile

of the head is arched. The coloration is light grey dorsally and

silvery on the sides and on the ventral aspects. The outer edges of

the fins are grey.

Proportionate measurements: Head 4.00-5.00 in total and 3.25-

4.25 in standard length. Height of body 4.36-5.00 in total and 3.55-

3.88 in standard length. Height of head greater than its width, being

1.33-1.57 times and 2.00-2.20 times respectively in length of head.

Mugil tade Forskal

The fry of M. tade are slender, and not quite so round in body as

those of M. corsula. Dorsal and ventral profiles of the body are

similar. The coloration is silvery with a tinge of grey on the back.

The fins are uniformly tinged grey.

Proportionate measurements: Head, 3.90-4.75 in total and 3.50-

3.90 in standard length. Height of body 4.86-5.66 in total and 4.00-

4.67 in standard length. Height of head almost equals its width,

being 1.60-1.90 in length of head.

The highly compressed head and pointed snout of the adult are

clearly discernible in the fingerling stage.

Mugil cephalus Linnaeus

M. cephalus fry can be distinguished by the characteristic ventral

profile and the comparatively thicker head. The dorsal profile from

D, to behind the orbit is only very slightly declivitous, but is steeply

so from the orbit to the snout. The proportionate height of the body

is more than in any of the above species. The coloration is dark

COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED 47

grey dorsally, greyish silver on the sides, and silvery on the ventral

aspect. The fins are grey.

Proportionate measurements: Head 4.25-4.47 in total and 3.67-

3.80 in standard length. Height of body 4.33-4.73 in total length and

3.58-3.69 in standard length. Height of head 1.5-1.60 in its length.

Width of head less than its height and contained 1.78-1.88 times in

its length.

Mugil cunnesius Valenciennes

The characteristic features of the fry of this species are the

laterally compressed body and the ventral profile of head which is steep

and angular from tip of snout to orbit and arched thereafter. The

height of body is also more than for any of the other species described

here. The dorsal profile from D, to nape of head is very gradually

declivitous, after which it is somewhat more steep to the tip of the

snout. The coloration is greenish olive dorsally, exiending to about

1 of the sides and silvery below, with a tinge of yellow. The fins are

light and transparent. Fine pigment spots are arranged in rows along

the myotomes on the body. These spots are not clearly visible

in the living condition but can be discerned on freshly caught speci-

mens and become very prominent some time after death and remain

so when preserved in formalin.

Proportionate measurements: Head 4.36-4.73 in total and 3.10-

3.64 in standard length. Height of body greater than length of head,

being 4.00-4.08 in total and 3.08-3.09 in standard length. Height of

head 1.10-1.22, and width of head 1.57-1.83 in its length.

The fingerlings have the characteristic features of the adults, such

as the pointed axillary scale and the dark spot on the base of

the pectoral. The arrangement of pigment spots along the myotomes is

clearly evident in the fingerlings and at this stage the unpaired fins

assume dark margins as seen in the adult.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE ACCLIMATISATION, CONDITIONING, AND

TRANSPORT OF MULLET FRY

Divergent views have been expressed on the suitability of saltwater

mullets for acclimatisation and culture in fresh water (Sarojini, 1951).

The observations of Devanesan and Chacko (1943), Venkatraman

(1944), Ganapati and Alikunhi (1949), Alikunhi and Jhingran (1951)

support the view that mullets can be acclimatised easily by a careful

process of gradual decrease in the salinity of the medium. Panikkar

(1951) has commented on the high adaptability of mullets to lesser

48 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

salinities and their suitability for culture. Hora and Nair (1944) and

Spurgeon (1947) have referred to the migration of mullets from brackish

waters into fresh water and their natural acclimatisation. Pillay

(1949) has recorded the practice of direct transference of mullet fry

caught from the sea at Contai into freshwater ponds by the fishermen

in the area, in which the mortality was negligible. The experiments of

Ganapati et al. (1950) have led them to the conclusion that mullet fry

are very delicate and show a high percentage of mortality during

‘acclimatisation, transport, and thereafter when stocked in fresh water’.

Experiments in the acclimatisation, conditioning, and transport of fry

of M. parsia were undertaken by the present author in order to ascertain

how far this species can be utilised for culture in fresh water.

ACCLIMATISATION

Three series of laboratory experiments in the acclimatisation of

fry collected from estuaries and sea to fresh water were conducted

and the results of these experiments are summarised in Table I.

CONDITIONING AND TRANSPORT

Experiment 1

Fifty fry used in two of the experiments in acclimatisation in series

No. II were transported in tube-well water (0.5%, salinity) in two big

earthen handies (capacity 10 litre) to Barrackpore. The fry were

transported over a distance of 28 miles from Gosaba to Port Canning

by boat, 28 miles from Port Canning to Calcutta, 14 miles from

Calcutta to Barrackpore by train, and 3 miles from Barrackpore

railway station to the laboratory by road. The entire distance was

covered in about 8 hours. The mortality during transport was 6%.

The water in the containers was not changed during transport

and the fry were not fed. At the laboratory they were transferred

to chlorine-free tap water in glass aquaria, where they fed on growths

of algae on stones, twigs, etc. kept in the aquaria. During the period

of observation of one month there was no mortality.

Experiment 2

In this series was studied the effect of acclimatisation and condi-

tioning on the viability of the fry to transport. Fry of M. parsia

15 mm. to 30 mm. long collected from the Bidyadhari River at

Ghutiyari Sharif were used. Parallel experiments in transport were

conducted with earthen handies and with tin carriers. In each case

COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED

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50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

the quantity of water in the container was 22 litres. The results are

tabulated in Table II.

TABLE II

Results of Experiments in the transport of Mullet Fry

Mortality at the

| end of the

State of fry mre hea Nature of| experiment

transported Medium | Salinity | No. of fry souiainen.|: S

Percen-

| | No. tage

1. Conditioned brackish 28.6 300 earthen 8 OFT

water handi

2. Conditioned | brackish 28.6 200 | earthen 1 0.5

water handi

3. Conditioned | fresh 0.89 200 earthen | 3 15

water handi |

4. Conditioned | brackish | 28.6 200 tin | 2 1.0

water carrier |

5. Conditioned fresh 0.89 200 tin | 1 0.5

water carrier | |

6. Conditioned | brackish 28.6 300 tin Tee 237

water | carrier

7. Not brackish | 28.6 200 earthen 14 7.0

conditioned water | handi

8. Not brackish | 28.6 200 tin 2a ce a DO

conditioned water carrier |

At the laboratory, the fry were released into cement cisterns cont-

aining chlorine-free tap water and kept under observation for a period

of about a week during which they were found to thrive well.

Experiment 3:

For the purpose of this experiment M. parsia fry 15 mm. to 30 mm.

long collected from the Hooghly River at Bhagbazar in Calcutta, were

transported in earthen handies containing 20 litres of river water

(salinity 0.4% ). 250 fry were put in each handi and transported in

a motor truck to the laboratory at Pulta over a distance of about

15 miles. The mortality was only 0.6%. A few preliminary experi-

ments were also conducted in the laboratory on the survival rate and

temperature tolerance of these fry and on their artificial feeding.

COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED 51

SURVIVAL OF MULLET FRY

The survival rate of M. parsia fry (10 mm. to 20 mm. long) col-

lected from the Hooghly and transferred to chlorine-free tap water

in aquaria was found to increase when they were given a saline bath

(of about 1% sodium chloride) for about an hour before transfer to

tap water. Even those fry which had become weak due to handling

or due to the jolting during transport were found to revive under

this treatment.

Preliminary laboratory experiments, conducted to determine the com-

parative influence of sodium chloride and calcium chloride on the

survival of M. parsia fry in glass-distilled water, showed that, while

the addition of small quantities of either increased the survival rate

of fry, calcium chloride had comparatively more marked effect on

survival than sodium chloride.

TEMPERATURE TOLERANCE

M. parsia fry (10 mm. to 20 mm. length) kept in tap water in glass

jars were subjected to gradual rise in temperature of the medium from

28° C. to 40° C. in about 24 hours in an incubator. The fry began

to show signs of distress when the temperature reached 39° C. at

the end of 2 hours, and began to die at 40° C. There was 100%

mortality within 4 an hour after reaching the critical temperature of

40° C. even though there was no further rise in temperature.

When river water was used as medium instead of tap water, there

was slight delaying of the distress symptoms but here also all the

fry died within about 45 minutes after reaching the temperature of

40° C.

ARTIFICIAL FEEDING

M. parsia fry (10 mm. to 20 mm. length) kept in glass aquaria were

found to feed avidly on micro-zooplankton and on the fine algal scum

collected from the mud flats exposed at low tide on the banks of the

Hooghly. The zooplankton consisted mainly of minute copepods and

cladocerans, naupliu, rotifers, etc. The larger forms of copepods and

cladocerans were not eaten by the fry. The algal scum consisted

mainly of diatoms and small quantities of myxophyceae.

In all the countries of the Indo-Pacific region, where mullets are

cultured on a large scale, rice-bran is extensively used as an artificial

food for mullets in ponds. 10 mm.-20 mm. size group of M. parsia

fry kept in glass troughs, however, did not take to this artificial diet.

It has not been possible as yet to experiment with larger size groups of

fry. .

52 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Fry of M. parsia of 10 mnr. to 20 mm. length kept in aquaria

were not found to be able to feed on filamentous algae, even when

provided in a semi-decayed condition.

GENERAL REMARKS

The experiments demonstrate that fry of M. parsia can be directly

transferred to fresh water without appreciable mortality, and that the

laborious process of gradual reduction of salinity of the medium for

acclimatisation is not necessary. The direct transfer of fry from sea

water to freshwater ponds practised in pisciculture on the Contai

coast (Pillay, 1949) has its parallel in the Diamond Harbour area

(24-Parganas, West Bengal) where mullet fry collected from the estuary

are directly introduced into freshwater ponds for culture along with

carps. In view of these long standing traditional practices, the

soundness of which is corroborated by the experiments mentioned

above, they deserve to be demonstrated in other parts of the country.

In the absence of suitable culture ponds the present author could not

experimentally study the survival rate of acclimatised fry in ponds.

The aquarium experiments, however, indicate that mullet fry can

survive in fresh water with as much ease as they can be acclimatised.

There is no reason to believe that a fish which can so easily acclimatise

itself to fresh water would not survive if adequate food and other

suitable environmental conditions are available.

With regard to the transport of mullet fry, it is noteworthy that

there is less fry mortality when earthen handies in preference to tin

catriers are used. The only drawback of handies is their liability

to break easily during transport over long distances.

The percentage mortality was found to be less when the number

of fry transported in the container was less, viz. 200 as against the

larger number of 300. Though intermediate densities have not been

tried, a ratio of about 200 fry to 22 litres (i.e. about 10 fry of 15 mm.

to 30 mm. length to a litre) appears to be very suitable for transport

over a duration of about 44 hours. This density may be quite suitable

for transport over longer distances also, but it may be necessary to

change the water in the containers every 5 or 6 hours.

The preliminary survey of mullet fry resources in the State has

shown that fry are available in abundance in coastal and estuarine

areas. Fry of one species or the other can be collected at any time of

the year. Small quantities of fry are collected for stocking freshwater

ponds in certain areas of the State, besides the large quantities that

are taken into the brackish-water bheris during high tides for cultural

purposes. Due to the silting up of rivers many of the bheris in the

upper Sundarbans do not get an adequate supply of fry. There is a

COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, ETC. OF MULLET SEED — 53

definite need for augmenting the supplies by planting fry collected

from rivers. In several districts, especially in the coastal and estuarine

areas, there is great difficulty in procuring adequate quantities of carp

spawn or fry for culture. Under these circumstances it will be

desirable to expand the existing insignificant mullet fry trade in the

State. Among the salt water mullets M. cephalus, M. tade, and M.

parsia are species highly suited for cultivation. M. corsula which

occurs both in sali water and fresh water is already a fairly popular

cultivated fish, even though there is great difficulty in capturing them

in ponds which cannot be drained. An organised trade in the fry of

these species may serve to popularise the cultivation of mullets in

the State.

REFERENCES

Alikunhi, K. H. and Jhingran, V. G.

(1951): Principal freshwater fisheries

and fish culture. INDIAN FISHERIES

(Hand Book), Ministry of Agriculture,

New Delhi, Chapter 5 : 40-47.

Basu, S. P. (1946): Possibilities of

mullet culture in India. Indian Farming

Central Research Institute, Travancore

University, Trivandrum.

Panikkar, N. K. (1951): Problems of

Marine and Estuarine Fisheries. INDIAN

FISHERIES (Hand Book), Ministry of

Agriculture, Govt. of India, Delhi,

Chapter 10: 79-87.

We 517-522.

Devanesan, D. W. and Chacko, P. I.

(1943) : On the possibility of culture of

certain marine mullets in freshwater

tanks. Proc. nat. Inst. Sci. India

9 : 249-250.

Ganapati, S. V. and Alikunhi, K. H.

(1949) : Experiments on the acclimatisa-

tion of saltwater fish seed to fresh water.

Proc. 36th Indian Sci. Congr. Calcutta,

pt. 3: 161 (full paper-Proc. Indian Acad.

Sci. 35 (B) : 93-101).

Ganapati, S. V. et al. (1950) : On the

acclimatisation, transport and culture of

some saltwater fishes in inland waters of

the Madras State. Indian Geogr.,

Journ. 25, (2): 1-15.

Hora, S. L. and Nair, K. K. (1944) :

Suggestions for the development of salt-

water bheris or bhasabadha fisheries in

the Sundarbans. Fishery development

Pamphlet. No 1. Dept. of Fisheries,

Govt. of Bengal, Calcutta.

Job, T. J. and Chacko, P. I. (1947):

Rearing of saltwater fishes in fresh

waters of Madras. Indian Ecol. 2: 1-9.

John, C. C. (1948): Progress report

of the fisheries development scheme,

Pillay, T. V. R. (1948) : A mullet farm

in Cochin State. Indian Farming

9 : 99-103.

— — (1949): On the culture of grey ©

mullets in association with commercial

carps in freshwater tanks in Bengal.

JBNHS 48 : 601-604.

— — (1953): Studies on the food,

feeding habits and alimentary tract of the

grey mullet, M. tade Forskal. Proc.

Nat. Inst. Sci. India., 19 : 777-827.

— — (1954): The ecology of a brackisk.

water bheri, with special reference to the

fish cultural practices and the biotic

inter-action Proc. nat. Inst. Sci. India

20 (4) : 399-427.

Sarojini, K. K. (1951) : The fishery and

biology of the Indian grey mullets—A

review. J. Zool. Soc. India 3: 159-179.

Spurgeon, V. D. (1947): Natural

acclimatisation of two species of mullets,

M. dussumieri (C. & V.) and M. oeur

(Forsk.) to freshwater conditions on the

Nellore coast. Curr. Sci. 16: 123-124.

Venkataraman, R. S. (1944) : Acclima-

tisation of the saltwater mullet M.

seheli to freshwater Curr. Sci. 13: 139.

Studies on Cyprinid Fishes of the

Oriental Genus Chela Hamilton

E. G. SILAS

(With two plates and six text-figures)

CONTENTS

Page

[INTRODUCTION ae iz 2 an ee, ins 54

HIsTORICAL RESUME os a oa a - 54

MATERIAL AND METHODS a, Be e sg ae 55

SYNONYMS OF THE GENUS Chela HAMILTON ae ee he 58

DEFINITION OF THE GENUS Chela HAMILTON a fer A 58

AFFINITIES OF THE GENUS Chela HAMILTON a im a 60

SUBDIVISIONS OF THE GENUS Chela HAMILTON a ue ae 62

SYNOPSIS TO THE SUBGENERA AND SPECIES sg it a 64

SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT = by bs nk As, 65

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE ie ae 2 be ie 97

DISCUSSION EA nis a ei ae Re 97

~ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Aa = ef ~ eS 98

REFERENCES he we PA - a te 98

INTRODUCTION

Recently having had occasion to consider the nomenclatorial status

of certain genera and species of freshwater fishes from India, it was found

that the generic status and composition of Chela, the first division named

by Hamilton (1822) under the composite genus Cyprinus, was in con-

fusion. Smith (1945) made a partial attempt to straighten the tangle, but

writers seem still to adhere to earlier systems of classification, partly on

account of Smith’s work not being accessible as ready reference. Since

1945 some more literature has come out on the taxonomy of these fishes,

and the present revision is therefore undertaken in order to help to avoid

continuance of improper usage and to give an up-to-date classification of

the fishes belonging to Hamilton’s division Chela, which is now recognised

as a distinct genus of the subfamily Abramidinae of the family Cyprinidae.

HISTORICAL RESUME

Under the division Chela of the genus Cyprinus, Hamilton described

a heterogenous assemblage of seven species. The first named species,

1 Also cited in earlier literature as Hamilton-Buchanan.

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 55

Cyprinus (Chela) cachius Hamilton was made the type of the genus Chela

by Bleeker (1863, p. 215). The remaining six species, namely Cyprinus

(Chela) atpar, C. (Chela) laubuca, C. (Chela) phulo, C. (Chela) gora, C.

(Chela) morar, and C. (Chela) bacaila, are at present referable to at least

three different genera. In view of Bleeker’s restriction of Cyprinus (Chela)

cachius as the type of Chela, the two species C. (Chela) atpar and C.

~ (Chela) laubuca are also to be included under it. Of these two species,

_ Hamilton’s description conclusively shows that C. atpar represents adult

- specimens of C. cachius, which makes the former a synonym of the latter,

as the specific name cachius has priority over atpar. That leaves two

- species, namely cachius and laubuca, from Hamilton’s list of fishes that

_ may be recognised as truly belonging to the genus Chela.

| McClelland (1839) described a number of species, including Hamilton’s

_ species of Chela under the genus Perilampus, but did not indicate any

type and this state of affairs lasted until Bleeker (1863, p. 258) designated

_ Perilampus devario McClelland the type. The fact that P. devario Mc-

Clelland is identical with Cabdio devario Hamilton, a species of the genus

Danio Hamilton, makes Perilampus a synonym of Danio.

In describing a new genus Laubuca, Bleeker (1863) indicated

McClelland’s species Perilampus guttatus as the type; but, the latter

being a synonym of Chela laubuca Hamilton, Laubuca Bleeker auto-

matically becomes a synonym of Chela Hamilton.

Ginther (1868) described two new genera, the first Eustira with

Eustira ceylonensis Giinther as the type, and the second Cachius with

Chela atpar Hamilton as the type. I have elsewhere (Silas, 1956) discussed

reasons for considering Eustira Giinther a synonym of Danio Hamilton.

As already indicated, Chela cachius Hamilton replaces Chela atpar Hamil-

ton, and this naturally makes Cachius Giinther a synonym of Chela

Hamilton.

Besides these, some of the species at present referable to the genus

Chela Hamilton have been placed at one time or the other under the

genera Leuciscus, Paradanio, etc. by Bleeker, Day, and other ichthyolo-

gists.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

i. Material:—The material examined includes both registered

and unregistered specimens of the genus in the fish collection of the

‘Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta ; five specimens of Chela laubuca,

received on loan from the Colombo Museum, Ceylon; the type and

paratypes of Laubuca siamensis Fowler in the Academy of Natural

Sciences, Philadelphia ; those in the collection of the U.S. National

Museum, Washington D.C., and those collected by me from different

parts of India, all being listed under the respective species,

56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

ii. Methods :—Besides the standard measurements and counts

generally adopted by ichthyologists, a few additional measurements and

counts were made (Text-figurel). The predorsal distance is measured

33 34

Text-figure 1.—Schematic drawing of a hypothetical Chela showing salient

characters of external morphology and colour pattern. 1—total length ; 2—standard

length ; 3—predorsal distance ; 4—dorsal to base of caudal; 5—length of head ;

6—length of snout; 7—diameter of eye; 8—post-orbital distance of head ; 9—

shoulder spot ; 10—mid-dorsal stripe ; 1l1—anterior part of the dark mid-lateral

stripe ; 12—transverse row of scales ; 13—dark vertical stripe ; 14—-superficial lateral

stripe ; 15—Circular spots (when present situated along the dark mid-lateral stripe from

the angle of the gill opening to below the dorsal fin) ; 16—posterior part of the dark

mid-lateral stripe; 17—posterior part of the superficial lateral stripe ; 18—height of

body ; 19—lateral line row of scales; 20—least height of caudal peduncle ; 21—

precaudal spot; 22—subpeduncular stripe ; 23—Caudal peduncle ; 24—supra-anal

streak ; 25—sheath of scales at base of anal fin ; 26—length of longest anal finray ;

27—length of base of anal fin ; 28—preventral distance ; 29—axillary scale ; 30—

length of pectoral fin ; 31—length of pelvic fin ; 32—pre-anal distance ; 33—origin

of anal fin to base of caudal fin ; 34—length of caudal fin ; 35—height of dorsal fin

(length of longest ray).

from the tip of the snout to the insertion of the first dorsal ray. The

post-dorsal and post-anal distances are measured from the point of

insertion of the first rays of these fins to the posterior end of the caudal

peduncle, to which point also the standard length is measured from the

tip of the snout, In measuring the length of the fins, the length of the

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 57

longest ray from its base to the tip is taken. This is generally the last

undivided ray of the dorsal and anal fins and the first ray of the pectoral

and pelvic fins. The last branched dorsal and anal rays when divided to

the base are also counted as single rays. The length of the caudal

peduncle is measured from the posterior end of the base of the anal fin

to the centre of the base of the caudal fin.

The predorsal scales are counted in a straight line between the occiput

and the insertion of the first dorsal ray. In the enumeration of the

number of lateral line scales, all the tube-bearing scales commencing

from the upper angle of the gill-opening are counted. When the lateral

line is absent or incomplete, the lateral linear scales are counted from the

upper angle of the gill-opening to the base of the caudal fin in a straight

line. The transverse line of scales are the number of scales in the oblique

series between the mid-dorsal row and the origin of the pelvic fin and when

expressed as follows : 7/1/'3 ; 7-denotes the rows of scales above the lateral

line, 1—the lateral line row, and 3—the scale rows between the lateral

line and the origin of the pelvic fin.

ii. Terminology of colour pattern :—The impor-

tance of basic colour pattern in distinguishing species and subspecies

among cyprinid fishes has been commented on in recent years by Hubbs

and Raney (1947), Brittain (1954), and others. Forselius (1957) has

drawn attention to the significance of colour markings and colour patterns

in another group of freshwater fishes, the Anabantidae. The species of

Chela when alive are more or less transparent but, when placed in

formalin, they exhibit certain definite and characteristic colour patterns,

an enumeration of which it is felt will be useful in such a revision.

Besides individual variations, both juvenile and adult colour patterns

differ to a certain extent, but the basic colour pattern in the adult form is

more or less constant and hence may be used in specific and infraspecific

distinctions. The golden and metallic blue reticulate colour markings in

species of Chela seen on the sides of the anterior half of the body disappear

shortly after the specimens are placed in the preservative and hence are

not indicated in the accompanying figure. The basic colour patterns are

indicated below and the terminology given will be used in the descrip-

tions of the species.

a. Dark mid-lateral stripe (Figure 1: 16): This is a dark stripe

found along the mid-lateral line of the body, but varying in extent and

width in different species. In some it is confined only to the posterior

part of the body, being more prominent on the caudal peduncle, while in

others it extends in the form of a broad stripe up to the posterior margin

of the orbit and from the anterior margin of the orbit to the angle of the

mouth. In the live condition, this band appears to be superimposed

58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

by a metallic silvery band, a ‘marking’ which is lost when the specimen

is placed in the preservative.

b. Superficial lateral stripe (Figure 1:17) : When present, this

is confined to the posterior half of the body and is situated above the

dark mid-lateral stripe. It is better defined on the caudal peduncle. _

c. Mid-dorsal stripe (Figure 1:10): This represents the dark stripe

running from the occiput to the origin of the dorsal fin in some of the

species. Rarely, in a less pronounced nature, it may also extend along

the mid-dorsal line from the posterior end of the base of the dorsal fin

to the base of the caudal fin. |

d. Shoulder spot (Figure 1:9): This is a dark black spot, situated

behind the angle of the operculum above the base of the pectoral fin.

e. Dark vertical stripes (Figure 1:13): These may be present in

the form of 4 to 5 short vertical blackish stripes on the sides of the body

above the pectoral fins.

f. Circular spots (Figure 1:15): When present they are found along

the dark mid-lateral stripe on the side of the body anteriorly.

g. Precaudal spot (Figure 1:21): This represents a dark blotch,

often diffuse, at the base of the caudal fin on the caudal peduncle.

h. Sub-peduncular stripe (Figure 1:22): This represents a dark

stripe running from the posterior end of the base of the anal fin to the

caudal fin along the mid-ventral line of the caudal peduncle.

i. Supra-anal streak (Figure 1:24): This represents a row of black

pigment spots which takes the form of a narrow streak running more or

less parallel to the base of the anal fin below the lateral line.

Besides these, the fins are sometimes dusky or dirty white and in

some species are also tipped with grey.

SYNONYMS OF THE GENUS CHELA HAMILTON

Chela Hamilton, 1822, Fish. Ganges, pp. 258, 383 (Type : Cyprinus (Chela) cachius

Hamilton, as restricted by Bleeker).

Laubuca Bleeker, 1860, Ichth. Archipel. Indici, Prodr., 2, Cyprini. (Type: Peri-

lampus guttatus McClelland = Cyprinus (Chela) laubuca Hamilton).

Cachius Giinther, 1868, Catal. Fish. Brit. Mus., 7: 339 (Type: Cachius atpar

(Hamilton) = Cyprinus (Chela) cachius Hamilton).

DEFINITION OF THE GENUS CHELA HAMILTON

In addition to the Indian and Thailand species of Chela that I have

examined, the excellent descriptions of the Sumatran and Thailand species

given by Weber and de Beaufort (1916) and Smith (1931, 1945) respective-

ly have helped in drawing up the following redescription of the genus:

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 2p)

Fishes of the genus Chela Hamilton are small in size being less than

about three inches in standard length and found frequenting streams,

tanks, and ponds. The body is almost always strongly compressed,

Text-figure 2.—Outline drawings of six Chela species showing some diagnostic

characters. (a) Chela (Chela) cachius Hamilton; (6) Chela;(Neochela) dady-

burjori (Menon); (c) Chela (Chela) caeruleostigmata (Smith) ; (d) Chela (Chela) mouhoti

Smith ; (e) Chela (Allochela) maassi (Weber & de Beaufort). (f) Chela (Chela) laubuca

Hamilton. Figures a & f are after Day (1878) : b after Menon (1952): c & d after

Smith (1945) and e after Weber & de Beaufort (1916). Full scalation is not shown.

deep or moderately so, and the abdominal edge is partly or almost wholly

cultrate. In some species the abdomen is cultrate only between and

behind the pelvic fins and backwards up to the vent. The mouth is

60 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 55 (1)

small and is directed obliquely or almost vertically upwards. The cleft

of the mouth reaches to a vertical below the anterior margin of the eye or

is far removed from it, but never extends to beneath or behind the eye.

The eyes are large and are placed more in the anterior half of the head. A

symphysial knob or hook is absent in the lower jaw. The barbels are .

totally absent. The lateral line is either complete, incomplete, or absent;

when complete, it curves more or less abruptly downwards towards the

pectorals and runs along the lower half of the body, terminating in the

lower half of the base of the caudal fin. The scales along it number 30 to

66. When incomplete, the lateral line pierces only a few of the anterior

scales. The predorsal scales commence from the occiput, far behind the

eyes. An anal sheath consisting of a row of scales is present. The

dorsal fin is situated completely opposite the anal fin and its point of

origin is never ahead of that of the latter. The dorsal fin is short, with

9 to 13 rays of which the first two or three rays are simple and unbranched,

the last undivided ray being weak and articulated. The pectoral fins are

long and pointed, the length of each fin being much greater than the length

of the head. The pectorals generally extend considerably beyond the

origin of the pelvic fins. The pectoral fin is provided with 9 to 13 rays,

of which the outermost ray is undivided and elongate. In addition two or

three short undivided rays may be present at the inner angle of

the pectoral fin in certain species. The pelvic fin has 5 to 7 rays, of which

the outer undivided ray is elongated and filamentous in some of the species.

The anal fin is long or moderately so and possesses 13 to 26 rays of which

the first two or three rays are undivided. The caudal fin is forked and

has 17 to 19 complete rays; the caudal lobes are pointed and equal or

slightly subequal in length. The gill-openings extend on the ventral

surface to almost below a vertical from the eye. The pharyngeal teeth

are arranged in three rows as 5, 4 or 3, 2 or 1/1 or 2, 3 or 4, 5, and are

uncinate. Branchiostegeals number 3. The air-bladder is bipartate,

the posterior chamber being the larger. The body coloration differs

in the different species.

Distribution :—Ceylon, India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand,

Malaya, and Sumatra.

AFFINITIES OF THE GENUS CHELA HAMILTON

Although this settles the question of the generic status and validity

of Hamilton’s division Chela, the fact that earlier workers (Giinther 1868 ;

Day 1878; Weber and de Beaufort 1916, and others) have erroneously

included under it species which at present have to find a place elsewhere

has necessitated further clarification. Smith (1945) favoured the

use of the name Oxygaster van Hasselt as being valid for the species

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 61

other than Chela included by the above mentioned authors under the

latter. In 1951 I gave a list of the Indian species of the genus Chela

(= Oxygaster van Hasselt), but it is now evident that all the Indian species

mentioned therein cannot be included under Oxygaster, as that genus

is restricted at present. However, for the time being it is proposed to

retain those species under Oxygaster, until a revision of them, which is

very badly needed, is undertaken. In Oxygaster s. str., as in Chela

Hamilton, the body is greatly compressed and the abdomen is cultrate,

but the following characters help to distinguish the two genera :

Predorsal scales extending to interorbital space ; lateral line gently

curved ‘downwards above pectorals; a symphysial knob in

lower jaw fittingi nto a corresponding emargination of upper

jaw present o i, Ss . Oxygaster

Predorsal scales not extending to interorbital space ; lateral line

curved more or less abruptly downwards above pectorals; a

symphysial knob or hook absent in lower jaw .. Chela

In addition to these, at least 24 genera of the subfamily Abramidinae

are recognised at present from south-east Asia, although the status of

some of them as well as those proposed by earlier workers and at present

relegated as synonyms needs elucidation. The relationships of Chela

to the different genera recognised at present are discussed here.

The absence of predorsal scales in the interorbital space and a

symphysial knob or hook in the lower jaw help in distinguishing Chela

from Macrochirichthys Bleeker, a genus closely allied to Oxygaster van

Hasselt. In the absence of barbels, Chela differs from Nematabramis

Boulenger, a genus characterised by the presence of a pair of long

maxillary barbles and at present known from the East Indian Archipelago.

Although, as in Chela, the dorsal fin in the Thailand and Bornean genus

Parachela Steindachner is placed opposite the anal fin, the absence of

pelvic fins in the latter serves to distinguish it from the former. In this

connection it may be mentioned that the presence or absence of pelvic

fins as constituting a character of generic importance has been questioned

by some workers in other groups of fishes (e.g. Cyprinodontiformes and

Ophicephaliformes). Even if this character were to be dropped, Parachela

may still have to be kept apart as a separate genus on account of (1) the

symphysial knob it possesses and (ii) the very long anal fin it has with

30 to 35 branched rays.

The position of the dorsal fin in Chela (opposite and never ahead of the

anal fin) and the absence of a symphysial knob in the lower jaw help in

separating it from the genera Longiculter Fowler from Thailand,

Paralaubuca Bleeker from Thailand and the Malaya Archipelago,

Cultrops Smith from Thailand, and Rasborichthys Bleeker from Malaya

62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Archipelago and Indo-China. Longiculter Fowler also differs from

Chela in the possession of biserial instead of triserial pharyngeal teeth.

The situation of the dorsal fin opposite the interspace between the

pelvic and anal fins and rarely extending over the anal fin serves as a

diagnostic character in separating the Chinese genera Hemiculter Bleeker,

Cultriculus Oshima, Anabarilius Cockerell (= ? Ischikauia Jordan and

Snyder), Metzia Jordan and Thompson, Rohanus Chu, Parapelucus

Giinther, Pseudolaubuca Bleeker, Toxabramis Giinther, Hemiculterella

Warpachowski, Chanodichthys Bleeker, Culter Basilewasky, Parabramis

Bleeker, Megalobrama Dybowski, Luciobrama Bleeker, Nicholsiculter —

Rendahl, etc. from Chela, where the origin of the dorsal fin is never in

advance of that of the anal fin. Other equally important characters,

such as the biserial instead of the triserial pharyngeal teeth (e.g.

Toxabramis Giinther, Hemicultrella Warpachowski), the terminal or

subterminal instead of the obliquely vertical or almost vertical mouth (e.g.

Parabramis Bleeker), the dorsal fin with the first one or two rays spinous

instead of non-osseous, weak, undivided, and articulated (e.g. Culter

Basilewasky, Hemiculter Bleeker, and Toxabramis Giinther, where the

dorsal spine is serrated in two rows), etc., help in separating the Chinese

genera from Chela.

It may be mentioned here that the Asiatic genera at present placed

under the subfamily Abramidinae exhibit such diverse affinities that it

would seem that the grouping is one more of convenience than a natural

assemblage. Some of the genera show considerable affinities to the

Leuciscinae and the Rasborinae, while the systematic position of certain

others needs clarification. However, it is interesting to note that Chela

is more akin to the other Abramidinae found in Thailand and the Malayan

Sub-Region, than to those found in China. In fact, the differences

between the Chinese and the remaining south-east Asiatic genera of

Abramidinae appear to be rather very well marked.

SUBDIVISIONS OF THE GENUS CHELA HAMILTON

Attempts have been made in the past to subdivide the genus Chela

into two or more groups or subgenera. In 1916, Weber and de Beaufort

recognised Eustira Giinther as a subgenus of Laubuca Bleeker (= Chela

Hamilton) and remarked :

‘We do not think that the genus Eustira Giinther is generically distinct from

Laubuca ; we therefore give it only the value of a subgenus ; containing Eustira

ceylonensis Gthr. and our Eustira maassi’.

Eustira was distinguished from Laubuca on the nature of the lateral

line ; it being gently curved downwards in Laubuca s. str., and abruptly

curved downwards in the former. I have elsewhere shown that Eustira

Giinther is a synonym of Danio Hamilton (Silas, 1957) and the subgenus

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 63

of Laubuca to which Weber and de Beaufort assigned the name Eustira

is thus left without a valid name.

In this connection, I have looked into the desirability of subdividing

the genus and find that the species may be more conveniently grouped

under three subgenera, two of which are proposed here as new.

Attention may be drawn to the fact that the character chosen earlier

for subdividing the genus, namely whether the lateral line is gently

curved down orabruptly curved down, may not be of primary importance,

for, when compared to certain genera of the subfamily Abramidinae, such

as Oxygaster, Macrochirichthys, Rasborichthys, Chanodichthys, Culter,

etc., the lateral line in Chela, Cultriculus, and certain other cultrid genera

is definitely more sharply curved downwards from above the pectoral fin.

This appears to be the condition in all the species of Chela with complete

- lateral line like those I have examined ; at the same time, the distance bet-

ween the lateral line and the mid-ventral line or the origin of the pelvic

fin, when expressed as number of rows of scales, differs in the different

species, which definitely fall into two natural groups. Hence, this is

considered here as one of the characters for subdividing the genus.

In distinguishing genera and subgenera of the subfamilies Abramidinae

and Rasborinae, due consideration is given to whether the lateral line

is complete, incomplete, or absent. There is only one species of Chela

in which the lateral line is incomplete or absent, and in this respect it

Occupies a unique position, on account of which it is relegated under a

separate subgenus. In addition to the importance of the nature of the

squamation in recognising natural groups in the genus Chela, the greatest

depth of the body and the number of anal fin rays are additional characters

for separating the species which fall into three subgenera as follows :

I. Chela (sensu stricto): Lateral line complete; 24 (generally 3+)

to 6 rows of scales between lateral line and base of pelvic fin ;

11 to17 rows of scales in a transverse series from the mid-dorsal

tow to the base of the pelvic fin occurring as : 6-12/1/23-6 ;

anal fin with 19 to 26 rays of which the first two or three rays

are simple and undivided; (the greatest height of the body is

contained 2.15 to 4.1 in the standard length).

Two species groups of Chela s. str., are recognised here as follows :

1. Cachius-group

Scales smaller, much more numerous on the body ; lateral line with

51 to 66 scales ; scale rows above lateral line 9 to 12; predorsal scales

235 to 29.

The genotype, Chela (Chela) cachius Hamilton, belongs to this

species-group.

64 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

2. Laubuca-group

Scales relatively larger; lateral line with 31 to 37 scales; scale rows

above lateral line 6 to 9 ; predorsal scales 15 to 21.

The following three species belong to this species-group :

Chela (Chela) laubuca Hamilton

Chela (Chela) caeruleostigmata (Smith)

Chela (Chela) mouhoti Smith

Il. Allochela (New subgenus) :_ Lateral line complete ; not more

than two rows of scales between lateral line and base of pelvic

fin ; 9 to 10 rows of scales in a transverse series from the mid-

dorsal row to base of pelvic fin occurring as 6-7/1/1-2; anal

with 13 to 18 rays of which the first three rays are simple and

undivided ; (the greatest height of the body is contained 3.3 -

to 4.3 in the standard length).

Chela (Allochela) fasciatus subgen. et sp. nov. (Designated as

the type of the new subgenus)

Chela (Allochela) maassi (Weber and de Beaufort)

Ill. Neochela (New subgenus): Lateral line incomplete or absent ;

7 or 8 rows of scales in a transverse series from the mid-dorsal

row to the base of the pelvic fin; anal with 14 to 15 rays of

which the first three rays are simple and undivided ; (the greatest

height of the body is contained 4.0 to 5.16 in the standard

length).

Chela (Neochela) dadyburjori (Menon)

(Designated as the type of the new subgenus)

SYNOPSIS TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE SUBGENERA AND SPECIES

OF THE GENUS CHELA HAMILTON

I. Lateral line complete.

A. 11 to 17 rows of scales in a transverse series from

mid-dorsal row to base of pelvic fin occurring as

6-12/1/24-6; anal fin with 19 to 26 rays of which

the first two or three rays are simple and un-

divided (Chela s.str.)

1. Scales in Jateral line 51 to 66 ; scale rows above

lateral line 9 to 12 ; predorsal scales 23 to 29.. Chela (Chela) cachius

Hamilton

2. Scales in lateral line 31 to 37 ; scale rows above

lateral line 6 to 9 ; predorsal scales 15 to 21.

a. Greatest height of body 2.8 to 3.6 in standard

length ; anal rays 2/17-18 (a dark shoulder

spot and precaudal spot, both connected by

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 65

the narrow dark lateral stripe, sometimes

not so clearly defined in the anterior half of

the body. g. aA .. Chela (Chela) laubuca

Hamilton

b. Greatest height of body 2.15 to 2.25 in stand-

ard length ; anal rays 2/22-23... :

i. Scales in lateral line 34 to 35 ; 8 to 9 rows of

scales above lateral line and 3 to 5 rows

between it and base of pelvic fin ; 12 to 13

rows of scales round caudal peduncle ;

shoulder spot blackish green ; 4 to 5 short

dark vertical stripes above pectoral fins on

sides of body. ae % .. Chela (Chela) caeruleo-

stigmata (Smith)

ii. Scales in lateral line 31; 7 rows of scales

above lateral line and 5 rows between it

and base of pelvic fin; 14 rows of scales

round caudal peduncle; conspicuous

round blackish shoulder spot; no dark

vertical stripes. .. BH .. Chela (Chela) mouhoti

Smith

B. 9 to 10 rows of scales in a transverse series from

mid-dorsal row to base of pelvic fin occurring as

6-7/1/1-2 ; anal fin with 13 to 18 rays of which

the first 3 rays are simple and undivided (Allo-

chela subgen. nov.). -

1. Anal fin-rays 3/14-15 ; predorsal scales 18 ; (pen-

insular India) ee é .. Chela (Allochela) fascia-

ta sp. nov.

2. Anal fin-rays 3/10; predorsal scales 20 ; (Suma-

tra) = ids te .. Chela (Allochela) maassi

Weber and de Beaufort

Il. Lateral line incomplete or absent (Neochela subgen. nov.).

(Lateral line absent or when present piercing only a

few anterior scales) on = .. Chela (Neochela) dady-

burjori (Menon)

SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT

As this revision is aimed at indicating the precise specific limits of

the different species, opportunity is also taken to draw attention to varia-

tions that may be expected to occur within species limits or certain charac-

ters of those species of which material is available. It has been possible

to carry out a detailed study of Chela (Chela) laubuca from samples from

different geographical areas along its range of distribution and the results

point to a certain amount of correlation between the variations observed

in the body proportions, fin ray and scale counts, and the geographical

location, in some cases of sufficient magnitude to recognise geographical

races or subspecies. ‘These trends are indicated here.

66 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Genus Chela Hamilton

Subgenus CHELA S. Str.

Cachius-group

Chela (Chela) cachius Hamilton

(Text-figure 2, a)

Cyprinus (Chela) cachius Hamilton (Buchanan), Fish. Ganges, pp. 258, 384 (1822).

Type locality : River Ganges, about the commence:

ment of the Delta. Type not preserved.

Cyprinus (Chela) atpar Hamilton (Buchanan), Fish. Ganges, pp. 259, 384 (1822).

Type locality: Branches of the Ganges, the Jumna,

and the Brahmaputra rivers. Type not preserved.

Chela atpar Gray, Ill. Indian Zool., pl. xcvi, fig. 2 (1834). '

Perilampus psilopteromus McClelland, Asiat. Res. 19, pp. 289, 396 (1839). Based

on Hamilton’s description of Cyprinus atpar and MS,

drawing of Cyprinus loyukula. Locality : Bengal.

Perilampus cachius McClelland, Asiat. Res. 19, pp. 290, 396, pl. xlvi, fig. 4 (1839).

From Hamilton’s MSS.

Chela anastoma Swainson Nat. Hist. Fish. etc. 2, p. 258 (1839). After the draw-

ing of C. atpar given by Gray, from Hamilton’s collec-

tion.

Cyprinus atpar Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 16, p. 454 (1842).

Cyprinus kachius Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 16, p. 453 (1842). After Hamil-

ton’s C. cachius.

Perilampus macropodus Jerdon, Madras Journ. Litt. & Sci. 15, p. 325 (1849).

Type locality : Cauvery River near its source in Coorg,

south India.

Leuciscus cachius Bleeker, Verh. Batav. Genootsch. 25, p. 66 (1853).

Leuciscus atpar Bleeker, Verh. Batav. Genootsch. 25, p. 66 (1853).

Paradanio elegans Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 297 (1867). Type locality :

Bowany river (Tributary of the Cauvery river), south

India.

Cachius atpar Gunther, Catal, Fish. Brit. Mus. 7, p. 339 (1868).

Perilampus atpar Day, Fish. India 2, p. 598, pl. cli, fig. 6 (1878) ; Fauna Brit. India,

Fish, p. 359 (1889); Fowler, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Philadelphia 716, p. 73 (1924).

Perilampus cachius Raj, Rec. Indian Mus. 12, p. 261, (1916).

BD. 2/7-8: Po A /8d | Ve 1s 0319203 ee oe

L. tr. 9-12/ 1/3-5

Description: The head is contained 4.44 to 5.77 in the total

and 3.5 to 4.44 in the standard length. The height of the body is about

4.0 to 5.83 in the total and 3.25 to 4.6 in the standard length. The width

of the body is contained about 9.75 to 12.75 in the total and 7.66 to 10.0

in the standard length. The mouth is slightly oblique, the cleft not

extending to below the anterior margin of the eye. The height of the

head at occiput is contained 1.3 to 2.0; the width of the head 1.57 to 2.33

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 67

and the length of the snout 3.2 to 5.5 in the head length. The eye is

situated much closer to the tip of the snout than to the posterior margin

of the head and its diameter is contained 2.75 to 4.00 in the head length ;

0.66 to 1.0 in the snout length and 1.16 to 2.0 in the interorbital distance.

The last said is contained about 1.75 to 2.57 in the head length, which in

turn is contained 0.83 to 1.27 in the greatest height of the body. The

height of the body is proportionately greater in larger examples. The

caudal peduncle is longer than deep, its least height being contained 1.2

to 1.75 in its length.

The distance from the tip of the snout to the origin of the dorsal fin

is contained 1.35. to 1.62 ; the origin of the dorsal to the base of the caudal

fin 2.34 to 3.1 ; the tip of the snout to the origin of the anal fin 1.35 to

1.8 ; the origin of the anal fin to the base of the caudal fin 1.8 to 2.85 ;

the tip of the snout to the origin of the pelvic fin 2.58 to 3.37, and the dis-

tance from the origin of the pelvic fin to the base of the caudal fin 1.29

to 1.54 in the standard length. The distance from the tip of the snout to

the origin of the dorsal fin is 1.47 to 2.0 times the distance from the origin

of the dorsal fin to the base of the caudal fin ; the tip of the snout to the

origin of the anal fin 1.21 to 1.71 times the origin of the anal fin to the

_ base of the caudal fin and the origin of the pelvic fin to the base of the

caudal fin 1.8 to 2.71 times the distance from the tip of the snout to the

- origin of the pelvic fin.

The height of the dorsal fin is contained about 1.1 to 1.9 in the greatest

height of the body. The paired fins are much longer than the head and

the pectoral extends considerably beyond the origin of the pelvic fin.

The pectoral fin is 1.1 to 1.5 times and the pelvic fin is 1.14 to 2.1 times

longer than the head. The outer pelvic fin ray is elongated into a filamen-

tous process, which reaches usually as far back as the posterior third of

the anal fin. The longest anal fin ray is slightly shorter than the length of

the head. The caudal fin is a little longer than the head, its length being

contained 4.0 to 5.4 in the total and 2.87 to 4.44 in the standard length.

The abdomen is keeled only between and behind the pelvic fins. The

pelvic fin in cachius is situated considerably forward than in the other

species. }

The lateral line scales range from 51 to 66, while the predorsal scales

number 23 to 29. There are 15 to 17 rows of scales round the narrowest

part of the caudal peduncle. 3 to 5 rows of scales are present between

the lateral line and the origin of the pelvic fin in an oblique series and 9

to 12 rows between the lateral line and the mid-dorsal row along the

deepest part of the body.

No conspicuous colour markings are present in this species. When

alive the specimens are more or less transparent. Formalin-preserved

specimens show the following characteristics. The dark lateral stripe

68 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

is greatly reduced to a narrow black streak running from the upper angle

of the gill-opening and extending to about four scales away from the base

of the caudal fin. A conspicuous shoulder spot is absent, but a few black

pigment spots occur about the base of the pectoral fin. The superficial

lateral stripe is represented as a narrow pigmented lighter band above the

dark lateral streak. It is more or less clear up to a vertical above the

middle of the pectoral fin, but anteriorly it becomes very light. The

mid-dorsal stripe is narrow, greyish brown, and runs from the occiput to

the base of the caudal fin. The supra-anal streak is present, though not

THAILAND

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF

Chela (Chela) cachtus HAMILTON

Text-figure 3.—Map showing the general distribution of Chela (Chela) cachius

Hamilton.

very pronounced. Dark minute pigment spots are present in all the fins

giving them a light greyish colour. The scales on the upper half of the

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 69

body are edged dark greyish brown while those on the lower half of the

body are silvery. The supra and infra orbital margins are coloured black.

Distribution: India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Burma.

General Remarks: The redescription of cachius given above

is based on material examined by me from India. There appears to be

an increase in the fin ray counts, lateral line scales, etc. in specimens from

north India when compared to those from peninsular India. Correla-

tion in these and other morphometric characters in relation to the latitude

in which the species is found may eventually lead to the recognition of

geographical races or subspecies. That being the case, in addition to

the discussion on the synonyms, it is not out of place to consider here the

availability of names already in existence which are now placed in the

synonymy of the species for future subspecific designation.

That cachius and atpar are one and the same is now clear from Hamil-

ton’s description and drawings of the species and also from the material

before me. Gray (1834) published a drawing of atpar from Hamilton’s

collection (pl. xcvi, fig. 2 of II]. Indian Zool., 2) and this was designated

later by Swainson (1839) as Chela anastoma. Perilampus psilopteromus

McClelland is based on Hamilton’s description and figure of C. atpar.

McClelland mentions one other name, C. loyukula, from Hamilton’s

collection in the synonymy of psilopteromus and there is no mention of

loyukula in subsequent works. There are discrepancies in the descrip-

tions and Hamilton’s drawing of atpar, and this is specially so in the depic-

tion of the scalation, which may lead one to confuse the drawing of atpar

with that of Jaubuca! There are numerous instances in Hamilton’s

work, where such differences between the description and the drawing

can be pointed out, and in this case atpar is shown as possessing lesser

number of scales on the body. But the absence of the characteristic

shoulder spot of Jaubuca, the considerably elongate pelvic fin, and the

more forward insertion of the latter should easily help in

distinguishing Hamilton’s drawing of atpar (=cachius) from that of

laubuca.

Perilampus macropodus Jerdon, from the headwaters of the Cauvery

river near Coorg, is no doubt referable to the synonymy of cachius, al-

though Giinther (1868) placed it as a doubtful species under the genus

Danio Hamilton. Jerdon’s description of macropodus is brief, but the

following characters namely, * Pectoral fin long ; ventral fin with the 1st

ray longer than pectoral; green above, silvery beneath, fins yellowish

.... help in separating it from Jaubuca which also occurs in

the Cauvery. In 1867, Day described a new species, Paradanio elegans

from the Bowany river, a tributary of the Cauvery, but later (1872)

rightly relegated it to the synonymy of atpar. Jerdon’s macropodus

70 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

and Day’s elegans are from the same watershed and are identical. In

view of this, as already noted, if any subspecies of cachius is recognised

from the Cauvery watershed, the availability of the name macropodus

which has priority over elegans is pointed out here.

Materialexamined:1 222 specimens from the Bhavani

River, tributary of the Cauvery River, south India, collected by S. Rajan ;

2 specimens from a stream on the Sagar-Shimoga Road, Shimoga Dt.,

Mysore (Z.S.I. No. F. 12374/1); 1 specimen from Tunga River at

Shimoga, Mysore (Z.S.I. No. F. 12375/1); 41 specimens from the

Bhadra River at Bhadravati, Shimoga Dt., Mysore (Z.S.I. No. F. 12376/1) ;

4 specimens from the Tunga River at Shimoga, Mysore (Z.S.I. No. F.

12377/1) ; 11 specimens from Mahanadi River before its junction with

the Balka Nallah about 3 miles from Sihawa, Orissa, collected

on 14-12-1939 (Z.S.I. No. F. 13144/1) ; 12 specimens from Balka Nallah

about 3 miles from Sihawa, Orissa, collected on 14-12-1939 (Z.S.I. No.

F, 13145/1); 1 specimen from Mahanadi irrigation canal, Rudri,

Orissa (Z.S.I. No. F. 13146/1) ; 1 specimen from Dr. F. Day’s collection

from Orissa (Z.S.I. Cat. No. 914) ; 1 specimen from Goalpara, collected

by H. S. Higston (Z.S.I. Cat. No. 912) ; 1 specimen from Dr. F. Day’s

Collection from Sind (Z.S.I. Cat. No. 2478) ; 2 specimens collected by

C. Pavia from Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, W. Panjab (Z.S.I.

No. F. 9603-4/1) ; 1 specimen collected by F. M. Bailey from Tribani,

Nepal (Z.S.I. No. F. 12266/1); 2 specimens from Nulla Katiar, Karachi

District, Pakistan (B.N.H.S. No. 446-2: the specimens are badly

damaged); 1 specimen collected by Maj. N. Murphy from Jati,

Karachi Dt., Pakistan (B.N.H.S. No. 446-3 : specimen badly damaged).

Vernacular Names: Kachhi (Bengali) after which the species

name cachius was coined by Hamilton ; Day (1872) mentions that in

Oriya the species is known as Bonkuaso and in Burmese as Nga-man-dan

or Ya-paw-nga or Nga-phyin-gyan.

Laubuca-group

Chela (Chela) laubuca Hamilton

Cyprinus (Chela) laubuca Hamilton (Buchanan), Fish. Ganges, pp. 260, 384 (1822).

Type locality : Ponds in northern parts of Bengal.

Perilampus guttatus McClelland, Asiat. Res. 19, pp. 289, 394, pl. xlv, fig. 4 (1839)

(erroneously marked pl. lvi, fig. 10 ; from Hamilton’s

MSS.).

1Under ‘ Material examined’ the undermentioned abbreviations stand for :

Zisale = Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

B.N.H.S. = Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay.

U.S.N.M. = United States National Museum, Washington D.C.

A.N.S.P = Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

C.M. = Colombo Museum, Ceylon.

JOURN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATES I

Chela (Chela) laubuca Hamilton

Specimens from ]. Kelantan, Malaya, 63 mm., 2. Barrackpore, NE. India, 41 mm., 3. Sittang

River, Burma, 44 mm., 4. Cauvery River, peninsular India, 37 mm., 5. Hazaribagh, NE.

India, 33-5 mm., 6. Kambala Talao, Kathiawar Peninsula, western India, 50 mm., 7. Matun-

gama, Ceylon, 58-5 mm. (The measurements in mm. denote the standard length of the

specimens.)

Photo : E. G. Silas

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 71

Cyprinus laubuca Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 16, p. 456 (1842).

Leuciscus laubuca Bleeker, Verh. Bat. Genootsch 25, p. 138 (1853).

Perilampus fulvescens Blyth, Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, p. 163 (1860). Type

locality : Tennasserim, Burma ; Day, F., Proc. Zool.

Soc. London, p. 559 (1869).

Laubuca guttatus Bleeker, Atl. Ichthyol., p. 33 (1863).

Chela laubuca Ginther, Catal. Brit. Mus., Fish. 7, p. 335 (1868) ; Smith, Bull. U.S.

Nat. Mus. 188, p. 81 (1945); Deraniyagala, Colour.

Atlas Ceylon Vert. I, Fishes, p. 25 (1952).

Perilampus laubuca Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pp. 380, 614 (1869) ; Journ.

Asiatic Soc. Bengal 41(2), p. 20 (1872) ; Fish. India,

p. 598, pl. cli, fig. 5 (1878) ; Fauna Brit. India, Fish,

p. 360, fig. 112 (1889); Pillay, JBNHS 33, p. 357

(1929) ; John, JBNHS 38, p. 713 (1936).

Laubuca (Laubuca) laubuca Deraniyagala, Spol. Zeylan. 16, p. 34 (1930).

Laubuca laubuca Shaw & Shebbeare, Journ. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 3, p. 20,

fig. 12, pl. ii, fig. 16 (1938) ; Das, Rec. Indian Mus.

41, p. 439 fig. 1 (1939).

Laubuca siamensis Fowler, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 91, p. 64, fig. 14

(1939). Type locality: Waterfall stream near Trang,

Thailand.

BO e100 Pl 1/81: 1 V.1/6; A, 2/17-22 (19-24); - C19:

e337. tc. 6-7/1/25-4

The detailed morphometric analysis of this species (Tables I—VII),

based on material examined from Ceylon, peninsular India, Kathiawar

Peninsula, north-eastern India, Burma, Thailand, and the Malay

Peninsula, is given mainly with a view to indicate the range of variations

to be expected in the species and also draw attention to any correlations

that exist between the geographical location of the species and these

variations. "The samples from Ceylon, Burma, and Malaya are limited

but, when compared to the typical form from the Gangetic watershed

(north-eastern India), they seem to evince certain peculiarities in character,

which might be interpreted as being of at least subspecific significance.

In this revision, these variations are indicated, with the hope that later

investigators, with larger samples to work on, will find it much easier to

proceed.

As Hamilton’s type of Cyprinus laubuca came from the Gangetic

watershed, the sample examined here from north-eastern India from this

watershed is considered as being typical and comparisions are made with

this (Plate I, figs. 2, 5). The standard length of the specimens examined

from this area ranges from 19 to 52 mm.

1. Malay Peninsula :—tThe specimens examined from Malay

Peninsula are comparatively larger in size, being 53 to 61 mm. in standard

length (Plate I fig. 1). The dark mid-lateral stripe is present, being more

conspicuous in the posterior part of the body ending at the base of the

IZ JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

caudal fin as a precaudal spot. The shoulder spot is markedly distinct.

The mid-dorsal stripe is narrow and the supra anal streak is faintly visible

in the preserved specimens. The reticulated markings on the sides of the

body above the pectorals are present, though indistinct.

In addition to these, the Malayan form has a much deeper body,

longer caudal fin, shorter head, a comparatively shorter dorsal fin,

longer pectoral and pelvic fins, a less deep caudal peduncle, a relatively

higher count in the lateral line and predorsal scales, and, finally, the origin

of the pelvic fin is in a more anterior position than seen in specimens from

north-eastern India. In the remaining characters, they more or less

agree with the latter.

It is likely, the variations encountered in the Malayan specimens

might eventually prove to be of even greater significance than mere

subspecific variation. These specimens, although agreeing in general

with the description of Laubuca (Laubuca) laubuca of Sumatra, as given

by Weber & de Beaufort (1916), show variations in the following details :

the anal fin rays are 22 versus 21 in the Sumatran forms ; lateral line scales

34 to 36 versus 32 to 34 ; scales between lateral line and pelvic fin 24 to 4

versus 5; diameter of eye in head length 3.12 to 3.75 versus nearly 3 ;

diameter of eye in interorbital distance 1.5 to 1.8 versus less than 1.0;

and predorsal scales 18 to 21 versus 18 or 19. Some of these differences

may be accounted for as being due to differences in the size of the speci-

mens (Malayan specimens 67 to 84 mm. in total length and the Sumatran

specimens slightly over 60 mm.) and on account of the smaller samples

studied. The problem is worthy of a more detailed investigation.

2. Thailand:—I had the opportunity of examining the type

material of Laubuca siamensis Fowler while recently visiting the Academy

of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and confirm the late Dr. H. M. Smith’s

view that ZL. siamensis is conspecific with C. laubuca Hamilton, for there

seems to be no difference worthy of mention to separate it as a distinct

species from the typical form.

3. Burma:—The specimens measure 27 to 55 mm. in standard

length and as they have been in preservative over a long period much

of the colour has been lost (Plate I fig. 3). The dark lateral stripe is

faintly visible. ;

The body of the Burmese examples is much deeper and more com-

pressed ; the dorsal and anal fins are relatively more posteriorly situated

and have a higher predorsal count than in the typical form.

Perilampus fulvescens Blyth from Tennasserim, Burma, is very im-

perfectly characterised, and the description shows no difference from the

characters of the Burmese examples both from the Irrawady and

the Salween drainages presented here (Tables I-VII). As in the case of

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 73

L. siamensis Fowler from Thailand, I do not consider the minor differences

noted in the Burmese specimens as being of sufficient importance to

consider it a distinct species.

BB Chela (hela) teceal eostigmala (Smit)

A ©» € » ) mouhott SMITH

Ste N a

Che. AGexcraL, DISTRIBUTION OFC hela,

WHERE SAMPLES HAVE BEEN EXAMINED:-

@ 1: KELANTAN, MALAYA

@ 2.. MANDALAY and MYITKYINA, BURMA.

@ 3: BARRACKPORE and HAZARIBAGH.

@ 4. KATHIAWAR

@ 5. R. CAUVERY at METTUR and MADRAS.

@ 6, CEYLON

Text-figure 4.—Map showing the general distribution of Chela (Chela) laubuca

Hamilton and the localities from where samples have been examined for the present

eee cue distribution of the Thailand species caeruleostigmata and mouhoti is also

indicated.

Mmeatrheawar Peninsula, western India:—

Specimens measuring 26 to 50 mm. in standard length were collected by

me from close to Porbandar (Plate I fig. 6). The coloration is as in

those from NE. India; the dark lateral stripe being present in the form of

a well-developed narrow stripe in the posterior three-fourths of the body ;

the shoulder spot well-developed ; the precaudal spot more or less distinct

in all the specimens ; the mid-dorsal stripe less pronounced and the supra

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

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80 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

TABLE

Table giving the range of morphometric characters of the samples

(The number of specimens is given first, followed by the

Characters Malaya Burma NE. India

Total length/Standard Sy eri 1.31 Ae 00 195

length (1.30) (1.31) (1:23)

Total length/Length of : 5,53—5.84 Beek || 4: 4.83—5.00

head (5.68) (5.11) (4.95)

Total length/Height of : 3.90—4.61 : 3.68 4: 4.64—5.50

body sy (4.10) (3.68) (4.91)

Total length/ Width of body : 9.22—12.16 : 11.50 4: 9.66—10.00

(10.55) | (11.50) (9.91)

Total length/Length of | 4.05—4.78.-| : 4.18 4: 5.00—5.45

caudal fin (4.29) (4.18) (5.29)

Standard length/Length ¢ of | 6: 4.20—4.80 | 3: 3.70—4.15 | 23: 3.57—4.08

head (4.35) | (3.91) (3.82)

Standard desc Bomba of | 3.02371" | : 2.80—3.22 | 23: 2.60—4.08

body (3.14) | (2.95) (3.29)

Standard ee of : 7.00—9.33 : 7.69-9.00 | 22: 7.33—9.33

body (8.09) (8.48) (7.99)

Standard length/Tip of |

snout to origin of dorsal : 1.40—1.45 | 151 —1595 923 1 32—1-60

fin a a (1.43) | (e353) (1.49)

Standard length/Origin of |

dorsal to base of caudal : 2.80—2.94 © 2.59—2:70 | 23.; 2.53318

fin + ae (2.86) (2.64) (2.82)

Standard length/Tip of | 1431.51 : 1.40—1.47 | 23: 1.40—2.30

snout to origin of anal fin (1.47) (1.44) (1.59)

Standard length/ Origin of : 2.52—2.70 | : 2.38—2.84 | 23: 2.25—3.06

anal to base of caudal.. @239) | (2.60) (2.56)

Standard length/Tip of |

snout to origin of pelvic : 2.20—2.65 12.05—2.17 |. 23°: 2.052.955

fin: | (2.32) (2.10) (2.21)

Standard length/Origin of

pelvic fin to base of cau- : 1.39—1.56 > 1.38—1.68 | 23: 1.56—1.80

dal fin eae (1.50) (1:53) (1.69)

Standard length/Length « of f| : 3.06—3.78 > 3.18 4: 4.00—4.45

caudal fin. | (3.29) (3.18) (4.29)

Tip of snout tolorigin of

dorsal fin/Origin of dor- |

sal fin to base of caudal : 1.95—2.05 | 1:66--1.75) 23: 1682219

fin (1.99) (1.71) (1.88)

Vit

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES —

of Chela (Chela) laubuca examined, expressed here as ratios.

range, below which the mean is given in parenthesis)

Kathiawar

208

ele

83°:

10:

a0):

36:

BO :

12:

56):

36:

86):

33:

32:

1.18—1.40

(1.29)

4.47—6.10

(5.37)

3.41 —4.31

(3.81)

9.28 — 12.00

(10.92)

3.68 —6.33

(4.44)

3.37—4.87

(4.14)

2.50—3.47

(2595)

7.14—9.60

(8.50)

1.46—1.69

(1.55)

2.36—3.12

(2.67)

-33-21.05

(1.45)

2.16—2.90

(2.56)

{.91—2.23

(2.05)

1.41—1,72

Gie5 5)

2.88 —4.10

(3.42)

1.46—2.12

(1.86)

19:

19%:

19":

r9t:

18:

Se:

18:

48%

17:

19:

Peninsular *

India

: 1.24—1.40

(1.31)

> 4.50—5.50

(4.99)

: 4.12—5.00

(4.50)

7:42 — (2.00

(10.66)

3.45—5.07

(4.24)

3.50—4.41

(3.38)

2.86 —3.81

(3.38)

7.00 —9.20

(8.19)

1.38—1.61

(1.48)

2.24—-35.13

(2.79)

1.46—1.64

(1.54)

2-30-2700

(2.47)

2.00 —2.45

(2.25)

b53—1.75

(1.61)

2.45 —4.07

(3.24)

1.63—2.09

(1.87)

Ceylon

2 283i

(1.29)

: 4.81—5.70

(5.30)

t 300 4D

(4.02)

: 11.00—13.25

(12.08)

: 4.16—4.40

(4.35)

3 3.12 —4.33

(4.14)

of 292-388

(3.22)

> 8.35—10.25

(9.13)

: 1.44—1.50

(1.48)

: 2.65—3.15

(2.82)

: 1.42—1.56

(1.48)

: 2.48—2.78

(2.58)

2 2.29 =-2.45

(2.36)

: 1.50—1.61

(1.57)

213.16 —-3.90

G35)

o E-PE— Zee

(1.91)

Total No.

of speci-

mens

Total Range

(Mean)

1.18—1.40

(1.29)

4.47—6.10

(5.27)

3.41 —5.50

(4.10)

9.221325

(10.75)

3.45 — 6.33

(4.17)

35374587

(4.00)

2.50—4.08

Gz 15)

7.00—10.25

(8.24)

1.32—1.69

@.51)

2.36—3.18

(2.75)

1.33—2.30

(1.57)

2.16—3.06

(2.54)

1.91—2.65

(2.14)

1.38—1.88

(1:39)

2.45 —4.45

(3.41)

1.46—2.19

(1.87)

80 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY,

Vol. 55 (1)

TABLE

Table giving the range of morphometric characters of the samples

(The number of specimens is given first, followed by the

Characters | Malaya Burma | NE. India

Total length/Standard 6: 1.24—1.32 Shes 4: 1.22—1.25

length (1.30) (1.31) | (1.23)

Total length/Length of 6: 5.53—5.84 3 Spit 4: 4.83—5.00

head a0 (5.68) (5.11) (4.95)

Total length/Height of 6; 3.90—4.61 : 3.68 | 4: 4.64—5,50

body an (4.10) (3.68) (4.91)

Total length/ Width of body | 6: 9.22—12.16 : 11.50 | 4: 9.66—10.00

| (10.55) (11.50) | (9.91)

Total length/Length of 6: 4.05—4.78 : 4.18 4: 5.00—5.45

caudal fin | (4.29) (4.18) | (5.29)

Standard length/Length of | 6: 4.20—4.80 : 3.70—4.15 | 23: 3.57—4.08

head 30 (4.35) (3.91) (3.82)

Standard length/Height of | 6: 3.02—3.11 : 2.80—3.22 | 23 : 2.60—4.08

body 36 (3.14) (2.95) (3.29)

Standard length/Width of | 6: 7.00—9.33 : 7.69-9.00 | 22: 7.33—9,33

body a 20 || (8.09) (8.48) (7.99)

Standard length/Tip of |

snout to origin of dorsal | 6: 1.40—1.45 : 1,51—1.55 | 23: 1.32—1.60

fin aa oo || (1.43) (1.53) (1.49)

Standard length/Origin of

dorsal to base of caudal | 6: 2.80—2.94 : 2,59—2.70| 23 : 2.53—3.18

fin # ay (2.86) | (2.64) (2.82)

Standard length/Tip of 6: 1.43—1,.51 | : 1.40—1.47 | 23: 1.40—2.30

snout to origin of anal fin (1.47) (1.44) (1.59)

Standard length/Origin of | 6: 2.52—2.70 | : 2.38—2.84 | 23: 2.25—3.06

anal to base of caudal... (2.59) (2.60) (2.56)

Standard length/Tip of |

snout to origin of pelvic | 5: 2.20—2.65 | 3: 2.05—2.17] 23: 2.05—2.35

fin (2,32) | (2.10) (2.21)

Standard length/Origin of |

pelvic fin to base of cau- | 5: 1.39—1.56 3: 1,38—1.68 | 23: 1.56—1.80

dal fin | (1.50) (1.53) (1.69)

Standard length/Length of | 6: 3.06—3.78 1: 3.18 4: 4.00—4.45

caudal fin .. ae (3.29) (3.18) (4.29)

Tip of snout tojorigin of

dorsal fin/Origin of dor- |

sal fin to base of caudal 6: 1.95—2.05 3: 1.66—1.75| 23: 1.68—2.19

fin (1.99) | (1.71) (1.88)

e————

vil

33; 1.18—1.40

: 4.47—6.10

: 3.41—4.31

: 9.28—12.00

: 3.68—6.33

: 3.37—4.87

: 2.50—3.47

: 7.14—9.60

36:

: 2,36—3.12

36:

36;

36:

36;

33;

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 81

of Chela (Chela) laubuca examined, expressed here as ratios.

range, below which the mean is given in parenthesis)

F Total No.

Peninsular * | Total Range

India Ceylon of speci | (Mean)

17: 1.24—1.40 3: 1.28—1.31 64 | 1.18—1.40

(1.31) | (1.29) | (1.29)

17: 4.50—5.50 3: 4.81—5.70 64 | 4.47—6.10

(4.99) (5.30) (5.27)

17: 4.12—5.00 3: 3.85—4.15 64 | 3.41-5.50

(4.50) (4.02) (4.10)

17: 9.42—12.00 | 3: 11.00—13.25, 41 | 9.22—13.25

(10.66) | (12.08) | (10.75)

17: 3.45—5.07 3: 4.16—4.40 64 3.45—6,33

(4.24) | (4.35) (4.17)

19; 3.50—4.41 4: 3.72—4,33 91 3.37—4.87

(3.38) (4.14) (4.00)

19: 2.86—3.81 4: 2.92—3.58 | 91 2.50—4.08

(3.38) (3.22) (3.15)

19: 7,.00—9.20 | 4: 8.35—10.25 66 7.00—10.25

(8.19) (9.13) (8.24)

19: 1.38—1.61 | 4: 1.44-1.50 | 91 1.32—1.69

(1.48) (1.48) (1.51)

19: 2.54—3.13 | 4: 2.65—3.15 91 2.36—3.18

(2.79) | (2.82) (2.75)

18: 1.46—1.64 4: 1.42—1.56 90 1.33—2,30

(1.54) (1.48) (1.57)

18 : 2.30—2.70 4: 2.48—2.78 90 2.16—3.06

(2.47) (2.58) (2.54)

18; 2.00—2.45 | 4: 2.25—2.45 89 1.91—2.65

(2.25) (2.36) (2.14)

18: 1.53—1.75 4: 1.50—1.61 89 1.38—1.88

(1.61) (1.57) (1.59)

17: 2.45—4.07 3: 3.16—3.50 64 2.45—4.45

(3.24) (3.35) (3.41)

19: 1.63—2.09 | 4: 177—2.11 88 1.46—2.19

(1.87) (1.91) (1.87)

Kathiawar

(1.29)

(5.37)

(3.81)

(10.92)

(4.44)

(4.14)

(2.95)

(8.50)

1.46—1.69 |

(1.55)

(2.67)

1,33—1.65

(1.45)

2,16—2,90

(2.56)

1,91—2,23

(2.05)

1.41—1,72

(1.55)

2.88—4.10

(3.42)

1.46—2,12

(1.86)

ee eee

82 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

TABLE

Characters Malaya Burma NE. India

Tip of snout to origin of

dorsal fin/Origin of anal 6; 1:68—1.83 3: 1.61—1.94 | 23: 1.31—1.94

fin to base of caudal fin.. E75) (1.80) (1.63)

Origin of pelvic fin to base

of caudal fin/Tip of snout 5: 1.44—1.69 3: 1.23—1.56 | 23: 1.21—1.43

to origin of pelvic fin (1.54) (1.38) (1.30)

Length of pend ie of 6: 1.64—2.14 3: 1.80—1.85| 19: 1.77—2.33

head (1.80) (1.81) (1.94)

Length of head/Height of 6: 1.40—1.64 3: 1.50—1.58 | 19: 1.33—1.87

occiput st (1.50) (1.54) (1.52)

Length of head cen of 6: 2.77—3.75 3: 3.00—3.85 | 19: 3.00—4.25

snout (3.25) (3.36) (3.50)

Length of head/ Diarctey 6: 3.12—3.75 3: 3.00—3.85 | 19: 3.00—4.00

of eye : (3.37) (3.36) (3.25)

Length of head) Eee aru 6: 1.75—2.08 3: 1.80—2.07; 20: 1.60—2.85

distance (1.90) (1.95) (1.96)

Interorbital distance/Dia- 6: 1.50—1.87 3: 1.62—1.85| 19: 1.50—1.83

meter of eye Ms (1.77) (1.71) (1.70)

Length of snout/Diameter 6: 0.84—1.25 3: 1.00 19: 0.80—1.25

of eye = (1.05) (1.00) (0.93) -

Height of body/Height of 5: 1.50—1.79 2: 1.56—1.58 | 12: 1.00—2.00

dorsal fin .. (1.68) (57) (1.36)

Length of Pectoral fin/ 6: 1.60—1.66 2: 1.55—1.61 | 14: 1.33—1.55

Length of head (1.62) (1.58) (1.41)

Length of pelvic apes 5: 0.85—1.28 3: 0.88—1.00;| 11: 0.53—0.75

of head whe (1.08) (0.93) (0.70)

- Length of pend) Lone) 6: 0.89—1.20 3: 1.11—1.35 |) 8: 1.20—1.50

anal ray 2 (1.00) (1.25) (1.27) -

Height of body ene of 6: 1.20—1.40 3: 1.14—1.46| 23: 0.90—1.42

head (1.39) — (1.33) (1.12)

Length of caudal peduncle/

Least height of caudal 6: 1.00—1.60 3: 1.16—1.50| 19: 1.18—1.50

peduncle (1.24) (1.27) (1.31)

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 83

VUlL—Continued

, | | Total No.

Kathiawar x cee | Ceylon oe speek ics oes

Si fe eis At We cree Le const ;

36: 1.50—2.00 Leb 4t st Are Ol 195 90 1.31—2.00

(1.76) (1.60) (1.74) (1.69)

36; 1.20—1.60 18: 1.20—1.54 > 1.44—1.54 89 1.20—1.69

(1.32) (1.40) (1.50) (1.36)

at 2.20 133, 1-60—2.00 : 1.68—2.00 ey et. 57 2.33

(1.81) (1.76) (1.87) | (1.84)

i= 1:29—1.57 13); 71.40—1.71 > 1.42—1.69 57 22 187

(1.40) (1.60) (1.51) (iil)

12: 2.75—4.40 137-3, 00— 4.00. | 233-35 — 5100 Si 2.75 —4.40

(3.64) (3-93) (3.42) (3.50)

12: 2.75—3.66 13°: 2.66—3:33 3355-00 a7 | . 2.66—4.00

(3.18) @G-25) (3.42) (3.27)

12: 1.77—2.44 13: 1.66—2.15 > 1.81—2.20 of 1.60—2.87

(2.06) (1.90) (1.98) | (1,99) =

16: 1.28 —2.00 131-33 — 2,00 : 1.66—1.83 61 1.28—2.00

(1.62) (1.72) C72) (1.69)

12: 0.62—1.14 13: 0.72—1.00 : 1.00 37 0562-125

(0.89) (0.94) (1.00) (0.95)

12: 1.46—1.88 13: 1.20—1.64 : 1.41—1.90 48 1.00—2.00

(1.69) (1.39) (1.69) (1.52)

12; 1.44—1.81 See isle ILay | : 1.36—1.60 Sil 1.33—1.81

(1.56) (1.54) (1:52) (1.52)

36: 0.64—0.80 13: 0.76—1.12 > 1.11—1.40 i 0.53—1.40

(0.78) (0.95) (1.25) (0.84)

127 1.10—1.37 13 : 0.92—1.33- : 1.00—1.22 46 0.89—1.50

(1.21) (1.01) (1.09) | (1.13)

36: 1.11—1.60 19F 70.91 f50 : 1.18—1.48 91 ' 0.90—1.60

(1.39) (1.12) (1.29) | (1.26)

20: 1.16—1.66 11: 1.14—1.40 > 1.25—1.60 63 | 1.00—1.66

(1.30) (1.29) (1.42) (1.30)

ee ee

wes oa LICL TL TO

82 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

TABLE

Characters Malaya Burma NE. India

Tip of snout to origin of

dorsal fin/Origin of anal 6: 1,68—1.83 3: 1.61—1.94| 23: 1.31—1.94

fin to base of caudal fin . (1.75) (1.80) (1.63)

Origin of pelvic fin to base

of caudal fin/Tip of snout 5: 1.44—1.69 3: 1.23—1.56 | 23: 1.21—1.43

to origin of pelvic fin (1.54) (1.38) (1.30)

Length of nevis of 6: 1.64—2.14 3; 1.80—1.85 | 19: 1.77—2.33

head ° (1.80) (1.81) (1.94)

Length of HeeyeSran of 6: 1.40—1.64 3; 1.50—1.58 | 19: 1.33—1.87

occiput a (1.50) (1.54) (1.52)

Length of PEL of 6: 2.77—3.75 3: 3.00—3.85 | 19: 3.00—4,25

snout (3.25) (3.36) (3.50)

Length of Hes Aa Tete 6: 3.12—3.75 3: 3.00—3.85 | 19: 3.00—4.00

of eye 3 (3.37) (3.36) (3.25)

Length of eau Intetorbical 6: 1.75—2.08 3: 1.80—2.07 | 20: 1.60—2.85

distance (1.90) (1.95) (1.96)

Interorbital distance/ Dia- 6: 1.50—1.87 3: 1.62—1.85| 19: 1.50—1.83

meter of eye 50 (1.77) (1.71) (1.70)

Length of snout ince 6: 0.84—1.25 3: 1,00 19; 0.80—1.25

of eye (1.05) (1.00) (0.93)

Height of body/Height of 5: 1.50—1.79 2: 1,56—1.58 | 12: 1.00—2.00

dorsalfin .. (1.68) (1.57) (1.36)

Length of Pectoral fin/ 6: 1.60—1.66} 2: 1.55—1.61| 14: 1.33—1,55

Length of head (1.62) (1.58) (1.41)

Length of pelvic fin//Hength 5: 0.85—1,28 3; 0.88—1.00| 11: 0.53—0.75

of head pa (1.08) (0.93) (0.70)

Length of head/Longest 6: 0.89—1,20 3: 1.11—1.35| 8: 1.20—1.50

anal ray 0 od (1.00) (1.25) (1.27)

Height of posi (CengtD oh 6: 1.20—-1.40] 3: 1.14—1.46| 23: 0.90—1.42

head (1.39) (1.33) (1.12)

Length of caudal peduncle/

Least height of caudal 6: 1.00—1.60 3: 1.16—1.50) 19: 1.18—1.50

peduncle (1.24) (1.27) (1.31)

—

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 83

VUl—Continued

—_—_—_

A | Total No

Fy Peninsular ;_ | Total Range

Kathiawar + | Ceylon of speci- 8

India iene (cay)

36: 1.50—2.00 18: 1.41—1.81 : 1.61—1.95 90 1.31—2.00

(1,76) (1.60) (1.74) | (1.69)

36: 1.20—1.60 18: 1.20—1.54 | : 1.44—1.54 89 | 1.20—1.69

(1.32) (1.40) (1.50) (1.36)

12: 1.57=2.20 13: 1.60—2.00 : 1.68—2,00 57 1.57—2.33

(1.81) (1.76) (1.87) (1.84)

12: 1.22—1.57 13: 1.40—1.71 : 1.42—1.69 57 1,22—1.87

(1,40) (1.60) (1.51) | (1.51)

12; 2.75—4.40 13: 3.00—4.00 : 3.33—3.66 57 | 2.75—4.40

(3.64) (3.53) (3.42) (3.50)

12: 2.75—3.66 13: 2.66—3.33 | : 3.33—3.66 57 | . 2.66—4.00

(3.18) (3.25) (3.42) | (3.27)

12: 1.77—2.44 13: 1.66—2.15 : 1.81—2.20 57 | 1.60—2.87

(2.06) (1.90) (1.98) (1.99)

16: 1,.28—2.00 13: 1.33—2.00 | : 1.66—1.83 61 1.28—2.00

(1.62) (1.72) | (1.72) (1.69)

12; 0.62—1.14 13: 0.72—1.00 | 1.00 57 0.62—1.25

(0.89) (0.94) | (1.00) | (0.95)

12: 1.46—1,88 13: 1.20—1.64 : 1.41—1.90 48 | 1.00—2.00

(1.69) (1.39) (1.69) (1.52)

(2: 1.44—1.81 13: 1.38—1.71 : 1.36—1.60 51 1.33—1.81

(1.56) (1.54) (1.52) (1.52)

36: 0.64—0,80 13: 0.76—1.12 > 1.11—1.40 71 | 0.53—1.40

(0.78) (0.95) (1.25) (0.84)

12: 1.10—1,37 13 : 0.92—1.33 : 1.00—1.22 46 | 0.89—1.50

(1.21) (1,01) (1.09) (1.13)

36; 1.11—1.60 19 : 0.91—1.50 : 1.18—1.48 91 | 0.90—1.60

(1.39) (1.12) (1.29) (1.26)

20: 1,16—1.66 11: 1.14—1.40 : 1.25—1.60 63 | 1.00=1.66

(1.30) (1.29) (1.42) (1.30)

84 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

anal streak and the subpeduncular stripe etc. absent. A few golden

and steel-blue vertical markings are seen on the sides of the body during

life. In formalin-preserved specimens they take the shape of a few grey

broad vertical patches, more clearly discernible in the anterior half of the

body. The fins are generally yellowish.

The specimens differ from those from NE. India in having a more

compressed and slightly deeper body ; shorter head, more posteriorly

situated pelvic fins, and a lower anal fin ray count, none of which appear

to be significant enough to consider them as being specifically distinct.

5. Peninsular India :—(Plate I, fig.4) The specimens that I

have examined are from the Cauvery River and are mostly immature, rang-

ing from 14 to 34 mm. in standard length. They have a relatively longer

caudal fin, a more elongated body which is less deep, more anteriorly

situated pelvic fin, and a lower dorsal fin ray count than in the typical form.

6. Ceylon:—(Plate I, fig. 7). The specimens examined from

Ceylon range from 41 to 58.5 mm. in standard length. When compared

to the typical forms, the Ceylon specimens have a relatively shorter head,

a much deeper body, a longer caudal fin, more anteriorly situated pelvic

fins which are much longer ; smaller eyes, a longer caudal peduncle, a

more posteriorly situated anal fin, and a higher lateral line and predorsal

scale count.

General Remarks :—Characters such as the length of the

head, the origin of the pelvic fin and its length, the number of lateral line

scales, predorsal scales, and transverse row of scales on the body and the

dorsal and anal fin rays seem to be more dependable for a study of geo-

graphical variations in this species as variations in these characters are

found to have some consistency and correlation with the geographical

location of the species. Although the height of the body may depend

on the size of the specimens, the relatively deeper body of the Malayan

and Ceylonese specimens indicates something more than mere individual

variation. This study points to the fact that like cachius the species

laubuca is also polytypic.

Distribution :—Ceylon, India, Pakistan, Burma, peninsular

Thailand, Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra.

Material Examined :—(a) Malay Peninsula. 5 specimens

from River Kondar, Kelantan, Malay Peninsula (Unregistered collection

at the Z.S.I. received from the Raffles Museum) ; 1 specimen from Kaki

Bukti, Perlis, Malay Peninsula (Unregistered collection at the Z.S.I.

received from the Raffles Museum). (6) Thailand. 3 specimens,

being the type and 2 paratypes of Laubuca siamensis Fowler collected by

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 85

the R.M.de Schauensee Siamese Expedition from a waterfall stream at

Trang, Thailand, on 13 October 1936 (A.N.S.P. Cat. No. 68496 Type ;

Cat. No. 68497-68498 Paratypes). (c) Burma. 1 specimen from

Moulmein, Burma, from Day’s collection (Z.S.I. Cat No. 906) ; 4 speci-

mens from Sittang River, Burma, from Day’s collection (Z.S.I. Cat. No.

908) ; 1 specimen from Mandalay, Burma, from Day’s collection (Z.S.I.

Cat. No. 913) ; and 2 specimens from the north end of Indawgyi Lake

near Ngaungbin Village, Myitkyinea Dt., Upper Burma (Z.S.I. No. F.

10960/1). (d) Kathiawar Peninsula, western India. 26 specimens

collected by me from Ranavikra and Sukala Talao, close to Porbandar;

10 specimens collected by me from Kambala Talaos, 23 miles off Porbandar;

(2 specimens from Saidabad, Karachi Dt., Pakistan (B.N.H.S. No. 447-1)

are very badly damaged]. (e) Peninsular India. 19 specimens from the

Cauvery River at Hogaikanal Falls (Mettur Survey) opposite Dak

Bungalow (Unregistered collection: Z.S.I.); (f) Ceylon. 1 specimen

from Kallarouya, Cheddikulum, Ceylon ; 1 specimen from Matungama,

Ceylon ; 2 specimens from Manampitiya, Ceylon—all received on loan

from the Colombo Museum, Ceylon.

Vernacular Names :—Day (1872) mentions the following

vernacular names for this species: Layubuka and Dankena, Bengali ;

Dannahrah, Hindi ; Bankoe, Oriya ; and Nga-me-loung, Burmese.

Chela (Chela) caeruleostigmata (Smith)

(Text-Figure 2, c)

Laubuca caeruleostigmata Smith, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 79, p. 5, fig. 3 (1931). Type

locality : Menam Chao river and its tributaries, central

Thailand.

Chela caeruleostigmata Smith, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 188, p. 79, fig. 3 (1945).

DO WIP 10 VA/5Ss A.2/22; C19; 161.3435 ;

L. tr. 85-9/1/43-5.

The head is contained about 5.2 in the total and 3.9. to 4.2 in the

standard length. The height of the body is about 2.8 in the total and

2.05 to 2.25 in the standard length. The width of the body is contained

about 7.16 in the standard length. The mouth is almost vertically

directed upwards, the cleft not extending below the anterior margin of

the eye. The height of the head at occiput is contained about 1.37,

width of head about 1.57, and length of snout about 3.14 in the length

of the head. The diameter of the eye is contained 3.5 to 3.66 in the head

length, 1.5 to 2.16 in the interorbital distance, and about 1.17 in the length

86 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

of the snout. The interorbital distance is about 1.7 times contained in

the length of the head, while the latter is about 1.91 times contained in

the height of the body. The caudal peduncle is much deeper than long,

its least height being 0.58 of its length and contained about 1.83 to 2.0

times in the length of the head.

The distance from the tip of the snout to the origin of the dorsal fin

is contained 1.53, origin of the dorsal fin to base of the caudal fin about

2.7, tip of snout to origin of the anal fin about 1.4, origin of the anal fin

to base of caudal fin about 2.32, tip of snout to origin of pelvic fin about

1.79, and distance from origin of pelvic fin to base of caudal fin about

1.48 in the standard length. The distance from the tip of the snout to

the origin of the dorsal fin is 1.75 times the distance from the origin of

the dorsal fin to the base of the caudal fin ; tip of snout to the origin of

the anal fin about 1.67 times that of the distance from the origin of the

anal fin to the base of the caudal fin, and the origin of the pelvic fin to

the base of the caudal fin is about 1.2 times the distance from the tip of

the snout to the origin of the pelvic fin.

The height of the dorsal fin is contained about 1.29 in the length of the

head and about 2.47 in the greatest height of the body. Pectoral fin is

1.75 to 2.0 times longer than the head. The pelvic fin is more than half

the length of the pectoral fin and its outer ray is filamentous and about

1.04 times the length of the head. The length of the longest anal ray is

contained about 1.29 to 1.5 times in the head length. The caudal fin is

longer than the head and is deeply forked.

The lateral line scales number 34 to 35 and there are 17 to 19 predorsal

scales. The scales round the narrowest part of the caudal peduncle

number 12 or 13 rows. At least 44 or 5 rows of scales are present bet-

ween the lateral line and the origin of the pelvic fin in an oblique series,

and about 8 to 9 rows between the lateral line and the point of origin of the

dorsal fin. Anteriorly, the keeled abdominal surface extends to almost a

vertical below the anterior origin of the pectoral fin.

The characteristic coloration of this species is given in !the synopsis

to the species on page 65. |

Distribution: Menam Chao River and its tributaries, central |

Thailand.

Material examined: In August 1956, I had occasion to

examine the type and paratypes of this species in the collection of the

U.S. National Museum, Washington D.C. Besides these, one paratype

(Z.S.I. No. F. 11163/1) from Menam Chao Phye, below Nakon Sawan,

central Thailand, has been examined for drawing up the above redescrip-

tion,

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“Aou ‘ds 39 ‘UeSqns viIvIDSK{ (vjoyIO]]p) vjayD

‘38S “HSU “JBAL Avquiog ‘winog

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 87

Chela (Chela) mouhoti Smith

(Text-Figure 2, d)

Chela mouhoti Smith, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus, 188, p. 81, fig. 4 (1945). Type locality :

Pasak River at Pechabun, central Thailand.

A brief diagnosis of this cele: after Smith ee is given below to

facilitate reference :

D. 3/10 ; A.3/23 ; L.1.31 ; Ltr. Tire

Head 5.3 in total (from figure) and about 4.0 in standard length.

Height of body 3.2 in total (from figure) and 2.25 in standard length.

Mouth oblique, cleft extending to vertical below anterior margin of eye.

Diameter of eye 3.0 in head length, 1.0 in interorbital width and slightly

more than length of snout. Predorsal scales 20, and scales round caudal

peduncle 14. Dorsal shorter than length of head, pectoral 1.75 times

longer than head and equalling height of body, and pelvics more than half

the length of head. Longest anal ray equals height of dorsal fin. Caudal

deeply forked. Height of caudal peduncle at its narrowest part equals its

length and is also equal to half the head length. In addition to the well-

developed shoulder spot, the species has ‘ a faint median dark stripe on

back from head half way to dorsal fin (predorsal stripe) ; back at base of

dorsal and on upper part of caudal peduncle dark, dorsal and pectoral

with blackish dots distally, caudal lobes dusky’.

Distribution: Pasak River at Pechabun, central Thailand.

The species is known from only the type specimen at present in the collec-

tion of the U.S.National Museum (U.S.N.M. No. 107959) which I had

occasion to examine in August 1956.

Subgenus ALLOCHELA Noy, .

The diagnostic characters of the subgenus are given on page 64.

A description of the subgenotype is given below.

Subgenotype :—Chela (Allochela) fasciata sp. nov.

Chela (Allochela) fasciata sp. noy.*

(Pate II, figs. 1-5)

D. 2/7; P. 1/9 (1/8-9)'; V. 1/6 (1/5-6) ; A. 3/15 (3/14-15) ;

Gy 19-1349 G3-34) Lb. te 6/1/1g C14)

Chela (Allochela) Yasciata is a small species in which the body is

slightly elongate and the head is slightly turned upwards. The os

1 In the description of the new species, the scales, the number of fin rays,

and measurements of the Holotype measuring 25 mm. in standard length is given.

This is followed in parenthesis by the range of variations, if any, shown by all the

specimens (Holotype plus the 2 Paratypes).

88 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

profile is almost straight from the occiput to the origin of the dorsal fin

from whence it slopes down gently to the base of the caudal fin. The

ventral profile is slightly arched. The length of the head is contained

5.16 in the total and 4.16 (3.83-4.16) in the standard length. The width

of the head is contained 1.71 (1.71-1.92), and the height of the head at

Bay 0¢

WENGAL

Mme Chela (Neochela) dadysurjori (Menon)

O Chela (Allochela) Fasctata Sp.nev.

@ » ( » +) maassi(WeBERd de Beaurort)

Text-figure 5.—Map showing the distribution of Chela (Allochela) fasciata sp.

nov., Chela (Allochela) maassi, and Chela (Neochela) dadyburjori.

occiput 1.5 (1.5-1.71) in its length. The snout is very short, its length

being contained 6.0 times (5.2-6.0) in the length of the head. The mouth

is small and is obliquely directed upwards. The cleft of the mouth does

not extend to below the anterior margin of the orbit. The eyes are large

and are situated more in the anterior half of the head. The diameter

of the eye is contained 3.0 (3.0-3.37) in the head length and 1.37 (1.37-1.5)

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 89

in the interorbital width. It is 0.5 (0.5-0.62) times the length of the

snout. The interorbital space is almost flattened.

The greatest height of the body equals almost the length of the head

and is 5.16 in the total and 4.16 (3.83-4.33) in the standard length.

The width of the body is contained about 2.0 times in its height. The

caudal peduncle is narrower and its least height is contained 1.77 (1.6-2.0)

in its length and 2.66 (2.66-3.0) in the length of the head.

The dorsal fin is situated in the posterior third of the body (without

the caudal fin) and its origin is opposite the second branched ray of the

anal fin. The height of the dorsal fin is equal to or slightly shorter than

the greatest height of the body, it being contained 1.2 (1.0-1.2) in the latter.

The last undivided dorsal ray is weak, non-osseous, and articulated.

The pectorals are long, being 1.33 (1.33-1.38) times longer than the head.

They extend considerably beyond the commencement of the pelvic fins.

The pelvic fin is longer than the head, its length being at least 1.16 times

that of the latter. The outer pelvic ray is greatly elongated and when

adpressed extends beyond the commencement of the anal fin. The anal

fin is moderately elongated and its outer margin is slightly concave. The

third to the eighth anterior anal rays are longer than the rest and the

longest ray equals the height of the dorsal fin, but is slightly less than

the head length. The caudal fin is forked and the lobes are pointed and

of equal length. The length of the caudal fin is contained 5.16 in the

total and 4.16 in the standard length.

The distance from the tip of the snout to the origin of the dorsal fin

is 1.94 (1.87-1.94) times longer than the distance between the origin of the

dorsal fin and the base of the caudal fin.

The scales are moderately large, well developed, and are longer in the

dorso-ventral axis than in the cephalo-caudal axis. The lateral line is

complete and strongly curved down from above the pectoral fin. The

lateral line scales number 34 (33-34). There are also 34 (33-34) scales

in a longitudinal series from the upper angle of the gill-opening to the

middle of the base of the caudal fin. 6 rows of scales are present above

the lateral line to the mid-dorsal row (exclusive), and 14 (1-14) rows between

the lateral line and the base of the pelvic fin. The predorsal

scales number 18. There are 9 (9-10) rows of scales round the

narrowest part of the caudal peduncle. A sheath-like row of scales

are present along the base of the anal fin. Three scales, one

from the side of the body (Plate Hl, fig. 3), a second from the

lateral line (Plate II, fig. 4 ), and a third from the side of the caudal

peduncle (Plate II, fig. 5), are figured here from among several others

examined to note their structural variations. Fundamentally all agree in

being devoid of basal and lateral radii, and the circuli in the apical part

of the scales are indistinct or ‘degenerate’. The nucleus is basal in

90 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

position. A progressive increase in the number of apical radii and basal

and lateral circuli is to be seen in the scales from the anterior part of the

body.

TABLE VIII

Table giving the range, average, etc. of body proportions and scale counts of ‘Chela

(Allochela) fasciata sp. nov., the former expressed as ratios.

Characters | No. | Holotype | _—_— Range Average

\ |

1. Total length/length of head. 3:16 5.16 5.16

2. Total length/length of caudal

fin. 1 5.16 5.16 5.16

3. Total length/height of body 1 5.16 5.16 5.16

4. Standard length/length of head. 3 4.16 3.83—4.16 3.95

5 Standard length/length of caudal

fin. 1 4.16 4.16 4.16

6. Standard length/height of body. 3 4.16 8 8322438 416

7, Length of head/width of head. 3 Lege 1.71—1.92 1.82

8. Length of head/height at occiput. 5 1.50 1.50—1.71 1.63

9, Length of head/length of snout. 3 6.00 5.20—6.00 5.73

10. Length of head/diameter of eye. 5 3.00 3.00—3.37 3.12

11. Length of snout/ diameter of eye. 3 0.50 0.50—0.62 0.54

12. Interorbital distance/diameter of

eye. ; 3 37 1.37—1.50 1.41

13. Height of body/width of body. 3 0.50 0.50 0.50

14. Length of caudal peduncle/its

least height. R) 177 1.60—2.00 1.79

15. Height of body/height of dorsal

fin. 3 1.20 1.09—1.20 1.16

16. Length of head/length of pectoral

fin. 3 1:33 1.33—1.38 1.34

17. Length of head/length of pelvic

fin. 2 1.16 1.16 1.16

18. Tip of snout to origin of dorsal/

origin of dorsal to base of

caudal fin. 3 1.94 1.87—1.94 1.89

19. Tip of snout to origin of anal/

origin of anal to base of caudal

n. 3 1.60 1.57—1.60 1.58

20. Origin of pelvic fin to base of ‘

caudal fin/tip of snout to

~ origin of pelvic fin. 3 1.40 1.40—1.55 1.47

21. Standard length/tip of snout to

origin of dorsal fin. 3 1-51 1.51—1-53 152

22. Standard length/origin of dorsal

fin to base of caudal fin. 5 2.94 2.77—2.94 2.86

23. Standard length/tip of snout to

origin of anal fin. | 3 1.56 eek) 1.55

24. Standard length/origin of anal

fin to base of caudal fin. 3 2.50 2.42—2.50 2.46

25. Standard length/tip of snout to

origin of pelvic fin. 3 PIRILT| 2.206—2,30 227,

26. Standard length/origin of pelvic

fin to base of caudal fin 3 1.61 1.48—1.61 1.54

27. Number of lateral line scales. g 33 33—34 33.33

The pharyngeal bone is about 5 times as wide as long. Its anterior

edentulous process is fairly long and the pitted surface is narrow, The

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 91

teeth are compressed and hooked and are placed in three rows, the formula

being, 5.3.2.—2.3.5. 3

The coloration of the species is very characteristic. The upper half

of the body is greyish and the scales on the upper half of the body have

dark edges. The dark lateral stripe is broad, commences just behind the

eye and runs along the middle of the body to almost the base of the caudal

fin. A very well defined black supra-anal streak is present ; and so also

the subpeduncular stripe. The mid-dorsal stripe running from the occiput

to the origin of the dorsal fin is about one scale broad at its commence-

ment. The fins are dirty white in colour. The margins of the upper

and lower jaws are pigmented dark. The lower half of the body and the

abdomen are lighter in colour.

Type specimens :—The Holotype 25 mm. in standard length (Z.S.I.

No. 744/2) and the paratypes 23 and 26 mm. in standard length (Z.S.1.

No. 745/2) have been deposited in the collection of the Zoological

Survey of India, Calcutta.

Type locality :—-Annamalai River at the base of the Annamalai Hills

at a place called Vannathurai in Chittur Taluk, Malabar, peninsular

India.

Chela (Allochela) maassi (Weber & de Beaufort)

(Text-figure 2, e)

Eustira maassi, Weber and de Beaufort, /n Maass : * Durch Zentral Sumatra, Bd. 2,

Fishe, p.531 (1912). Typelocality : Gunung Sahilan on river Kamper,

Sumatra.

Laubuca (Eustira) maassi Weber & de Beaufort, Fish. Indo-Austral. Archipel. 3, p.

49, fig. 21 (1916).

A brief diagnosis of this species after Weber & de Beaufort (1916)

is given below to facilitate reference :

Wee tes of LO wee tid oN AGS LAS4 Ltr, 64/17 1-2

Head about 5.6 in total length (in figure) and 3.75 (about 4.1 in figure)

in standard length. Height of body about 5.0 in total (in figure) and 3.3

in standard length. Diameter of eye contained 3.5 in head length, slightly

more than one diameter of interorbital space and 1.3 times longer than

snout. Mouth oblique, cleft reaching to about vertical below anterior

margin of orbit. Predorsal scales number 20. Height of dorsal more

than length of head ; longest anal ray equals half height of body ;

pectorals 1.3 times longer than head, extending beyond pelvic origin ;

pelvic fins half as long as height of body. Caudal fin long, more than

92 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

0.25 in total length. Least height of caudal peduncle contained about 2.0

times (in figure) in its length. -

The colour of the species is said to be ‘ brown, back darker, a dark

longitudinal band running from operculum to middle of base of caudal

(dark lateral stripe), where it ends in a dark patch (precaudal spot). Fins

hyaline. A dark median band along the back (middorsal stripe).’

Distribution ;—Gunung Sahilan on river Kampar, Sumatra.

Subgenus NEOCHELA nov.

A diagnosis of this new subgenus is given on page 64.

Subgenotype :—Laubuca dadidurjori Menon [= Chela (Neochela)

dadyburjori (Menon) ].

ate

Text-figure 6.—Chela (Neochela) dadyburjori (Menon). 1. Lateral view of head ;

2. Ventral view of anterior part of head; 3. Pharyngeal bone and the teeth arranged

in three rows ; 4. Scale from side of body in front of dorsal origin ; 5. Scale from side

of caudal peduncle.

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 93

Chela (Neochela) dadyburjori' (Menon)

(Text figure 2, 6 and 6, A-E.)

Laubuca dadidurjori Menon, Rec. Indian Mus. 49, pp. 1-4 (1952). Type locality :

Cochin, India.

Laubuca dadyburjori Dadyburjor, Bull. Bombay Aquar. Soc. 3, (Nos. 1-2), pp. 12-13

(1955). .

The type specimens of this species were not traceable in the fish collec-

tion of the Zoological Survey of India when required by me for reference

early in 1955. However, I have recently received a small sample of this

species from Trivandrum, Kerala State. In view of the several dis-

crepancies and inaccuracies in the description of the type material and

the table of measurements given for the same (Menon, 1952), a detailed

analysis based on the present sample is given below :

D2/7 3 VA3/1E12);° PA/7-9-22-3 5° Vi1/5.3 C.17-18 ;- L. tr: 7-8

In the accompanying tables the ratios of body proportions and the

frequency distribution of the number of fin rays and scales are given.

Clarifications on a few points which appear misleading in the descriptions

of the types (Menon, op. cit.) are given below :

I. The eyes are situated more in the anterior half of the head and

not ° entirely in the anterior half of the head’.

2. The first two rays of the dorsal fin and the first three rays of the

anal fin are soft rays which are non-osseous, undivided, and the longest

of these in each fin is articulated towards its tip and not ‘ The dorsal fin

fae. COmtains 2 Spines and.7: branched rays... the anal. fin....

contains 3 spines and 11 branched rays’. In fact, ‘ spines’ are alien to

fishes of the genus Chela.

3, The lateral line is absent in five of the ten specimens and when

present it isseen as 2, 3, or 4 perforated scales just below the pectoral fin,

near its base.

4. That ‘ The body is greatly compressed from side to side with a

sharply cutting abdominal edge’ as given in the description of the types

does not appear to be correct. In dadyburjori, the body is not greatly

compressed as in species of Chela s. str., but is as in Rasbora, and the

keeled nature of the abdomen is only very faintly indicated from the

posterior third of the abdomen to the vent.

1 Three different spellings have been used to denote the species, namely dadidurjori

and dadiburjori by Menon and dadyburjori by Sam Dadyburjor. The correct rendition

of the species name appears to be that given by Dadyburjor and this amended spelling

(dadyburjori) is used here. :

94. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

5. The pectoral fin has got 2 or 3 minute, short, undivided rays at

the inner (lower) angle of its base, in addition to the first undivided and 7

to 9 branched rays.

6. The caudal fin is subequal, the lower lobe being slightly the longer.

Other additional characters are as follows :

The branchiostegels are three in number. The pharyngeal teeth are

triserial, the formula being 5-3-2/2-3-5 (Text-figure 6, C). The teeth are

uncinate. The air-bladder is bipartate, the posterior chamber being the

longer as is typical of the Cyprinidae.

The caudal fin has 15 or 16 branched rays. The pelvic fin does not

extend beyond the origin of the anal fin and in a few examples reaches

only up to the vent. The scales, one from the side of the body above the

pectoral fin (Text-figure 6, D) and another from the side of the caudal

peduncle (Text-figure 6, E), are figured here showing the details. There

are nine rows of scales round the narrowest part of the caudal peduncle.

The colour of the species is very characteristic. When the specimens

preserved in about 7% formalin were received from Trivandrum, some

of the original colour markings were still present. In the larger examples

the sides of the body above and near the base of the pectoral fins were

tinged lemon-yellow with the dark pigment spots on the scales showing

clearly. The dorsal and caudal fins were also tinged lemon-yellow with

transparent margins, while the anal fin was light orange tipped with grey.

The pectoral and pelvic fins were colourless except for the dark minute

pigment spots on the outer rays of the pectorals. Within a week of

receiving the specimens, most of these colour markings had disappeared.

As regards the basic colour pattern, the dark mid-lateral stripe extends

anteriorly to the posterior margin of the orbit and is continued again from

the anterior margin of the orbit to the angle of the mouth (Text-figure 6, A).

The margin of the lips is pigmented black and on the lower jaw from the

symphysis running backwards to about a line between the angles of the

mouth is a conical patch of black pigment spots (Text-figure 6, B). The

posterior border of the scales on the back in front of the dorsal fin is

bordered by a row of black pigment spots and the scales in the upper half

of the body are minutely pigmented to give the appearance of a greyish

tinge to the upper half of the body. The abdomen is whitish, with a few

black pigment spots distributed along the sides. The vent in all the

specimens is surrounded by a row of prominent pigment spots.

The dark mid-lateral stripe has on it 2 to 5 black circular spots from

below the dorsal to the angle of the gill-opening more or less evenly

spaced. The mid-dorsal stripe is more pronounced in the predorsal

region than posteriorly. The subpeduncular and the supra anal streaks

are present.

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 95

Distribution :—In streams, tanks, and pools in Cochin and

Trivandrum, Kerala State, peninsular India.

Material examined:—l0 specimens ranging from 15.5 to

21 mm. in standard length (19 to 28 mm. in total length) collected from

small pools near the aerodrome, Trivandrum, by Mr. C. T. Samuel on

5-1-1958. (B.N.H.S.No. F.1/1).

Remarks :—The collection of this species from Trivandrum

extends its distribution by well over a hundred miles to the south from

Cochin, the type locality.

TABLE IX

Table showing the range, average, etc. of body proportions in Chela (Neochela)

dadyburjori, expressed as ratios.

No. of |

Characters specimens Range | Average

\ \

1. Total length/ standard Jength 10 | 1.21—1.35 27

2. Total length/ length of head pe hO 4°44—5.60 4.90

3. Total length/height of body 10 5.33—6.33 a) 9/5)

4. Total length/width of body 10 8.80—11.20 10.95

5. Total length/length of caudal fin 10 3.81—5.57 4.67

6. Standard length/length of head 10 3.44—4.20 3.84

7, Standard length/height of body 10 4.00—5,16 4.50

8. Standard length/ width of body 10 6.80—8.62 7.90

9. Standard length/tip of snout to origin -

of dorsal fin 10 1.48—1.68 1:55

10. Standard length/origin of dorsal to

base of caudal fin 10 2.50—3.00 2.78

11. Standard length/tip of snout to origin

of anal fin 10 1.50—1.68 1.61

12. Standard length/ origin of anal to base of

caudal-fin 10 2.41—2.83 2-62

13. Standard length/tip of snout to origin

of pelvic fin 10 2.06—2.30 DNS

14. Standard length/origin of pelvic to base

of caudal fin 10 1.77—1.93 1.83

15. Standard length/length of caudal fin 10 2.81—4.57 S72

16. Tip of snout to origin of dorsal/origin

of dorsal to base of caudal fin 10 1.58—1.90 1.77

17. Tip of snout to origin of anal/origin of

anal to base of caudal fin 10 | 1.46—1.75 1.62

18. Origin of pelvic to base of caudal/ tip

of snout to origin of pelvic fin 10 1.06—1.28 1.16

19. Length of caudal peduncle/least height

of caudal peduncle 10 1.62—2.40 2.02

20. Length of head/width of head 10 1.60—2.11 1.81

21. Height of body/length of head 10 0.75—1.05 0.85

22. Length of head/height at occiput 10 1.53—2.00 1.74

23. Length of head/longest anal ray 10 1.20—1.80 1.34

24. Length of head/length of snout 10 3.33—5.73 4,32

25. Length of pelvic fin/length of head 10 0.34—0.70 0.48

26. Length of head/ diameter of eye 10 2.50—3.21 2.93

27. Length of pectoral/length of head 10 1.15—1.70 1.30

28. Length of head/interorbital distance 10 1.73—2.28 = 2.05

29. Height of body/height of dorsal fin 10 1,00—1.53 20

30. Interorbital distance/ diameter of eye 10 1.25—1.73 1.43

31. Length of snout/ diameter of eye 10 0.53—0.86 0.68

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STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES ii

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ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

imped silaryicraal siushes= “ihe larvicidal” propensity’ ‘ot

Chela (=Laubuca) was commented on by Chaudhuri (1911), Southwell

(1920), and Hora and Mukerji (1938). Although not comparable to the

Cyprinodonts in this respect, Chelamay be considered as a useful substitute

and is of fair quality for larvicidal work. The two Indian species, laubuca

and cachius, breed freely in ponds, tanks, and small streams, and in these

habitats whenever they occur they are found in large numbers. Their

easy availability on account of their wide distribution stands in their

favour of being used as larvicidal fish.

2. As aquarium fishes: Ichthyological literature is studded

with numerous instances of new species, especially from among the smaller

carps, minnows, and loaches having been brought to light through the help

of aquarium hobbyists. The dainty little species, Chela (Neochela)

dadyburjori, is one such instance. The small size, colour, and hardiness

of some of the species of Chela are the main reasons why they have found

a place in the list of desirable tropical aquarium fishes. In India, the

species laubuca, cachius, and dadyburjori are reared as aquarium fishes.

3. Other uses: The species Jaubuca and cachius are in many

places used as bait for Mahseer, Channa, and other larger carnivorous

fish. In many parts of the country villagers take these two species of

Chela in large numbers along with species of Rasbora, Oxygaster, etc.

and, when cooked or fried in numbers, they make a palatable dish. It

is also likely that they may turn out to be good forage fishes.

DISCUSSION

The diversity in characters exhibited by the species has made it neces-

sary to group them as given here (p. 63). Taking the species of Chela

s. str., we find that two of them, namely cachius and laubuca, have a very

wide distribution and evidence is adduced here to show that they are

highly polytypic. The two central Thailand species of the Jaubuca-

group, namely, caeruleostigmata and mouhoti, evince considerable

affinities to Jaubuca which also occurs in peninsular Thailand. The two

98 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

species of the subgenus Allochela, are discontinuously distributed, fasciata

occurring in peninsular India and maassi known only from Sumatra.

In the absence of a lateral line or only the presence of an incomplete

lateral line dadyburjori occupies a peculiar position in the hierarchy of

the genus.

As regards the distribution, one other interesting point to note is the

absence of the widely distributed cachius from Ceylon. This revision

should facilitate further detailed study of the species, especially cachius

and Jaubuca, throughout their ranges of distribution with particular

reference to infraspecific levels of differentiations. More detailed faunistic

surveys are bound to add to our knowledge of the distribution of the

various species and the taxonomy of the genus.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very grateful to the late Dr. Sunder Lal Hora, former Director

of the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, for granting me facilities to

examine the fishes in the Survey collection and for his valuable sugges-

tions ; to Drs. Carl L. Hubbs, George S. Myers, and Ethelwyn Trewavas

for the discussions I have had with them on various points concerning

these fishes. Drs. Leonard P. Schultz and Henry W. Fowler gave me

facilities to examine the type material of the Thailand species in the U.S.

National Museum and the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,

respectively. To the authorities of the Colombo Museum, Ceylon, I

am grateful for the loan of five specimens of Chela (Chela) laubuca ; to

Mr. C. T. Samuel, Trivandrum, for sending me specimens of Chela (Neo-

chela) dadyburjori, and to Mr. S. Rajan for making available to me a

large series of specimens of Chela (Chela) cachius from the Cauvery River,

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* All important references concerning the genus are cited here.

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John’s University, Shangai: 1-223.

Dadyburjor, S. J. (1955): Breeding

habits of a new fish Laubuca dadyburjori,

from Cochin. Bull. Bombay Aquar.

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Das, K. N. (1939) : On a collection of

fish from the Hazaribagh District,

Bihar. Rec. Ind. Mus., 41: 437-450.

A few locality

records from places from where the species are already known have been omitted.

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES 99

Day, F. (1867): On the fishes of the

Neilgherry Hills and the rivers around

their bases. Proc. Zool. Soc.

14: 281-302.

— — (1872): Monograph of Indian

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— — (1952): A coloured Atlas of

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of the reproductive behaviour in terri-

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tory conditions with special regard to the

genus Colisa. An Introduction. Zool.

Bidr. Uppsala 32: 93-302.

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escriptions of Indian Freshwater

Fishes. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel-

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— — (1935) : Zoological Results of the

Third De Schauensee Siamese Expediton.

Part VI. Fishes obtained in 1934. Proc.

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— — (1939): Zoological results of

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tion, Part Lx. Additional fishes obtained

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19 : 39-76.

Gray, J. E. (1833-1834) : The Illustra-

tions of Indian Zoology chiefly selected

from the collection of General Hardwicke.

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fishes of the British Museum, 7.

Hamilton, F. (formerly Buchanan)

(1822) : An account of the fishes found

in the river Ganges and its branches.

Hora, S. L. and Mukerji, D. D. (1938) :

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freshwater fishes, with descriptions of

certain families and observations on the

relative utility of the probable larvivorous

fishes of India. Health Bull. No. 12,

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Hubbs, C. L. and Raney, E. C. (1947) :

Notropis alborus, a new cyprinid fish

from North Carolina and Virgina. Occ.

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1-17, figs. 1-3, pl. 1, one map.

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Southern India, Madras. Journ. Litt.

& Sci. 15 : 324-325.

John +Ce ©.) (1936) Fishes.” of

Travancore. JBNHS 38: 702-733.

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dae. Asiat. Research. 19 (2): 217-471,

pls. 37-61.

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Fishes in the Indian Museum. XLVI.—

On a new Fish of the genus Laubuca

ae Cochin. Rec. Ind. Mus. 49 (1):

1-4.

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Travancore. JBNHS 33: 347-379.

Prashad, B. and Mukerji, D.D.(1929) :

Fishes of the Indawgyi Lake and the

streams of the Myitkyina District (Upper

Burma). Rec. Ind. Mus. 31: 208.

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water Fish of Madras. Rec. Ind. Mus.

12 (6) : 249-294.

Shaw, E. G. and Shebbeare, E. O

(1938) : The Fishes of Northern Bengal.

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(1) : 1-137.

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fish from the Annamalai and Nelliam-

pathy Hill Ranges (Western Ghats),

with notes on its zoogeographical signi-

ficance. JBNHS 49 (4): 670-681.

— — (1951): On a new species of

Cyprinid fish from Coorg, South India.

Journ. Zool. Soc. India 3 : 7-10.

— — (1956) : The Ceylonese Cyprinid

genus Eustira Gitnther considered a

synonym of Danio Hamilton Copeia

pp. 61-62.

Smith, H. M. (1931): Description of

new genera and species of Siamese fishes.

Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 79: (art. 7): 1-48.

— — (1945): The freshwater fishes of

Siam or Thailand. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus.

188 : 78-82.

Southwell, T. (1920): Fish and

mosquito larvae in Bengal, Bihar and

Orissa, India. Ann. Trop. Med. and

Parasit., Liverpool, 14: 181-186.

Swainson, W. (1839): The natural

history and Classification of Fishes,

Amphibians and Reptiles, or Mono-

cardian animals. 2.

Sykes, W. H. (1838) : On the Fishes of

the Deccan. Proc. Zool. Soc. London

6 : 157-165.

— — (1841): On the Fishes of the

Dukhun. Trans. Zool. Soc. London 2:

349-378.

Valenciennes, A. (1842):

Naturelle des Poissons. 16.

Weber, M. and de Beaufort, L. F,

(1912) :In Maass : Durch Zentral Sumatra.

Bd. 2. Fishe : 531.

— — (1916): The Fishes of the Indo-

Australian Archipelago 3: 47-50, fig. 21.

Histoire

Notes on the Baya

BREEDING SEASON 1957

V.C. AMBEDKAR

In the 1957 season observations on the Baya Weaver Bird (Ploceus

philippinus Linn.) in Poona were continued over a period of about

64 months, April 18 to the end of October. I was unable to visit the.

Parbati Hill area daily till the end of May, but thereafter the place

was visited every day either in the early morning or the evening. My

notes tend to confirm most of the data previously published and also -

to open up several new ecological problems.

My first visit to the Parbati Hill area this year was on April 18.

The area then was dry and sun-scorched and no bayas were about.

The arid conditions lasted a couple of weeks more until the farmers

started irrigating their ‘wadis’ from their wells. The runnels that

carried this water soon became favourite bathing and drinking places

for the bayas of the neighbourhood. A small party of male bayas

in non-breeding plumage visited the area. It comprised 5 to 7

birds, but gradually more off-plumaged birds joined this group to form

a flock of 50 to 60 individuals. They spent their time hopping about

on the ground, gleaning grain and grass seeds. The sex was ascer-

‘tained by dissection of 9 birds from this flock between 25 April and

2 May, all of which proved to be males. At this stage the birds

seemed shy and nervous, promptly taking refuge in near-by trees

even if they heard the sudden harsh notes of the Large Grey Babbler

or the Rufousbacked Shrike. Later in the season, when the breeding

was in full swing, they lost their extreme jitteriness, and once I even

saw a cock baya make an assault on a straying Baybacked Shrike.

An interesting fact noticed was the close association of the White-

throated Munia (Lonchura malabarica) with the bayas even at this

pre-nesting stage. A small party of the munias was often seen in

company with the baya flock, feeding and flying with it.

Immediately on the onset of the first rains on 28 May the flock.

with as yet only a few individuals in partial breeding dress, split up

into small parties of 4 to 7 which resorted to the various previous

nesting sites in the area and the old nests of the last season, and

started singing the characteristic building choruses. Occasionally there

NOTES ON THE BAYA 101

was a fight between two males for the possession of an old nest. Moult-

ing into nuptial plumage became general and accelerated at this period,

the first yellow appearing on the forehead and crown, then breast,

and lastly on back. Though the flock had broken up into smaller

parties the birds still continued to feed together and to roost in a swarm

in a dense sugar-cane field about two miles west of the Parbati Hill

area. This roost appeared to be exclusively for males and at it

cocks not only from this area but also from the surrounding country-

side foregathered every evening.

Fresh nest-construction started on June 3 after the remnants of

the old nests had all been removed, but work practically stopped

after the ‘helmet’ stage, as apparently no females were physiologic-

ally ripe as yet and none made their appearance in the colonies. On

July 30, 8 or 10 hen-plumaged birds were observed amongst a large

feeding flock of brightly coloured cocks. Two of these brown birds

were trapped, and again on dissection proved to be males.

The lull in purposeful activity dragged on until August 4 when the

first prospecting female showed herself in the area. During the two-

month interval the birds had merely doodled with their unfinished

nests, chiefly in the mornings, rarely bringing any fresh strips to

add to them. Later in the day they had joined up again to form the

large flock. Soon after the advent of the first female in the colony

visits of more females rapidly increased. This revitalized the activity

of the cocks and building was resumed in earnest, accompanied by

the characteristic shivering and fluttering of wings to attract the pros-

pecting hens. Two cocks once chased a visiting female for a distance

of nearly half a mile while she zigzagged through the trees and bushes

to escape, and was finally lost to sight. On a rough estimate there

were at this period about 25 permanent nest colonies in this area,

chiefly at the wells dotted about, including the Main or Control Colony

at which most of our experimental work was done during this and

previous seasons, and the total number of available nests (in ‘helmet’

stage) and males about 200. The first heavy influx of ready-to-breed)

females was perhaps slightly in excess of the nests available. They

settled down almost simultaneously with the result that the hatching

of the initial clutches of eggs was also almost synchronous.

It is worth recording that the 1957 monsoon in the Poona area

(except towards the very end) was a perfectly steady and normal one.

It was uninterrupted by spells of drought and cloudbursts and squalls

that cause serious setbacks and delays in most years, sometimes com-

pletely annihilating well-advanced colonies and compelling the birds

102 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

to start all over again. Thus the breeding activities which started

unusually early (as did also the rains), though delayed by nearly a

month and a half owing to the unreadiness of the females to breed, ran

smoothly through and were successfully terminated by the end of

September. The clutches of the first flush of laying in early August

were larger and also resulted in a higher percentage of hatching success.

Table 1 shows the clutch size in 25 nests examined at random during

the 1957 season in the Parbati Hill area:

TABLE 1

No. of eggs in No. of nests Total eggs

clutch

1 3 3

2 2 4

3 9 vA |

4 8 32

5 2 10

8 | 81

“25 “84

Therefore, average size of clutch 3.3 as against 2.7 last year.

In a nest in colony KC3 two eggs were found to have been laid

on one and the same day (10 Aug.) presumably by different females,

while in two nests of the Control Colony it was observed that a fourth

and last egg was added after a gap of 5 and 6 days respectively. The

weight of those eggs, 2.2 gm. in each case, was definitely lower than

the other eggs of the clutches. These delayed eggs hatched success-

fully, but with the corresponding delay. The hatchings were found

dead the day following emergence, as a result of overcrowding and

competition with the older chicks.

Weirecht of -coos

The average weight of 57 of the apoE eggs which were fresh was

2.38 gni.; maximum 2.8, minimum 2.1 gm. (cf. last year’s 2.24 gm.;

maximum 2.7, minimum 1.9 gm.)

As compared with last year’s weights of the earlier layings in the

Control Colony, this season’s result is as follows:

Average weight of Ist egg (in 8 clutches) 2.28 gm.

Average weight of 2nd egg (in above 8 clutches) 2.39 gm.

EE EEE

. *This is quite abnormal and was probably the produce of more than one female.

~DS,

NOTES ON THE BAYA 103

It will be seen from Table 2 the average clutch size in 1957 was

larger than in 1956. As mentioned earlier no fresh eggs were found

in Control Colony in October, but the average clutch size in September

was definitely higher than in September of the previous year.

TABLE 2

Average Clutch Size

Year

Month ae A

1956 1957

August 3.0 3.0

September 23 3.2.

October 2.6 No eggs being laid.

Mean 2.6 3.1

Incubation Period

The commonest incubation period in the 1957 season was found

to be 15 days as against 16 days in 1956. Table 3 gives the details:

TABLE 3

Incubation Period

Period to hatching No. of cases observed

13 days no record

14 days 8

15 days 10

16 days 2

17 days 1

18 days no record

Nestling Period

Table 4 shows the period between hatching and leaving the nest.

The most common period in the 1957 season was the same as for

incubation, viz. 15 days. It was observed that this year all the oe

activities were apparently speeded up.

TABLE 4

Days in nest Cases observed

13 2

14 5

15 6

16 1

7s 1

104 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

NESTING SUCCESS

Eggs

Control Colony in the 1957 season contained 7 males, 9 females,

9 complete and occupied nests, and 4 incomplete ones. How-

ever, one of the nests was out of reach for examination and could not

be investigated. The total number of eggs in the 8 nests was 26, i.e.

3.2 per nest. Of these, 3 eggs got destroyed owing to rivalry amongst

the cocks; two eggs vanished for some unknown reason (? ejected).

The remaining 21 eggs all hatched successfully, i.e. 80.7%.

Young

Out of the 21 young, 15 left the nests successfully in due course,

1.e. 71.4% —or 57.6% of the total number of eggs laid. Therefore,

average success 1.9 chicks per nest as against only 1.00 last year.

SEX RATIO

Dissections confirmed last year’s finding that males are somewhat

in excess of females in the broods before the young leave the nest.

This poses a highly intriguing situation which calls for a detailed

study. The data for 1957, collected from random nests. in this area,

are given in Table 5.

TABLE 5

Date |, ANest INoe Total young | i | Q | 0?

9 Sept. 1 3 2 1

13 Sept. | 2 i 1 —

13 Sept. | 3 2s — 2

13 Sept. | 4 4 3. 1

18 Sept. | 5 3 ] l l

19 Sept. | 6 4 2 1 1

17 6 2

Therefore, ratio of males to females was 3:2.

COPULATION

On 5 August 1957 at 6.45 p.m. the first copulation of a pair was

observed in Control Colony. The act took place on the ‘chin

strap’ of a nest in the ‘helmet’ stage. Next day the nest was com-

pleted, all except the entrance tube. The first egg was laid on 9 Au-

gust, ie. on the fourth day after the initial copulation.

NOTES ON THE BAYA 105

For two years successively I had observed copulations of the baya

only as above, i.e. on the cross-bar of nests in the ‘helmet’ stage, but

in the 1957 season I recorded one away from a nest. At 9 a.m. (18

August) a female solicited on a branch of a tree adjacent to the colony

with shivering wings and partially upraised tail, upon which two cocks

from the colony promptly rushed up to her and tried to mount, and

one succeeded in copulating with her. This was undoubtedly an

instance of promiscuous mating as suggested by Salim Ali in our earlier

paper (JBNHS 54: 502—August 1957). |

ABNORMAL NESTS

I have been on a special look-out for abnormal nests of the baya

in the Poona area since 1953. It is extraordinary to note that during

the 1957 season not a single case of nest abnormality was observed.

The explanation may well lie in the fact that this breeding season was

an unusually short and steady one, unmarred by any setbacks as com-

pared with the past four years. As mentioned earlier, building

activities were completely over by the end of September, not a single

fresh nest or egg being found in October. The suggestion is that

when, due to meteorological interruptions, the birds are obliged to

re-start breeding activities late in the season, it becomes imperative for

them to speed up their activities. In order to make up for lost time

they then tend to take short cuts in building by makeshift additions

to a derelict nest still hanging, rather than remove it entirely before

commencing a fresh one in its place. Thus apparently are brought

about the ‘tandem’ nests and other abnormalities previously described.

DATA FROM RINGING

In the 1956 season all the adult birds in Control Colony (5 males,

10 females) and 9 nest-young had been ringed with coloured plastic

rings in an attempt to determine their degree of faithfulness to the

nest site. It is significant that none of these individuals returned to

the same colony to breed in 1957. However, one of the marked young

(No. 27, since determined to be a female) was discovered breeding

in a different colony at a distance of about four furlongs from its birth

place. A second bird (No. 14, also determined to be a female), also

ringed as a nestling in the same neighbourhood (KC3 Colony), was

likewise found breeding in another colony situated some 300 yards

from her place of birth. Curiously enough both these young and in-

experienced females were breeding in one and the same colony (KC 1)

which contained no other completed and occupied nests besides these

two,

106 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

One male (No. 41), who was used as a decoy for trapping birds

in the 1956 season and who had escaped during the experiment, was

also observed in a different nest colony (No. 9), but not definitely

ascertained to be breeding there. Out of a total of 36 birds colour-

ringed in 1956 only the above three birds were re-discovered in the

1957 season, ie. 8.3%.

Case history of Female Nor 27

Hatched out in nest No. 6 (Control Colony) on 6 September 1956.

Marked on 14-9-1956 with coloured rings red/white on right leg

when nine days old. Left nest on 21 September, ic. on 15th day.

Re-discovered breeding in August 1957 in nest colony KCl

situated about four furlongs NE. of Control Colony where ringed.

Laid first egg on 8 August 1957, i.e. when 336 days (about 11

months) old, and three more eggs on successive days. They measured

(1) 19.0x 15:0, (@) 20:0 x14 S53 (G)r195™ 15:0; 04) 19S ae

Of these, only one egg hatched in due time. One egg of the clutch was

accidentally broken; the other two disappeared during incubation;

the young died soon after hatching.

On the first few occasions when I approached the nest for daily

inspection of the contents, the incubating female did not leave till

I touched the nest although her mate was uttering anxious alarm notes

all the while. She apparently did not understand the significance of

the agitated calls. But after two days she had learnt the meaning

of the male’s warning notes and flew out as soon as they were uttered

Jong before the nest was touched, and sometimes even when I was

yet at a distance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks are again due to the Bombay Natural History Society

for a monetary grant to enable me to pursue the study, and to Mr. Salim

Ali for his continued interest, co-operation, and guidance in the work.

Two New Species of Echinoderella

(Phylum Kinorhyncha)

from the Bay of Bengal

RICHARD W. TIMM

Notre Dame College, Dacca, East Pakistan

(With two plates)

The phylum Kinorhyncha or Echinodera is small and little known

to the general zoologist. All the representatives of this phylum are

marine and under | millimetre in length. No kinorhynchs have pre-

viously been reported from the Bay of Bengal. The two species

described in this paper were obtained from screenings of bottom mud

exposed at low tide on Sonadia Island near Cox’s Bazar, East Pakistan.

They were collected in January, 1956.

Identification of the Kinorhyncha is based on body dimensions to

some extent, but especiallv on the number, position, and length of the

various spines and setae. The difficulty of identification results from

their small size and relative scarcity. It has been assumed that there

is little variation in body dimensions within a species and an absolute

fixity of the number, position, and length of the spines. ‘The presence

of one species in our collection in large numbers enables us to throw

some light on this assumption. Within a single population, at least,

there seems to be an exceedingly limited range of variation.

A further difficulty in identification comes from the fact that the

only difference between the genera Echinoderella and Echinoderes is

the presence of pigmented eyespots in the latter and their absence in

the former. However, it is well-known that the pigment of the eye-

spots fades after formalin fixation. Hence, observation must be made

of specimens in life or shortly after fixation in order to distinguish

between these two genera.

DESCRIPTION

The body of both the new species of Echinoderella is divided into

13 tergites or zonites. Each zonite consists of one dorsal or tergal

plate and two ventral or sternal plates. Overlapping the posterior

margins of zonites 3 to 12 are rows of tiny spines or setae. There are

relatively fewer scattered larger setae on the surface of these zonites.

108 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

The anterior zonites bear more scattered setae than the posterior; setae

are lacking near the mid-ventral line.

The first zonite forms the head, covered with circlets of spines or

scalids. The head is retractile within the second zonite, which is

covered by 16 little plates or placids. At the anterior margin of the

placids are found specialized scalids, consisting of a cuticular plate and

2 setae with bristles. At the anterior of the head is an oral cone

containing the oral stylets. The short oesophagus opens into a muscular

pharynx, which empties into a straight tubular intestine. Pigmented

eyespots are lacking in both species.

Echinoderella bengalensis new species (Fig. 1, A).

Length extended 400-438 , excluding the tail spines. Length re-

tracted 350-368 «. Maximum body diameter 58-77 ,,, Ratio of length

to breadth 7:1 to 5.7:1. Lateral spines on zonites 7 and 10, 15 pv

long. Mid-dorsal and sublateral spines absent. Paired tail spines,

67-77 «long. Anal cerci 23 , long. Scalids 36 » long. Two pairs of

penial setae or copulatory spicules protruding from the tail end of the

male, just to the inside of the anal cerci, 32 « long. Paired ovaries in

the female on either side of the intestine. Three mature ova observed

in one female, two on one side and one on the other, measuring about

80X45 xu. :

Cotype specimens: Personal collection, K 1.

Echinoderella sonadiae new species (Fig. 1, B).

Length extended 248 /. excluding the tail spines. Maximum body

diameter 60 /. Ratio of length to breadth 4:1. Mid-dorsal spines

on zonite 11 and at the border of zonites 10 and 11, 38 and 27 w long

respectively. Sublateral sclerotized spines on zonites 4-13, the longest

about 23 uw. Paired tail spines 48 « long. Anal cerci 15 « long.

Scalids about 22 « long. (3 specimens were observed but 2 were lost

before measurements were taken.)

Holotype female: Personal collection, K 2.

DISCUSSION

In their particular combination of several characters the two species

of Echinoderella described in this paper are seemingly new to science.

From observation of 25 specimens of E. bengalensis it was found that

the lateral spines are not always observable. Sometimes they are

pressed close to the body and are seen only after careful focusing

with an oil immersion lens. In a few specimens the anterior pair of

spines seems to be lacking entirely. Therefore, the erecting of new

species on the basis of number of dorsal. sublateral, or lateral, spines

is a tisky procedure unless observation is made of several specimens.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. ; PLaTe I

(oem en

mn; !

My vy ltl ty ee

i ees

reyeh

MOTT

Fig. 1A. Echinoderella bengalensis n.sp., ventral view. B. Echinoderella sonadiae n.sp.,

lateral view. ;

AC—anal cercus ; INT—intestine ; LS—lateral spine ; OO—oogonium ; OV—ovum;

PH—pharynx ; PL—placid ; SC—scalid ; TS—tail spine.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PcaTE II

iba \ i)

ecm ah

i ya mr ‘aul shy |

Pe Details ef eee oderella be galerie A. Pos Or of female, ventral view. B. Head

ended. Posterior of male, oat as ew D. Zon e 2, showing s specialized scalids of

a e E Zonite 7, v aie al view. "F, Zonite tL ral view.

TWO NEW SPECIES OF ECHINODERELLA 109

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Because of insufficient literature on the Kinorhyncha to ensure re-

liable identification the author sent descriptions and rough drawings

of the two species described here to Prof. A. Remane, Zoological

Institute, University of Kiel. I am indebted to him for kindly

identifying the two species as new to science and for pointing out

some recent literature on this group.

REFERENCES

Lang, K. (1949): Echinoderida. Remane, A. (1929): Kinorhyncha.

Further Zool. Results Swed. Antarct. Echinodera. Handb. Zool., v. 2, Teil 4.

Exp. 1901-1903. iv, 2. — — (1936) : Gastrotricha und Kino-

Nyholm, K.-G. (1947): Studies in the rhyncha. Bronn’s Klass. u. Ordnung-

Echinoderida. Arkiv. f. Zool. 39A, No. ee v. 4, Abt. 2, Buch 1, Teil 2

14. let. 2.

Remane, A. (1928): Kinorhyncha. Zelinka, K. (1928) : Monographie der

Tierwelt Nord u. Ostsee, Teil 7. Echinoderida. Leipzig.

Some Rare Indian Aphids

S. KANAKARAJ DAVID

Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore

INTRODUCTION

Several species of aphids have recently been added to the collections

of this Institute, some of which have not been previously reviewed by

the writer. Of these two are new to India, four though previously

noted require revision, and two had sexual forms in new localities

under conditions different from those observed before. Since very

little information is available on these aphids in India, the observations

made along with their present systematic position and economic status

are discussed in this paper. For certain other species, food plants not

noted before are added. Apart from the species collected by the

writer in South India, specimens were received from Dr. V. Prabhakara

Rao of the Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control, Bangalore

Station, collected in that area, and from Sri. R. N. Azad, Plant Virus

Research Laboratory, Simla, collected in the western Himalayas. The

identifications have been verified through the kind courtesy of Dr.

D. Hille Ris Lambers, Netherlands.

1. Aulacorthum solani (Kaltenbach)

Aphis solani Kaltenbach, 1843, Mono. d. Pfanzenlause.

Siphonophora convolvuli Buckton, 1876, Mono. Br. Aphides.

Myzus pseudosolani Theobald, 1922, S.E. Agric. Coll. Bull. I.

Aulacorthum solani (Kalt.) Hille Ris Lambers, 1948, Temminckia VIII.

Morphological features. The nymphs and adult ap-

terous females are whitish to pale green with a darker green or

brownish patch near the siphunculi. The head is scabrous with a

straight vertex and large antennal tubercles with parallel inner sides.

The antennae are longer than the body with 1 or 2 rhinaria near the

base of the IIJ antennal segment. The processus terminalis is 4 or 5

times the base of the VI segment. The body hairs are short and

slightly swollen at the tip. The abdomen has dark intersegmental

markings in pairs on each segment. The siphunculi are pale and

cylindrical except for the apex which is brown. The cauda is conical

with about 8 hairs. The alate female is darker with pale sclerotic

bands on the sides. The HI antennal segment has about 14 circular

rhinaria.

SOME RARE INDIAN APHIDS ial

Host plants and distribution. This aphid occurred

in Ootacamund in the Nilgiris district in south India (elevation 7,200 ft.

above m.s.l.). It was found on Digitalis purpurea on the lower

surface of leaves in bushy portions of the plant. It was noted in

January and February.

In Europe and America it is said to be polyphagous feeding on a

wide range of hosts. Jacob (1944) observed overwintering of apterous

viviparous females in Britain. The single apterous females containing

embryos resting without reproducing nymphs on the same host in

Ootacamund along with the shrunken integument lead one to believe

that similar conditions may be prevalent in this locality also.

According to Hille Ris Lambers (1949) the aphid is distributed

in Europe, North America, and New Zealand. Essig (1947) gives

China, Japan, Africa, and Hawaii also. This is the first time it is being

noted in India. It has evidently been introduced into this country

along with some commercial products in recent years.

Economic importance. In Europe and America this

aphid, commonly called the Foxglove Aphid, is of considerable im-

portance as a vector of several virus diseases of potato. In south

‘India it has not yet been noted on potato and its injury to Digitalis is

rather slight. |

2. Liosomaphis berberidis (Kaltenbach)

Aphis berberidis Kaltenbach, 1843, Mono. d. Pflanzenlause.

Morpbological features. The apterous viviparous

female has short, pale antennae with the processus terminalis just

longer than the base. The head, thorax, and abdomen are pigmented

with dark sclerotic bands across each segment. The markings on the

abdominal segments 3 to 5 coalesce to form a central broad patch. The

siphunculi are pale, smooth, narrow at the base to about the third

and swollen afterwards, the swollen portion being about double of

the narrow portion in width. Two or three transverse striae are seen

below the expanded flange. Cauda is pale, about half of the siphun-

culi, with a conical apex and 5 hairs.

Host plant and distribution. This aphid was noted at

Simla in the western Himalayas (coll. R.N. Azad) during September.

So far it was known only in Europe, and the present record has to

be regarded as the first from outside the Palaearctic Region. The

aphid has possibly been introduced into this country recently and, since

the climatic conditions in Simla are similar to those in temperate

regions, the aphid would appear to have survived there.

112 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Economic importance. The aphid is not of any im-

portance as it attacks only a hardy perennial which is not cultivated.

3. Forda hirsuta Mordvilko

Forda hirsuta Mordvilko, 1928, Bestimer der Insekten.

Forda orientalis George, 1928, J. & Proc. Asiat. Soc. 20.

Morphological features. The apterous’ viviparous

female has a lightly pigmented head with many short and spiny

hairs and small warts all over. Antennae are pale brown all through

with many hairs which are as long as those on the body; the I

segment has 8, the II 13, HI 23, IV 11, and V 16+4. The hairs

on the tergites in the thoracic and abdominal regions are distributed

in large groups on the margins. The 8th tergite has 16 hairs. The

cauda is rounded with about 20 short and stout hairs. The rostrum

reaches the 3rd coxa with the last segment elongate and as long as the

2nd joint of the hind tarsus; it has an acute apex and has 12 short

hairs apart from the apical ones. The tarsal formula is 7 hairs

each with 2 empodial hairs.

Measurements of apterous female, in mm.

Length of Antennae Antennal segments Last segment 2nd tarsus of

body I Tf Th. ty Vv of rostrum hind leg

2.46 .85 11 “12 2814 euS E205 oD 2

Host plants and distribution. The aphids were

found feeding on the roots of Pennisetum iyphoides in Coimbatore

during October. George (1928) recorded it on Sorghum vulgare

(=Andropogon sorghum) in Coimbatore. Apart from south India

it has been noted only in central Asia, Iran, and Turkey.

This aphid is very similar in appearance to the common grass-

root aphid of Coimbatore, namely Tetraneura hirsuta (Baker), but

the pale yellow colour of the living form, the absence of siphunculi,

and the absence of long hairs on the margins make it easily

recognisable. |

Dr. D. Hille Ris Lambers points out that the south Indian form

is identical with the central Asian form, and therefore it is here

treated as a synonym.

4. Tetraneura javensis van der Goot

Tetraneura javensis v.d. Goot, 1917, Contr. a la Fauna des Indes Neerland.

T. cynodonti subsp. coimbatorensis George, 1928, J. & Proc. Asiat. Soc. 20.

Morphological features. The apterous viviparous

female has a sclerotic brown head with long hairs which are about

twice the basal breadth of the III antennal segment. The antennae

SOME RARE INDIAN APHIDS | 113

are short and dark brown with many hairs which are only about

half of those on the vertex. The abdominal segments have long

marginal hairs in groups of 3 or 4 on each segment. The tergum

is clear except for intersegmental, pleural, brown spots on the anterior

segments and complete bars on the 7th and 8th tergites. Wax plates

are found on the margins in between spiracles and are composed

of a large cell surrounded by 10 to 20 small ones with thick walls.

Another row is found spinally which has only 2 or 3 small glands

surrounding the central one. The siphunculi are brown and conical

with a constriction below the large flange. The cauda is rounded

with about 10 hairs and the anal plate also rounded with 12 hairs.

The rostrum is short, reaching just past the 2nd coxa with the

apical segment elongate having a pointed tip and 4 hairs apart

from the apical ones. The legs are brown with thin hairs.

Host plants and distribution. This aphid occurred

on sugarcane in Perianaikenpalayam near Coimbatore (coll. K. R.

Nagarajan) in January and February. The infested plants were

turning yellow (Nagarajan, 1957) and getting stunted in growth.

Solenopsis geminata was attending on it, but did not produce the

characteristic ant holes near the plants.

The previous record of this aphid in India was by George (1928)

in Coimbatore on sugarcane. It has been noted also in Java on

the same plant. It can be easily distinguished by the whitish colour

of the body and the darker colour of the legs and antennae of the

living forms.

The suggestion of Dr. D. Hille Ris Lambers that the south Indian

and the Javanese forms may be the same has been accepted here

and the former treated as a synonym.

5. Rhopalosiphum rufiabdeminalis (Sasaki)

Toxoptera rufiabdominalis Sasaki, 1899, Hok. Agr. Expt. Sta. Rt. 17.

Rhopalosiphum avenae F. George, 1928, J. & Proc. Asiat. Soc. 20.

The rice-root aphid had been confused with other cereal aphids,

till Doncaster (1956) drew attention to the distinguishing features

especially the rusty coloration around the siphunculi in the living

forms. George (1925, 1928) noted this aphid attacking the roots of

Eleusine coracana and Echinochloa colona (=Panicum colonum) in

Coimbatore from September to November. In the present case the

aphids were captured as alates on Eleusine coracana in Coimbatore

from May to June when there was cool and humid weather with

rain. It is apparently a casual visitor to this locality as no regular

colonies are found on these plants. In north India it appears to

114. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

be more common as Das (1918) recorded it from various plants in

central India, and Banerjee and Basu (1955) from the eastern region.

6. Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus)

Aphis padi Linnaeus, 1758, Sys. Nat. X.

This is another aphid affecting cereal crops which closely resembles

the last. Eastop (1955) and Doncaster (1956) have shown that the

species can be distinguished by the smaller number of hairs on the

8th abdominal tergite as well as. the shorter hairs on the antennae

and body.

The aphid was noted in the western Himalayas (col. R. N. Azad)

at Simla feeding on wheat in November. Banerjee and Basu (1955)

also recorded it from the eastern region in north India. So far it

has not been found in south India.

7. Males in Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (Linnaeus)

This is an aphid well known all over the world for its habit of

feeding on Prunus sp. as a primary host, and migrating to aquatic

plants in summer. In south India it has so far been noted only on

its secondary hosts on the hills as well as the plains. Sexual forms

had yet not been secured in any locality in India. Alate males have

now been obtained in Coimbatore from a colony feeding on Eichhornia

crassipes in January. The production of males on its secondary host

in a comparatively warm region where the primary hosts are not

available has necessarily to be abortive. The temperature and photo-

period of the season should have been conducive to the production of

the sexual forms. However, colonies on the secondary hosts in Nilgiri

Hills during the same period have not yet been found to produce any

sexual forms. Extensive colonies were found on Aponogeton mono-

charia living only by parthenogenesis.

8. Males in Schoutedenia emblica (Patel & Kulkarni)

Apterous males and oviparous females had been reported (David

& Hille Ris Lambers 1956) in Schoutedenia emblica subsp. andhraka

David & HRL. from the east coast of south India, in the monsoon

season. Schoutedenia emblica (Patel & Kulkarni) occurring on the

west coast in March contained apterous males similar to the ones

reported before. Since the temperature and photoperiod of summer

is different from that of the monsoon season, the production of sexual

forms under these conditions in the plains of India should be of con-

siderable interest.

SOME RARE INDIAN APHIDS 115

9. Oviparous females in Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus)

The mealy cabbage aphid is known all over the world to be an

injurious pest of cruciferous vegetables in temperate regions, and has

been found to occur to a limited extent in north India. It had so far

been known only from its parthenogenetic forms in this country.

Specimens collected from Simla in March on cabbage (coll. R. N. Azad)

contained oviparous females. Simla experiences severe winter with

snow as in the temperate regions. In March, however, the conditions

are similar to those of the northern spring. It is rather unusal to find

Oviparae in this season.

This aphid has not so far been found in south India, either on

the plains or on the hills.

UNRECORDED Foop PLANTS OF SOME SOUTH INDIAN APHIDS

Aphis craccivora Koch. Carica papaya (Papaya). Small colonies were

noted on the leaves in March which made the leaves curl.

Aphis gossypii Glover. Achras sapota (Sapota), Bidens pilosa, Coniza

sp., Emilia sonchifolia, and Lawsonia alba from January to March:

Polyalthia longifolia (coll. V.P.Rao) in Bangalore; Ocimum

sanctum in July; Pimpinella monoica, Solanum nigrum, S. sea-

forthianum, and S. wenlandi in February.

Aphis malvoides van der Goot. Emilia sonchifolia.

Macrosiphum hellebori Theobald & Walton. Agrostemma coelirosa.

The record of M. euphorbiae (Thomas) on Echeveria sp. (David

1956) refers to this species.

Schizaphis graminum (Rondani). Sorghum vulgare seedlings in July.

Tetraneura hirsuta (Baker). Setaria italica in Coimbatore and Eleusine

coracana in Pattambi in central Kerala in October. Due to the

compact nature of the laterite soil of the region, the aphids were

found crowding on the surface of the soil at the base of the stem,

attended by red ants.

Toxoptera aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe. Caesalpinia coriaria in

February in Coimbatore, and Mangifera indica and Saccharum

officinarum in Bangalore (coll. V.P. Rao).

Toxoptera odinae (van der Goot). Achras sapota, in February.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer is indebted to Dr. D. Hille Ris Lambers for his valuable

advice in the studies and to Dr. V. Prabhakara Rao, Bangalore, and

116 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Sri. R. N. Azad, Simla, for kindly sparing the material for study.

Acknowledgements are made to Sri. M. Basheer, Government Ento-

mologist, for the facilities given for the studies.

REFERENCES

Banerjee, S. N. & Basu, A. (1955):

Aphidae of West Bengal. Cur. Sci. 24

Qs ol

Das, Bashamber (1918) : Aphididae of

Lahore. Mem. Indian Mus. 6: 135-274.

David, S. Kanakaraj (1956): Addi-

tional notes on some aphids in the Madras

State. Madras Agric. J. 43 (3) : 103-107.

— — & D. Hille Ris Lambers (1956):

Notes on South Indian Aphids; II,

Sexual forms in Schoutedenia Rubs.

Indian J. Ent. 58 (1): 41-44.

Doncaster, J. P. (1956): The Rice

Root Aphid. Bull. Ent. Res. 47: 741-

747.

Eastop, V. F. (1955): Notes on East

African Aphids, VII, Grass and cereal

stem and leaf feeding species. E. African

Agric. J. 20 (3) : 209-212.

George, C. J. (1925): Root sucking

aphids of Coimbatore. J. & Proc. Asiatic

Soc. Bengal n. ser. 20 (1924) : 307-310.

— — (1929) : South Indian Aphididae.

ibid. 23 (1927): 1-12.

Hille Ris Lambers, D. (1949) : Contri-

butions to a monograph on the Aphididae

of Europe, IV. Temminckia 8 : 182-324.

Jacob, F. H. (1944): A two years’

survey of the potato aphid in the Northern

Agricultural Advisory Province. Ann.

Ap. Biol. 31 (4) : 312-319.

Nagarajan, K.R, (1957) : Rare occur-

rence of the root aphid on sugarcane in

South India. Indian Journ. of Sugarcane

Res. and Dey. 2 (1):3.

The Food and Feeding Habits of

Some Freshwater Fishes of

Madras State

M. D. MENON AND P. I. CHACKO

[IN DR OD U CLEON

A study of the food and feeding habits of fishes is undoubtedly

very important in any fisheries research programme. Recently Hynes

(1950) and Piltay (1952) have reviewed the various methods employed.

in the study of the food of fishes, and Rounsefell and Everhart (1952)

have described these different methods in detail.

In 1942, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research sponsored

a study on the bionomics of freshwater fishes under the Madras

Rural Piscicultural scheme and detailed studies on the food of the

economically important species including the ‘larvicidal fishes’ of the

State were undertaken at the Fresh Water Biological Research Station,

Madras. An account is given in this paper of the food and feeding

habits of half-grown and adult stages of these fishes'. In the present

study no attempt is made to include food analysis of species collected.

from ‘cultural waters’ as the data obtained therefrom differs consider-

ably from that for the same species found in ‘natural waters’, from

where the material for this study was collected.

Mookerjee et al. (1946) classified the feeding habits of some fishes

on the basis of the presence of the maximum percentage of the types of

food in the alimentary canals. From the point of view of the types

of food chosen, Kesteven (1946) classified the fishes into herbivorous,

carnivorous, and polyphagous and indicated that within these three

major groups the fishes should again be classified according to the

ecological conditions under which they feed. Ganapati and Chacko

(1950) grouped several fishes of piscicultural importance into surface

feeders, column feeders, and bottom feeders. This, though useful for

general observations, becomes inapplicable while suggesting the com-

binations of fishes for fish-cultural operations. For instance, it is

necessary to differentiate plankton feeders (surface feeders) into

phytoplankton and zooplankton feeders when the suitability of a fish

as cyclopscidal fish is examined for introduction in a tank. In some

1 The nomenclature used here is according to Day (1889),

118 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

cases, the utility of fish for the eradication of several of the molluscs

that act as intermediate hosts for some of the helminth parasites may

have to be assessed. In such instances it is necessary that the grouping

‘Browsers’ be split into various sub-groups according to the taxonomic

position of the organisms fed upon. Therefore, it is necessary to

classify fishes according to the problems that are tackled, and an outline

classification on these lines, followed by descriptive notes is given

below:

Plankton feeders (A).

1. Surface feed

€ feeders Insectivores (B).

2. Browsers or bottom feeding on filamentous algae,. mol-

feeders j luscs, and worms.

3. Vegetable feeders feeding on aquatic plants.

4. Column feeders feeding mostly on larger crustacea,

e.g. shrimps and prawns.

5. Piscivores

Group I---SURFACE FEEDERS!

This group deals with fishes that feed on plankton and insects:

A. PLANKTON FEEDERS: The typical plankton feeders as determined

from the percentage composition of their food (vide Table I) can

again be split into (a) Phytoplankton feeders, and (b) Zooplankton

feeders.

(a) Phytoplankton feeders: Fishes of this group are

found to have in their guts food composed of phytoplankton forming

about 28 to 68% consisting of the following:

Chlorophyceae: Ankistrodesmus, Chroococcus, Closterium,

Coelastrum, Cosmarium, Crucigenia, Eudorina, Pandorina,

Pediastrum, and Scenedesmus.

Myxophyceae: Merismopedia, Microcystis, and Spirulina.

Diatoms: Amphora, Coconeis, Cyclotella, Cymbella, Eunotia,

Fragillaria, Gomphonema, Melosira, Navicula, Nitzschia,

Pinnularia, Rhopalodia, Surirella, Synedra, and Tabellaria.

The following fishes can be grouped under this head:

Barbus amphibius, B. aurelius, B. chola, B. dubius, B. filamentosus,

B. sophore, B. ticto, Catla catla, Cirrhina cirrhosa, Labeo boga,

Osteocheilus thomassi, Thynnichthys sandkhol, Lebistes reticulatus, and

Macropodus cupanus.

1 The analysis of the food of fishes given has been done volumetrically and the

percentages of the various groups are hence by volume.

FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF FRESHWATER FISHES 119

(6) Zooplankton feeders: A major percentage of the

food of the fishes of this group is made up of zoogplanktonic organisms

such as:

Copepods: Cyclops spp., Mesocyclops, Pseudodiaptomus spp.,

and Diaptomus spp. |

Protozoans: Arcella, Difflugia, Phacus, Peridinium, and Euglena.

Rotifers: Noteus, Diurella, and Brachionus.

Cladocerans: Diaphanosoma spp., Daphnia spp.., a iat

spp., and Macrothrix spp.

The fishes falling under this group are Ambassis nama, A. ranga,

Barbus sarana, B. vittatus, and Chela clupeoides.

B. INSECTIVORES: Of the surface feeders, fishes show pre-

ferential feeding habits by taking mainly the insects and their larvae

in various stages of metamorphosis, such as Chironomus, Ephemero-

pteran larvae, Dipteran larvae, Plea, Notonecta, Corixa, Ranatra,

Odonata larvae, and Cybister and other water beetles. From an

examination of the food (Table II) the following fishes can be classi-

fied as mainly insectivorous:

Anabas scandens, Barilius bakeri, B. bendelisis, Chela argentea, C.

bacaila, C. untrahi, Danio aequipinnatus, Rasbora daniconius, Etroplus

maculatus, Gambusia affinis, and Aplocheilus lineatus.

Group II—BROWSERS OR BOTTOM FEEDERS

The fishes feeding on filamentous algae, molluscs, and worms and

those in whose stomachs sand grains in fair proportion are found have

all been placed under this group (vide Table III). Generally, the fila-

mentous algae are found in shallow areas or attached to rocks and

such other anchorages at the margins. The mollusca are often seen

on the algae or on the submerged stones. In view of these ecological

conditions, fishes having in their stomachs a good percentage of

filamentous algae have also been placed along with the typical bottom

feeders.

The main composition of the diet of the fishes of this group is as

follows :

Filamentous algae: Gleotrichia, Lyngbia, Nostoc, Oedogonium,

Oscillatoria, Spirogyra, and Ulothrix.

Molluscs: Melanoides tuberculatus, and Indoplanorbis exustus.

Worms: Nais.

Fishes under this head are Barbus carnaticus, B. stigma, Cirrhina

reba, Labeo boggut, L. calbasu, L. fimbriatus, L. kontius, Nuria

danrica, Lepidocephalus thermalis, Pangasius pangasius, Ophiocep-

halus punctatus, and Etroplus suratensis,

120 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Group IJI—VEGETABLE FEEDERS

Fishes classified under this group are found to have their diet

composed mainly of the higher aquatic plants, dead leaves and seeds

of land plants, and other vegetable debris (Table IV).

The following fishes can be placed under this group Barbus

hexagonolepis, B. curmuca, and Osphronemus goramy.

Group IV—COLUMN FEEDERS

Under this are grouped those fishes that are found to be feeding

on the faster moving and larger crustaceans like shrimps (Caridina).

Only Barbus chrysopoma has been found to be feeding mainly on

the larger crustaceans and is classified as a typical column feeder

(vide Table V).

GROUP V—PISCIVORES

Lastly are the fish that are found to be feeding predominantly on

fish (vide Table VI). Both young and adolescent fish have been

found in their gut contents. The piscivores have been observed to

select advantageous positions in natural waters to capture fish that

try to swim rapidly below anicuts and regulators.

The following fishes can be classified as typical piscivores .

Notopterus notopterus, Callichrous macrophthalmus, C. pabda,

Macrones seenghala, Saccobranchus fossilis, Silonia silonia, Wallago

attu, Glossogobius giuris, Gobius biocellatus, and Ophiocephalus

striatus.

APPLICATION OF DATA ON FOOD AND FEERING HABITS TO FISH CULTURE

Ganapati and Chacko (1950) while making suggestions for stock-

ing fish ponds in Madras stated that one of the problems of fish farm

management is ‘to work on the combination of species that will

produce the maximum yield of edible fish for each type of pond’.

The composition of such combinations will vary depending on the

types of available food items. ‘So a pond should be stocked with

surface feeders, column feeders, and bottom feeders to get maximum

production. As a general rule, it is advisable to stock a pond with

50% of fingerlings of surface feeders, 25% of column feeders, and with.

25% of bottom feeders’. These proportions are based on the fact

that the region of biological productivity is confined to the regions of

photosynthesis and that the bottom region is the zone of biological

reduction. The same authors have suggested various combinations

with respect to the types of food available in various types of tanks.

FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF FRESHWATER FISHES 121

Apart from food, many of these fishes can be utilised from the

point of view of public health. Many waters emit a foul odour

when having blooms of some algae. The blue-green alga Microcystis,

is one that gives rise to such periodical blooms creating very foul

odour. Cirrhina cirrhosa, Labeo bogegut, and Barbus dubius are good

for a very successful combating of these blooms. Very thick growths

of Hydrila, Oscillatoria, and Spirogyra have been successfully cleared

by Tilapia mossambica, Labeo calbasu, and Catla catla in the Chetput

Fish Farm. The importance of food and feeding habits data on fishes

becomes very apparent when their usefulness for control of water-

borne diseases is examined. Thus Gambusia affinis, Aplocheilus

lineatus, Rasbora daniconius, and Etroplus maculatus have been used

very successfully for the control of mosquito larvae and Ambassis ranga,

A. nama, and Chela clupeoides have proved to be very good cyclopscidal

fishes. Chacko and Kuriyan (1949) observed the occurrence of large

numbers of molluscs in the stomachs of Catla catla. The culture of

this carp in rural waters may help the control of molluscs which are

the intermediary hosts of many of the helminth parasites.

Most of the piscivores can be very well used for a successful fish

culture in swamps, rock quarry pools, and tanks where net fishing

is a problem and line fishing alone is possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Our thanks are due to Sri B. Krishnamurthy for his valuable

suggestions.

REFERENCES

Chacko, P. I. and Kuriyan G. K.

(1949) : The bionomics of the carp Catla

catla (Cuv. & Val.)in South Indian waters.

Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 120 (1) : 39-42.

Ganapati, S. V. and Chacko, P. I.

(1950): Suggestions for stocking fish

ponds in Madras. Madras Agri. Journ.

7: 1-5. ;

Hynes, H. B. N. (1950) : The food of

the freshwater sticklebacks (Gasterosteus

aculeatus and Pygosteus pengitis) with a

review of methods used in studies of

a food of fishes. J. Anim. Ecol. 19:

-53.

Job, T. J. (1941) : Food and feeding

habits of the glass fishes (Ambassis Cuv.

& Val.) and their bearing on the biological

control of guineaworm and malaria.

Indian J. Med. Res. 29 (4) : 851-862.

Kesteven, G. L. (1946): An exami-

nation of certain aspects of the methodo-

logy and theory of fisheries biology.

eos Div. of Fisheries Feb. 1946 :

1-137.

Mookerjee, H. K., Sengupta, S. N.,

Roy Choudhury, P. K. (1946) : Food and

its percentage composition of the common

adult food fishes of Bengal. Sci. &

Cul, 12 : 247-249,

Pillay, T. V. R. (1952): A critique of

the methods of study of food of fishes.

J. Zool. Soc. India 4 (2) : 185-200.

Rounsefell, G. A. & Everhart, W. H.

(1953): FISHERY SCIENCE: ITS METHODS

AND APPLICATIONS. New York.

122

PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF THE FOOD GROUPS IN THE GUT CONTENTS OF THE FRESHWATER FISHES OF MADRAS

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

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Table I—Plankton feeders

1. | Ambassis nama 50 56 210 0.2) — — | 16.4) 45.8; 16.1 | 21.3

2.|A.ranga om a 230; 0.4! — | — | 101] 46.9} 25.7 | 16.5 | Oa

3. | Barbus amphibius Es a 260 | 62.0| 18.0} — | — | 120] 1.0] 5.0 2.0

4. | B. aurelius ci -.| 311 | 32.0) 240] 4.0) 60} 13.0] — | 15.0 6.0

5. |B. chola i = -2505||'"6810)||' 12:01!) =0 || —=wilieratoll! alo 4.0

6. | B. dorsalis | 210} 37.5] 15.0) — | 6.0] 116] 8.3] 20.0] - = | ies) = |S

7. |B. dubius | 136] 29.1 | 241] — | 1.0] 125! 20] 17.2! | 1) AG

8. | B. filamentosus | 175 | 28.0} 22.0] — — 24.0 i 8.0 | 10.0 | : 8.0

9. | B. sarana i sol GO OO) SS GS BUG Se ae an|| Gt = | Se) S

10. | B. sophore Me 1, 250) 44.0] 240] — | — | 16.0] 2.0] 10.0 | 40

11. | B. ticto a ..| 270 34.0| 25.0; — | — | 20.0] 3:0] 10.0] | 8:0)

12. |B. vittatus " si 1455), 32!0) 1810) |e | eee |e34°0)) Ol aston 7.0

13. | Catla catla - -.| 1,500 28.0} 10.0} 30.0) 5.0) 10.0] 10.0] — | 3.0 | 4.0 |

14. | Chela clupeoides a An 134) 40; 2.0} — | 2.0} 58.0} 16.0{ 18.0 : = |

15. | Cirrhina cirrhosa 5 i} 360} s2.0{ 190] — | 80] 140] 70] — |

16. |Labeo boga at -. | 110} 39.0] 22.0} — | 8.0] 15.0] 12.0 | 4.0 |

17. | Lebistes reticulatus 50 3 440 | 30.0| 15.0) — 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 27.0 | 3.0 :

18. |Macropodus cupanus a 320 | 35.0} 200] — | 5.0| — | 20.0] 15.0 | =|} = ] 50

19. | Osteocheilus thomassi .. “2 176 | 60.0] 5.0] — | 100] 200] — | — | — | 50] — :

20. 'Thynnichthys sandkhol .. aa 184 | 50.0| 120) — 10.0 | 18.0] 10.0) — | —_ = = = =

Table 1]—Insectivores

1. | Anabas scandens 0 AG 1850)\5—= 2.0 { 13.0) — el 10.5 | 40.5 | 14.0) 190] — | 10| —

2. | Aplocheilus lineatus a7 Bo 413 | 22.0} — — 9.0 | 11.0 | 58.0

3. | Barilius bakeri 55 56 164] 5.0) 50) — — 5.0 | 10.0 | 70.0 5.0

4. | B. bendelisis 90 06 128] 8.0| 10.0] 2.0] 1.0] 10.0} 13.0) 46.0) — | 8.0} 1.0) 1.0) —

5. | Chela argentea 50 20 527 | 15.0| 10.0} — 5.0 | 12.0} 3.0 | 55.0 |

6. | C. bacaila 60 20 213 seb] Cy) == _ Sal 64.6 | 22.8 | — = = =

7. | C. untrahi 50 0 385} 4.0) 3.0) — 3.0 | 22.0 | 2.0] 66.0) — — = = =

8. | Danio aequipinnatus ae 5G 440 | 16.6 | 20.8 8.3) — 8.5); — | 45.6 0.2) — — — _

9. | Etroplus maculatus O00 Ab 450| 66| 5.6 1.6 | 2.0 | 28.2 1.0) 31.0:| — — | 24.0) — —

10. | Gambusia affinis Bo a 610 | 25.0) 15.0| — — | 10.0| 5.0} 45.0 =

11. | Rasbora daniconius ae 28 400 | 25.0) 7.0 | 12.0 3.0 CHO} || — 40.0| — —_ 5:0) — _

Table 11I—Browsers or bottom feeders

1. | Barbus carnaticus On onl 225 | 14.4) 39.2 | 31.5) — — 1.1/( 11.3) O.5{ — = 2.0| —

2. |B. stigma 00 20 313 | 15.0 | 55.0) — 2.0) 18.0} 80] 2.0) — = = = =

3. | Cirrhina reba on ail 423 | 18.0| 54.0} 6.0) 10.0) 9.0 3.0 — =

4. | Etroplus suratensis a 66 | 576 | 28.0 | 44.0 2.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.5 0.5) — 1.0} 10.0); —

5. |Labeo boggut a0 on|| 100 | 25.0 | 56.0 — _— — 19.0

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7. \L. fimbriatus a0 ¥ 610 | 26.0 | 38.0; — — 1.0} 4.0) 3.0) — _— — | 28.0) —

8. | L. kontius 20 ai 214 | 21.0] 16.0] 19.0) — 4.0} 3.0) 9.0) — — 6.0 | 22.0} —

9. | Lepidocephalus thermalis . . BO 250 | 25.0 | 65.0 3.0 2.0 — 5.0} —

10. | Nuria danrica aa ea 234 | 30.0 | 40.0); — — 7.0| 3.0] 12.0} — — = 8.0) —

11. | Ophiocephalus punctatus ae 418 _— — 25.0 5.0 | 20.0 | 30.0} 20.0} —

12. | Pangasius pangasius = 175 | — 1.6 | 10.7) — — 2.3 | 18.2 | 31.8] 35.4) — = =

13. | Tilapia mossambica 433 | 21.0.) 52.0! 12.0| 0.3] 51] 3.4] — | O11} — — 6.0 | —

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‘

A Note on Aeginetia acautlis

(Roxb.) Walp.

N. A. ERADY

University College, Trivandrum

AND

K. RAJAPPAN

Government College, Chittur

(With one plate)

The plant forming the subject of this note was found growing

on grassy hill-slopes at Ponmudi in the Western Ghats at an altitude

of about 900 metres. It was first collected by the authors in October

1954 and subsequently during September, October, and November in

1955 and 1956. A very large number of plants was examined in

the fresh condition; observations made on the same fresh plants

showed characters closely resembling those of the imperfectly known

Aeginetia abbreviata Buch.-Ham. and Aeg. adcaulis (Roxb.) Walp.

According to Beck Mannagetta (1930) the former species has been

reported from Rangoon in Burma, Sylhet in East Pakistan, and

Manila in the Philippines; but he has not mentioned anything about

the distribution of the latter species. In view of the fact that our

material combines characters of both the ill-defined species mentioned

above, we think it worthwhile to give a comprehensive description of

it based on the very ample material at our disposal.

DESCRIPTION

Plants parasitic on the roots of grasses. Rhizome very short,

simple, up to 8 mm. thick, irregularly cylindrical, light brown and

sparsely scaly. Roots few to many, wiry, sparsely branched with

irregular swellings at the place of contact with the host roots, up to

2 mm. thick and occasionally developing adventitious buds that serve

for vegetative propagation. Inflorescence solitary and terminal or

rarely 2-3 arising from the axils of scale leaves in the shortened

rhizome; raceme 1-3-flowered or rarely in radical irregular congested

i126 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

sessile clusters and 4-5-flowered. Peduncle creamy white, glabrous,

not reaching much above the soil level and up to 6 mm. thick and

2.5 cm. long. Bracts 3-8 mm. long, lower ones small sterile, and

creamy white, upper ones larger, fertile, and with a violet tinge, ovate

or ovate-triangular, imperfectly three-lobed, median lobe larger and

obtuse, margin non-ciliate. Pedicels always much shorter than the

flowers, 2-14 mm. long and light greyish violet in colour. Flowers

medianly zygomorphic, 1.5-3.8 cm. long. Calyx spathaceous, split in

front to the base or nearly so, at the back to a quarter to half its

length, the lobes unequal (rarely 3-5 subequal lobes); the whole calyx

is more or less equal in length to the corolla tube, 1.3-3 cm. long,

broader above, narrowing to the base, its inner surface glandular, the

outer one greyish violet with a touch of yellow about the middle; the

calyx is filled with a viscous fluid. Corolla tube more or less as long

as the calyx, dull yellow, glabrous, lower side inflated, base contracted,

constricted at the insertion of the stamens, afterwards broadened and

then expanding into a bilabiate 5-lobed lim; throat golden yellow;

lobes bright violet, orbicular-reniform, obscurely crenulate imbricate;

the three anterior lobes differ in size, intensity of colour, and texture

from the two posterior ones; median anterior lobe larger than the

others, deflexed outwards and then downwards and with a comparatively

thick prominent bright golden yellow platform near the throat; anterior

lateral lobes each with a circular golden yellow mark on the margin

adjacent to the odd lobe. Stamens 4, inserted at the constricted part

of the corolla tube, included, didynamous, filaments glabrous, anther

cells divergent, one sterile and one fertile, the sterile cell of the longer

stamens much reduced and subconical, that of the shorter stamens as

long as or slightly longer than the fertile cell, fleshy, falcate

and shortly mucronate, fertile cell of the lateral pairs imper-

fectly connate along their lateral sides, subreniform and with

extrorse longitudinal dehiscence; pollen grains 17-24 « broad, smooth

walled and many of them germinating even before liberation from the

anther cells. Ovary of 2 carpels, syncarpous, unilocular, placentae

parietal, bifurcating, fleshy and solid above, intricately lamellated

below, ovules 165-215 yu long, 115-148 “ broad, numerous, anatropous,

and arising from the entire surface of the placenta; style glabrous,

persistent; stigma large, peltate or rarely subcordate-peltate, densely

pubescent, and with a transverse slit in the centre. Fruit ovoid, beaked,

capsule somewhat fleshy and irregularly dehiscing, dark pulpy ~

placentum much relished by insects and seeds dispersed by them after

passage through their alimentary canal; seeds 320-363 » long and

198-240 « broad, ovoid, dark brown, and with a hard, stony seed

coat; embryo minute and undifferentiated, endosperm oily and filling

the seed. Fe ah 4

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Bhom Figs. 1-8

Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp.

1. Entire plant attached to the roots of the host plant showing flowers in a radical

cluster and roots with adventitious buds. 2. Plant showing fiowers in various stages

of development and the origin of secondary inflorescence from the rhizome. 3. Bract.

4. Spread open corolla tube showing didynamous stamens. 5. Calyx. 6. Mature

fruit showing persistent style, calyx, and part of the corolla tube. 7. Gynoecium

showing front and side views of the stigma. 8. Median L.S. of flower. 9. Stamens.

10. T.S. of ovary through upper part. 11. T.S. of ovary through the middle part.

A NOTE ON AEGINETIA ACAULIS 127

DISCUSSION

According to Hooker (1892), Aeginetia abbreviata Buch.-Ham. and

Aeg. acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. do not differ from Aeg. pedunculata Wall.

and hence he considers these names as synonyms of the latter species.

Beck Mannagetta (1930), however, provisionally recognises those two

species as varieties of Aeg. pedunculata, viz. Aeg. pedunculata Wall.

var. abbreviata (Buch.-Ham.) and Aeg. pedunculata Wall. var. acaulis

(Roxb.) Walp. :

A careful study of the characters of the plant described in this

note clearly reveals the fact that it incorporates the characters of both

_ the above mentioned varieties of Aeg. pedunculata described by Beck

Mannagetta. Hence there is every reason to believe that these two

varieties represent one and the same plant described by different

authors from scanty materials, collected probably from widely differing

localities. |

The relationship of the plant under study is obviously with Aeg.

pedunculata Wall., but clearly differing in the much shorter scape and.

pedicels, imperfectly three-lobed bracts which are non-ciliate at their

margins, smaller flowers, bipartite calyx, bilabiate corolla, smaller

pollen grains, deeply lamellose, fleshy, parietal placentas, and pulpy

capsular fruit. In Aeg. pedunculata the pedicels are 2.5-10.2 cm. long,

the bracts 5-17 mm. long, calyx 3.5-6.5 cm. long, pollen grains 25-31

#% broad; in our specimens the pedicels are 5-15 mm. long, the bracts

3-8 mm. long, calyx 1.5-3 cm. long, and pollen grains 17-24 « broad.

With such marked differences the inclusion of this plant along with

Aeg. pedunculata is not only anomalous, but also makes the so-called

species a very complex mixture of characters: hence it is only right

that the plant described in this note should be raised to specific

rank and kept distinct from Aeg. pedunculata Wall.

Now the question arises as to what its name should be. Of the

two names previously used, viz. Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. and

Aeg. abbreviata Buch.-Ham., the latter is nomen nudum in the sense

of the Rules; this means that the name is illegitimate. It was however,

legitimised later by Bentham in 1835. But the other name Aeg. acaulis

(Roxb.) Walp. is based on Roxburgh’s name of 1832; therefore, in

accordance with the Rule of Priority, Walpers’s name is the only legiti-

mate one.

The correct name of the species described in this note and its

synonymy are as follows: ,

Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. Repert 3: 481, 1844-1845, char.

emend.,

Syn. Orobanche acaulis Roxb. in Fl. Ind. 3: 28, 1832; et Pl. Corom.

t. 292, 1819.

128 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

Aeg. pedunculata Wall. var. acaulis (Walp.) Beck Mannagetta

in Pflanzenreich 96: 21, 1930.

Aeg. abbreviata Buch.-Ham. in Wall. Catal. n. 3865, nom.

nud. 1831; Bentham in Scroph. Ind. 55, 1835.

Aeg. pedunculata Wall var. abbreviata (Buch.-Ham.) Beck

Mannagetta in Pflanzenreich 96: 20, 1930.

By the occasional presence of a distinctly five-lobed calyx and

bilabiate corolla Aeg. acaulis also possibly exhibits a certain amount

of relationship with the genus Christisonia.

SUMMARY

Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) Walp. which is closely allied to Aeg.

pedunculata Wall. is considered to be a distinct species. A detailed

description of the species from a study of living specimens is given.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to Rev. Fr. H. Santapau for suggestions

and criticisms in the preparation of this note and to Prof. A. Abraham

for his kind encouragement and for making available the necessary

facilities.

REFERENCES

Beck Mannagetta, G. (1930): Oro- Hooker, J. D. (1892) : Orobanchaceae

panctacese in Engler’s Pflanzenreich in the Flora of British India 4: 319-328.

The Flora of Ajmer (Rajasthan)

I. A LIST OF TREES, SHRUBS, AND WOODY CLIMBERS

VIJAYA SHANKER SHARMA

Government College, Ajmer

INTRODUCTION

- Ajmer is situated almost in the centre of Rajasthan. The city stands

at the foot of Taragarh Hill on a plateau, about 1580 ft. above mean sea-

level. The town covers the entire valley between Taragarh and Madar

Hills, which are the schists of the enormously stretched Aravali Range.

The climate of Ajmer is somewhat different from the surrounding

arid regions of Rajasthan. Ajmer is at its best during the rains when

the surrounding hills are draped in green. The famous lakes, Pushkar,

Foysagar, and Anasagar, are then full of water. The waterfalls and

streams add to the beauty of the mountain scenery.

The forest vegetation is of the deciduous type. It is in the form of

scrub jungles, localised at the foot or on the hills. The forests of Nag

Pahar, Rajgarh, and Todgarh are fairly large and become luxuriant dur-

ing the rainy season. Todgarh forests have no scrubby appearance,

large trees being common.

The plants, to name some of them, Anogeissus pendula, Prosopis

spicigera, Acacia spp., Boswellia serrata, Commiphora mukul, Grewia

spp., Rhus mysorensis, Dichrostachys cinerea, Mimosa hamata, Bauhinia

racemosa, Wrightia tinctoria, Flueggea leucopyrus, and Sterculia urens,

mainly constitute the protected vegetation of this area.

In the plain, Azadirachta indica is the most abundant tree, fener

Ficus bengalensis, Ficus religiosa, Salvadora persica, Dalbergia sissoo,

Ailanthus excelsa, Tamarindus indica, Prosopis spicigera, Pithecolobium

dulce, Zizyphus mauritiana, Cordia rothii, Cordia myxa, and Albizzia

lebbeck are not uncommon. |

Nevertheless, some of the hillocks are covered aimost entirely with

Acacia senegal and Acacia leucophloea, while many isolated hillocks and

the sun-baked slopes of some are almost naked or inhabited by scattered

clumps of Euphorbia nivulia. During the rains also, these areas remain

poor in vegetation. On the contrary, in the forests confined to the

western slopes or in the crevices of the hills, thick vegetation is developed

due to the abundance of short-lived herbaceous plants.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

I. ANGIOSPERMS

ANNONACEAE

Polyalthia longifolia Benth. & Hook f. A handsome avenue tree.

Annona squamosa Linn. Cultivated.

MENISPERMACEAE

Tinospora cordifolia Miers A soft-wooded climber. Also culti-

vated and used medicinally.

Tiliacora racemosa Colebr. An extensive climber. Cultivated.

Cocculus hirsutus (Linn.) Diels. (C. villosus DC.) A common

climber.

Cocculus cebatha DC. A common climber.

CAPPARIDACEAE

Maerua arenaria (DC.) Hk. f. & Thoms. A large climber.

Crataeva nurvala Buch.-Ham. (C. religiosa Forst. f.) A handsome

tree. Cultivated.

Capparis zeylanica Linn. (C. horrida Linn.f.) A shrubby climber.

Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Pax. (C. aphylla Roth.) A much branched

spinous shrub, frequently a small tree.

Capparis sepiaria Linn. An uncommon shrub in hilly and shaded

areas.

Capparis spinosa Linn. A shrub or a small tree.

TAMARICACEAE

Tamarix dioica Roxb. Small trees, frequent on saline ground and

at the bank of reservoirs. Also planted along Pushkar and

Foysagar roads. :

Tamarix gallica Linn. Small trees, in the neighbourhood of villages.

Tamarix ericoides Rottl. A shrub with vertical branches, found on

the beds of Luni river.

MALVACEAE

€

Abutilon indicum G. Don A woody shrub; common in moist and

shaded rocky areas.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. An ornamental shrub. Cultivated.

18.

LO:

20.

Pasi

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23.

24.

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26.

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28.

29.

30.

THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) 131

Achania leschenaultii Sw. Large shrubs; cultivated. Flowers as in

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis but pendulous and half-opened.

BOMBACACEAE

Adansonia digitata Linn. Large trees. Only two plants with

enormous trunks are seen near the Mangaliawas reservoir.

Salmalia malabarica Schott (Bombax malabaricum DC.) Large

trees ; occasionally planted along roads.

STERCULIACEAE

Sterculia urens Roxb. Small to moderate-sized trees with low

branching. Confined to hills.

Melhania hamiltoniana Wall. A small and rare shrub; usually

occurring in shady places.

Guazuma tomentosa H. B. & Kunth. Small roadside trees. Not

common.

RULLDA CEA E

Grewia populifolia Vahl A much branched small shrub. Very

common in scrub-jungles.

Grewia _ salvifolia Heyne Large woody shrubs. Abundant on

hills.

Grewia asiatica Linn. Large shrubs or small trees with drooping

branches. Cultivated.

Grewia flavescens Juss. Large straggling shrubs with blackish

quadrangular stems. Very common in scrub-jungles.

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE

Guaiacum officinale Linn. Rare. Only two small trees are growing

in a private bungalow.

Balanites roxburghii Planch. (B. aegyptiaca Del.) Thorny

shrubs to under-trees. Common at the foothills and in rocky

areas. Also planted along roads.

GERANIACEAE

Averrhoa carambola Linn. A medium sized tree. Cultivated.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

RUTACEAE

Murraya koenigii (Linn.) Spreng. Cultivated.

Limonia acidissima Linn. Small spinous trees. Confined to

forests.

Citrus medica Linn. Various varieties are cultivated.

Feronia limonia (Linn.) Swingle. (F. elephantum Correa) ‘Large

trees, usually on roadsides.

Aegle marmelos Correa. Moderate-sized trees. Also cultivated.

SIMARUBACEAE

Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. Large trees, attaining maximum size

in sandy areas. Very common around Pushkar. Also commonly

planted.

BURSERACEAE

Boswellia serrata Roxb. Small trees with peeled-off thin ashy or

greenish flakes of bark. Sometimes this is the only dominant

tree on the hill-tops.

Commiphora mukul Engl. (Balsamodendron mukul Hook.) A

stunted shrub or a small tree. Also cultivated for its resin.

MELIACEAE

Azadirachta indica Juss. (Melia azadirachta Linn.) Very common

on the plain.

Cedrela toona Roxb. (Joona ciliata Roem.) Cultivated.

CELASTRACEAE

Gymnosporia montana Benth. [G. spinosa (Forsk.) Fiori. and

Celastrus senegalensis Lamk.] Spinous shrubs or small trees.

Abundant on slopes and at the foot-hills. Well adapted to sandy

areas.

Celastrus paniculata Willd. A large, uncommon woody climber.

Confined to forests. -

Elaeodendron glaucum Pers, Cultivated,

44.

45,

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47,

48.

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THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) 133

RHAMNACEAE. |

Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk. (Z. jujuba Lamk.) Large shrubs. or

small trees. Common on the plain.

Zizyphus xylopyra Willd. A common large straggling shrub or small

tree.

Zizyphus nummularia Wt. & Arn. (Z. rotundifolia Lamk.) A dense

prickly shrub ; common on plain as well as hills.

SAPINDACEAE

Sapindus emarginata Vahl (S. trifoliatus Linn.) Moderate-sized

trees, occasionally along roads.

Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. Cultivated as a hedge.

ANACARDIACEAE

Rhus mysorensis Heyne Large shrubs. Very common in scrub-

jungles. Fruits edible.

Mangifera indica Linn. Frequent in country-side. Many trees

are growing in and around Taragarh.

MORINGACEAE

Moringa oleifera Lamk. (M. pterygosperma Gaertn.) Medium-

sized or large trees. Frequent on plain and low hills.

PAPILIONACEAE

Abrus precatorius Linn. A climber, usually on Grewia spp.

Butea monosperma (Lamk.) Taub. (B. frondosa Roxb.) Moderate-

sized trees with deformed stems, grow at the foothills and in

sandy areas.

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Large trees, planted along roads, outside

thie: city. :

Pongamia pinnata Pierre. (P. glabra Vent.) Medium-sized trees,

planted along roads.

Sophora secundiflora Lag. Cultivated,

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

CAESALPINIACEAE

Caesalpinia sepiaria Roxb. A large rambling prickly shrub. In-

troduced from Mount Abu.

Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz. (Poinciana pulcherrima Linn.)

Large shrubs, cultivated.

Delonix elata Gamble. (Poinciana elata Linn.) Moderate-sized

trees, cultivated.

Delonix regia Raf. (Poinciana regia Bojer). Moderate-sized, fast

growing soft-wooded trees. Commonly cultivated.

Parkinsonia aculeata Linn. A small spiny shrub or small tree ;

cultivated and naturalised.

Cassia fistula Linn. Small trees ; cultivated.

Cassia auriculata Linn. Small glabrous shrubs, on waste land.

Cassia siamea Lamk. Moderate-sized trees along roads. In

flower throughout the year.

Hardwickia binata Roxb. Moderate-sized trees, cultivated.

Tamarindus indica Linn, Large trees. Common on the plain.

Bauhinia racemosa Lamk. Small trees, usually with deformed

stems. Common in forests.

Bauhinia malabarica Roxb. Small trees ; cultivated.

Bauhinia retusa Ham. Moderate-sized trees. Confined to forests.

Bauhinia purpurea Linn. Small trees ; frequent in the forests.

MIMOSACEAE

Prosopis spicigera Linn. A small tree, common on the plain.

Prosopis juliflora DC. Large evergreen shrubs or small trees with

drooping branches. A very successful plant for the arid areas.

Various ‘forms’ have been introduced under the afforestation

scheme.

Prosopis glandulosa Torr. Introduced under the afforestation

scheme.

Dichrostachys cinerea Wt. et Arn. A compactly branched shrub

or a dwarf tree. Common in hills and rocky areas. Beautiful

double-coloured spikes.

fier

76.

(ie

78.

io:

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

287.

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92.

03;

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THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) 135

Leucaena glauca Benth. Large shrubs ; cultivated.

Mimosa rubicaulis Lamk. A straggling shrub ; restricted to forests.

Mimosa hamata Willd. A much branched low shrub. Common in

scrub jungle.

Acacia farnesiana Willd. A shrub; introduced in desert areas.

Acacia arabica Willd. Moderate-sized trees ; common in country-

side.

Acacia jacquemontii Benth. A shrub ; introduced for afforestation

in desert areas.

Acacia leucophloea Willd. Small trees, found abundantly on low

hills.

Acacia catechu Willd. Small trees ; common in Todgarh Forests.

Acacia senegal Willd. (A. rupestris Stocks). Small trees, found

abundantly on low hills.

Albizzia lebbeck Benth. Large trees, common along roads.

Albizzia odoratissima Benth. A rare tree, confined to forests.

Pithecolobium dulce Benth. Moderate-sized to large trees ; strong-

ly armed. Largely cultivated near human inhabited areas.

COMBRETACEAE

Terminalia belerica Roxb. Cultivated.

Anogeissus pendula Edgew. Moderate-sized trees, the main consti-

tuent of the forests.

Anogeissus latifolia Wall. A moderate-sized tree; common in

forests.

Anogeissus acuminata Wall. A small tree, confined to forests.

Quisqualis indica Linn. Largely cultivated as a wall-climber for

its pendulous showy flowers.

MYRTACEAE

Psidium guayava Linn. Extensively cultivated for its edible fruits.

Syzygium cumini (Linn.) Skeels. (Eugenia jambolana Lamk.)

Frequently planted in the country-side.

Eucalyptus drepanophylla F. Muell. Cultivated.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Eucalyptus microtheca F. Muell. Cultivated.

Eucalyptus rostrata Schl. Cultivated.

Callistemon linearis DC. Cultivated as an ornamental plant.

LYTHRACEAE

Lawsonia inermis Linn. (ZL. alba Lamk.) Commonly cultivated

as a hedge plant.

Lagerstroemia indica Linn. Small ornamental shrubs.

PUNICACEAE

Punica granatum Linn. Cultivated for edible fruits.

CARICACEAE

Carica papaya Linn. Cultivated for its fruits ; common in Pushkar

area.

RUBIACEAE

Ixora parviflora Vahl. Small evergreen trees ; cultivated.

Anthocephalus cadamba Miq. Large trees. Also cultivated.

Hamelia patens Jac. An ornamental shrub.

THEOPHRASTACEAE

Jacquinia ruscifolia Spreng. A spinous shrub with attractive

flowers ; cultivated.

SAPOTACEAE

Mimusops elengi Linn. Small trees. Cultivated for sweet-scented

flowers.

Mimusops hexandra Roxb. Cultivated.

EBENACEAE

Diospyros embryopteris Pers. Cultivated.

OLEACEAE

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. Large shrubs with quadrangular

drooping branches, Cultivated.

THO;

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116.

ELT.

118.

119.

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THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) 137

SALVADORACEAE

Salvadora oleoides Decne. Large shrubs or small trees. Not

frequent.

Salvadora persica Linn. Moderate-sized trees, usually with

deformed trunks. Common on the plain. 7

APOCYNACEAE

Carissa congesta Wight (C. carandas auct.,non Linn.) Large

shrubs with paired stout spines ; cultivated, and naturalised.

Plumeria acutifolia Poir. The ‘Pagoda tree’, a_laticiferous

xerophyte ; cultivated.

Wrightia tomentosa Roem. Moderate-sized trees. Frequent in

forests.

Wrightia tinctoria R. Br. Small trees ; common on the shaded

hills.

Nerium indicum Mill. Large evergreen shrubs; cultivated.

Thevetia neriifolia Juss. Small ornamental trees with yellow flowers.

Cultivated.

ASCLEPIADACEAE

Cryptostegia grandiflora R. Br. A scrambling evergreen shrub or

an extensive climber. Very common on waste land.

Calotropis gigantea R. Br. Large shrubs ; common on the plain.

Calotropis procera R. Br. Small shrubs ; very common on the

plain.

Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forsk.) Decne. (L. spartium Wight)

A much branched dense shrub on sandy soil and hilly areas.

LOGANIACEAE

Buddleia asiatica Lour. Cultivated.

BORAGINACEAE

Cordia rothii Roem. Small trees ; commonly seen near inhabited

areas. Fruits edible.

Cordia crenata Del. Small trees ; some plants may climb over

other trees with their twisted stems. Fruits edible. ©

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Cordia vestita Hk.f. Moderate-sized trees usually with deformed

trunks. Less common. Fruits edible.

Cordia dichotoma Forst.f. (C. myxa Linn.) Medium-sized trees

mostly with deformed trunks ; common on the plain.

Cordia macleodii Hk.f. Small or medium-sized trees. Frequent-

ly seen on the plain.

Ehretia laevis Roxb. Small trees. Very frequent on the plain.

Ehretia aspera Roxb. Small trees usually with deformed trunks.

Noticed only few plants on the plain. Duthie (1903) writes of

it as a shrub.

CONVOLVULACEAE

Rivea hypocrateriformis Chois. A common climber towards

country-side, usually over Euphorbia nivulia hedges around cul-

tivated fields.

Argyreia speciosa Sweet An extensive climber. Cultivated.

SOLANACEAE

Lycium europaeum Linn. Small shrubs. Cultivated as a hedge

plant around fields.

Cestrum nocturnum Linn. Cultivated.

Cestrum diurnum Linn. Cultivated.

BIGNONIACEAE

Millingtonia hortensis Linn. Very tall tree. Flowers only in

winter.

Tecoma stans Juss. Small shrubs: cultivated as a hedge plant.

Sometimes an isolated plant may attain the size of a small tree.

Tecomella undulata Seem. A small tree with showy flowers.

Heterophragma adenophyllum Seem. Cultivated.

Kigelia pinnata DC. Moderate-sized trees ; planted along roads.

Jacaranda mimosaefolia D.Don (J. ovalifolia R.Br.) Moderate-

sized trees. Cultivated in gardens and along roads.

ACANTHACEAE

Barleria prionitis Linn. A spinous shrub with yellow flowers.

Very common in shaded rocky tracts.

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THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN) 139

VERBENACEAE

Lantana indica Roxb. Small shrubs ; frequent in rocky areas.

Lantana camara Linn. Cultivated in gardens or as a hedge plant.

Gmelina arborea Linn. Small trees ; planted along roads.

Vitex negundo Linn. A large shrub or an under-tree. Occasion-

ally planted in sandy areas under the afforestation scheme. Also

cultivated.

Clerodendrum inerme Gaertn. Cultivated in contact with wall.

Clerodendrum phlomoidis Linn.f. Small trees with deformed stems.

Citharexylum subserratum Swartz. Small trees with drooping

branches. Cultivated.

Duranta repens Linn. (D. plumieri Jacq.) Cultivated as a hedge

plant.

NYCTAGINACEAE

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. A climber. Various ornamen-

tal varieties being grown.

POLYGONACEAE

Antigonon leptopus Hook. & Arn. Cultivated as an ornamental

climber.

PROTEACEAE

Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. Tall trees with beautiful flowers.

Cultivated.

SANTALACEAE

Santalum album Linn. Cultivated.

EUPHORBIACEAE

Euphorbia nivulia Buch.-Ham. Most abundant on_ sparsely

covered hills. Commonly used for hedging the cultivated fields.

Emblica officinalis Gaertn. Cultivated ; also naturalised.

Securinegea leucopyrus (Willd.) Muell. (Flueggea leucopyrus

Willd.) Stiff shrubs ; common in hills.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Jatropha curcas Linn. An under-tree ; cultivated. —

Jatropha gossypifolia Linn. Cultivated.

Ricinus communis Linn. Frequently cultivated near fields.

ULMACEAE

Holoptelea integrifolia Planch. Moderate-or large-sized trees.

Frequent along roads.

MORACEAE

Morus alba Linn. Cultivated for its edible fruits.

Morus serrata Roxb. Cultivated near human habitations.

Ficus bengalensis Linn. Common on plain.

Ficus religiosa Linn. Abundant on the plain.

Ficus glomerata Roxb. Frequently planted along roads.

Ficus infectoria Roxb. Cultivated.

Ficus rumphii Bl]. Tall trees, found on the plain.

Ficus palmata Forsk. Cultivated. |

CASUARINACEAE

Casuarina equisetifolia Linn. Trees, cultivated.

PALMACEAE

Phoenix sylvestris Roxb. Very common towards country-side.

II.. GYMNOSPERMS

CYCADACEAE

Cycas revoluta Thunb. Cultivated.

Cycas circinalis Roxb. Cultivated.

CONIFERAE

Pinus longifolia Roxb. Cultivated.

Thuja orientalis Linn, Cultivated. _

SEPT Se

THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN)

141

GNETACEAE

175. Ephedra foliata Boiss.

A dioecious climber in the sandy areas,

over Euphorbia nivulia and other trees.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am thankful to Professor B. Tiagi for guidance, and to Principal

Bhim Sen for research facilities.

I am also indebted to Shri M. B.

Raizada for herbarium facilities during my stay at the Forest Research

Institute, Dehra Dun.

LITERATURE CONSULTED

Brandis, D. (1907) : Indian Trees.

London.

Duthie, J. F. (1886) : A Botanical Tour

in Merwara. Calcutta.

— — (1903): Flora of the Upper

Gangetic Plain. Calcutta.

Hooker, J. D. (1872-97): Flora of

British India. Vols. 1-5. London.

Rao, Y. R. (1941): A List of Some

of the Most Common Plants of the

Desert Areas. Imperial Council of

Agric. Research, New Delhi. Bull.

No. 43.

Raizada, M. B. (1954): A Botanical

Visit to Mt. Abu. Indian Forester 80 (4) :

208-215. .

Santapau, H. (1954): Annual Excur-

sion of the Indian Botanical Society.

(Hyderabad, Deccan). Jour. Indian Bot.

Soc. 33 (1, 2) : 78-92.

— — (1955) : Excursion of the Indian

Botanical Society to Pavagarh Hill near

Baroda. Jour. Indian Bot. Soc. 34 (2):

158-189.

— — (1956): Annual Foray of the

Indian Botanical Society to Bund Bareta,

Agra. Jour. Indian Bot. Soc, 35 (3):

255-276.

Obituary

A. ST. J. MACDONALD

Arthur St. John MacDonald was born in Multan, Punjab, on 8th

November 1898. He was educated mainly at St. Joseph’s College,

Naini Tal, and in 1917 joined an indigo concern in Champaran,

Bihar. Early in 1918 he received a temporary commission in the

Indian Army and served for a short period in Mesopotamia, and later

in 1919 in the Frontier War. On demobilisation he joined the firm

of Messrs. Begg, Sutherland and Co. at their Purtabpore Sugar Estates.

About 1925 he went to Burma to join the firm of Messrs. Finlay

Fleming and Co. where he was employed in the Shan States in

pioneering work clearing jungles for the cultivation of sugarcane.

During his residence in Burma he was able to develop his extraordi-

nary knowledge of nature study, and indulge in his passion for shoot-

ing and fishing. Those were fruitful years for Arthur MacDonald.

from a naturalist’s point of view as it was during that period that his love

of jungle life and his powers of observation became so _ highly

Geveloped. He could be compared in many respects with the late

Jim Corbet as regards his vast knowledge of the ways of wild life in

the jungle. When he left Burma after several years residence there, he

was for a period at Belsund Sugar Factory, Bihar, before joining Begg,

Sutherland and Co. for the second time, leaving them to become manager

of a zamindary in Basti District, U.P., near the Nepal border, where

he was able to indulge in his hobbies of nature study and breeding

gun dogs. He served with distinction in the Second World War and

he was holding the rank of Lt.-Colonel when he left the army at,

the end of the War.

Arthur MacDonald rejoined Begg, Sutherland and Co. for the third

time in 1948, and during his holidays, he spent most of his time

fishing and shooting in. the jungles near the Himalayan foothills, also

in the Kumaon Hills and Kashmir. Just before his tragic death on

6th December 1956 he had indicated to his friends his intention

of retiring to South Africa where his three brothers and son are now

in residence.

Among Arthur’s many gifts was his flair for writing extraordinarily

interesting articles on shooting, fising, and jungle life. His descriptive

OBITUARY 143

powers combined with his dramatic sense made him a welcome contri-

butor to many periodicals both in India and abroad.

He was a frequent contributor to the Journai of the Bombay Natural

History Society chiefly on shooting and fishing subjects. His long

serial on mahseer fishing was subsequently published by the Society

in book form under the title of CIRCUMVENTING THE MAHSEER AND

OTHER SPORTING FISH IN INDIA AND BURMA, and is very popular with

anglers in India.

J. M. BANNERMAN

Reviews

1. A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PLANT SOCIOLOGY. By

F.R. Bharucha and W.C.De Leeuw. Pp. vilit+-46 (21.514 cm.).

Bombay, 1957. Orient Longmans Private Limited. Price Rs. 5.

As the authors have observed in the preface of the book, the

subject of Plant Ecology ‘has not progressed much in the East’ There

are very few books which have useful practical guidance for the study

of tropical Plant Ecology, and the publication of this book from that

point of view is most welcome. Both the authors, the publishers, and

the University of Bombay deserve our compliments for their joint

efforts for this publication. The style of the book is lucid and the

various practical directions and terms are clearly stated and illustrated

by examples. It is printed on very good paper and the binding, get-up,

and printing are of good quality.

Chapter I deals with Quadrat Method and is followed by a discussion

in Ch. II of Analytical and Synthetic Characters. Ch. III describes

the habitat and life-forms of plants. This is followed in Ch. IV by

an interesting account of Genetical Sociology and Chronology or

Successional Phenomena. Ch. V deals with Nomenclature in Plant

Ecology with examples. Ch. VI gives useful information on Vegeta-

tion Cartography, and Ch. VII brings out the Importance of Phyto-

sociology with interesting examples. Notes on Phytosociological Nomen-

clature and Bibliography are appended to the end. Suitable space is

also left for notes on the last pages. This book will definitely fill a

void felt for a very long time by students of Indian Ecology.

The book embodies only one of the various systems of practical

plant ecology, that of the Zurich-Montpellier School of Plant Sociology

mostly based on and followed in the study of European vegetation.

Again, it comprises only the qualitative method of analysis of vegeta-

tion (probably due to the manifold preoccupations of the authors).

In spite of these limitations, there is little doubt that this publication

will be found useful by the students of plant ecology in India, especially

on account of the paucity of similar literature on the subject. It is

to be desired that by and by further publications on similar lines,

giving also the detailed and quantitative methods of analysis of vege-

tation, other systems of study of tropical plant ecology, and their

suitable modifications, will see the light of the day by the same

authors or others, and that studies made in India and other tropical

countries will contribute towards evolving a satisfactory and useful

system for the study of practical Plant Ecology.

P. V.BOLE

REVIEWS | 145

2. VOICES OF THE WILD. By Eric Simms. Pp. 230

(83” X53”). With 15 black-and-white plates. Putnam, 42 Great

Russel! Street, London, 1957. Price 21s. net.

It is evident to any person attempting to record bird or animal

calls that this is not at all an easy matter. What one person may

write down as ‘tit-tit-too-too’ and feel quite happy about may be, and

usually is, completely unintelligible to another who is not already

familiar with the call.

Just as a few pictures convey far more to the uninitiated than

many pages of description, so mechanical recordings seem to be the

only means of conveying an adequate idea of the calls of an unfamiliar

bird or other animal.

Many years ago Nicholson and Koch produced a series of gramo-

phone records of the calls of several species of English birds. Further

efforts in England have been greatly accelerated by the development

of suitable apparatus during and since the war, and portable tape-

recorders, parabolic reflectors, and walkie-talkies were all brought

into service by the author. The book is an interesting account of his

experiences and the various techniques he employed while in charge

of natural history recordings for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

In the course of this work he travelled over 40,000 miles and often

had to remain awake throughout the night. But his efforts over a

comparatively short period have enabled him to record, among other

voices of the wild, a series of no less than twelve different calls of the

nocturnal badger which on paper can mainly be described as threat,

bark, wicker, yarl, yelp, yell, etc.

There are some excellent bird photographs by Eric Hosking and

others, and the book opens up great possibilities for similar work in

India.

H.A.

3. THE HAWFINCH. By Guy Mountfort. A New Naturalist

Special Volume. Pp. 176, 18 photographs, 32 drawings and maps.

Collins, London, 1957. Price 18s. net.

Bird behaviour is a field in which amateur and expert have always

worked well together. The amateur brings to the subject a freshness

of approach and freedom from technical jargon which, when combined

with an understanding of the principles involved, can make a very

valuable contribution to the sum total of our knowledge. Mr,

Mountfort represents the amateur at his best, that is if we use the

term to mean a person not a scientist by training or profession. He

146 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

is the Honorary Secretary of the British Ornithologists’ Union, and

this monograph is the result of years of patient observation of his

special love—the Hawfinch. |

The Hawfinch is notoriously shy. ‘When a mixed flock . . . is

feeding beneath trees. . . it is invariably a Hawfinch which first sounds

the alarm. The small finches accept the warning without question .. .

The Hawfinches spring from the ground almost vertically in complete

silence and disappear like rockets into the tops of the trees’. Both

text and photographs (including one delightful one of nestlings like

a ‘large misty-white powderpuff’ in the nest) are therefore a consider-

able achievement.

Undoubtedly the most interesting part of the book is the description

of flock behaviour and its gradual transition to courtship behaviour.

Males dominate the females in winter but positions are progressively

reversed in spring and summer. The males mature sexually earlier

than the females, so the difficult task of initiating courtship falls to

them. The conflict between opposing sexual and fleeing drives

expresses itself in typical courtship actions—the side to side mincing

walk, the penguin walk, the deep bow. And here we have to thank

Mr. Keith Shackleton for line drawings of these attitudes reconstructed

from Mr. Mountfort’s rough sketches. The sequence ends in a touch-

ing of outstretched beaks followed by a wild zigzagging flight between

the trees. Hawfinches are often killed by collision with objects during

this stage of courtship.

It is difficult to give an adequate impression of the scope of this

study, which ranges from geographical distribution to the mechanics

of kernel crushing by the Hawfinch’s massive beak. So I shall confine

myself to quoting my favourite Hawfinch story, told by Colonel R.

Meinertzhagen. A female Hawfinch left her family of four perched

on a twig and when one tried to follow her she immediately turned

and caught it by the tail, pulled it down to the ground and gave it

a good peck, then escorted it back to the others. The offence was

not repeated!

Indian workers have extremely promising opportunities for work

of this nature. Research in many branches of science is held back

by lack of funds, but here the main requirements are time and bound-

less enthusiasm—and good library facilities. To interpret their

observations satisfactorily workers must be acquainted with recent

literature on the subject. Is it too much to hope that in the near future

there will be built up in India a good Behaviour library?

R. R.

REVIEWS 147

4. A GENERAL TEXTBOOK OF ENTOMOLOGY. By

A.D. Imms. 9th Edition. Entirely revised by O.W. Richards and

R.G. Davis. Pp. x+886. 1957. Methuen & Co. Ltd. 36 Essex

Street, Strand, London W.C. 2. Price 75s.

Entomology is well provided with textbooks dealing with its various

branches, but few could compare with the tremendous popularity

A GENERAL TEXTBOOK OF ENTOMOLOGY by A. D. Imms has enjoyed

since it was first published in 1925. For academic work in

this country and elsewhere this has been a standard reference book

on the subject and has been admirably fulfilling its objectives. The

last revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1934, and since then it

was reprinted five times, the last being in 1951. However, entomology

has not remained static during this period. Recent researches,

especially in insect physiology and embryology, have opened up new

vistas and at the same time have added much to our knowledge and

understanding of insect life. In the light of these advances, the

publication of a revised and enlarged edition of this well-known book

is indeed welcome.

The new edition incorporates numerous changes, all for the better.

Every branch of the vast subject is treated by the revisers with great

care and knowledge, and the expansion in the text is based on careful

revision. Fifty-one new text figures are added bringing the total number

to 609. The citing of references in full at the end of each chapter

is a definite improvement. over the earlier editions. An ‘Addenda

to References’ precedes an exhaustive fifty-three-page index given in

three columns to the page, which also includes names of authors,

and generic names with their synonyms indicated by cross reference.

The inter-relationships of the major Arthropod groups have received

much attention in recent years and the book opens with an appropriate

introductory chapter in which the authors consider a Myriapodan

ancestary of Insecta, as strongly evidenced from anatomical and

embryological data, to be the most plausible one. It is difficult to

select any particular portion of the book for special comment. The

first part deals with the anatomy and physiology of insects and, in

keeping with the progress achieved in this field during the last two

decades, all the sixteen chapters under this section have been com-

pletely revised and brought up to date. In doing so, the authors

have systematically covered the literature up to 1952, and selected

references published since then.

The second part—Development and Reine snone ang two

chapters, one on embryology and the other on post-embryonic develop-

ment.

148 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

Insect taxonomy has undergone profound changes since the found-

ing of a modern system proposed by F. Brauer in 1885. Twenty-nine

orders of Insecta are now recognised, and a critical account of these is

given in the third part which occupies about two-thirds the bulk of

the book. As the revisers have pointed out in the preface, revisions

of insect groups on a world basis are very few and regional revisions,

although helpful to a certain extent, are a handicap in that a ‘system

which seems to work for Europe or North America is often inapplic-

able to the fauna of Australia or the Orient without undertaking a

major piece of original research’. Further, limitations of space and

the scope of the book appear to have been the main cause for the

non-inclusion of all the families and other divisions of major groups

so far proposed. Despite these difficulties, the present revisers have

adopted a system which appears to be more acceptable and easily

understandable even by students specialising in entomology who

undoubtedly will be the most frequent users of this book. The

excellent keys provided for the identification of the suborders, super-

families, and families add considerably to its value as a reference work

for both students and research workers.

One gratifying feature is the many references in this edition as

in the previous ones to Indian examples. This can be well under-

stood by the universality of the book and the close ties the late Dr.

Imms had with the development of entomological research in India.

Only a few papers pertaining to entomology published after 1934 in

Indian journals and periodicals find mention in the bibliographical

section following each chapter. Evidently, as well over 4,000 papers

and books on entomology are now appearing in print each year, the

inclusion of most of these will once again be beyond the scope of this

book. Indeed, to synthesise and interpret the relevant data on ‘General

Entomology’ from this voluminous literature as lucidly as has been

done by the revisers Prof. O. W. Richards and Mr. R. G. Davis is

no mean achievement. Much credit is also due to the late Dr. A. D.

Imms, who by this scholarly work has given a grounding to many

generations of students in the various aspects of the study of the

largest animal group in the world.

Suffice it to say that there is hardly any other book of comparable

scope and comprehensiveness on the subject, and though the price is

on the high side this book is strongly recommended for every library.

BG. 8:

REVIEWS | 149

5.. THE MOLLUSCA OF KRUSADAI ISLAND. II. ScAPHopopa,

PELECYPODA AND CEPIIALOPODA. By S. Thomas Satyamurti. - Bulletin

of the Madras Government Museum (New Series), Natural History

Section, Volume I, No. 2, pt. 7, pp. i-iv+202 (11” x 83”) with 30 plates.

December 1956. Price Rs. 9.37 nP.

The littoral fauna of the Indian coast abounds in Mollusca but

no one place is so rich in reef-dwelling species as Krusadai and the

adjacent islands in the Gulf of Manaar. To teachers and students of

biology from various parts of India this area has been a veritable

training ground for field work in marine biology, and hence any

treatise on the animals of Krusadai is bound to evince considerable

interest.

The Amphineura and Gastropoda of Krusadai Island were reported,

on by Satyamurti in 1952 (Bull. Madras Govt. Mus. (N.S.), I (2), pt.

6, pp. i-xxxlv+267). That and the present report are based on the

shell collections in the Natural History Section, Madras Government

Museum, made in the recent past by F. H. Gravely, J. Hornell, M. D.

Crichton, and many others. The number of molluscan species re-

corded from Krusadai is about 450, but the author rightly contends.

that more intensive collecting would greatly augment the list.

The occurrence of many widely distributed and variable species

has had its share in complicating molluscan taxonomy. Foreseeing

difficulties, the author has adopted in the main the classification given

by Thiel in his work, HANDBUCH DER SYSTEMATISCHEN WEICHTIERKUNDE

(1931, 1935), and limited the account to a treatment up to the species

level. The artificial keys to the identification of the families, genera,

and species are iargely based on the one drawn up by F. H. Gravely

in his account of the ‘Shells and other Animal remains found on the

Madras Beach’ [Bull. Madras Govt. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) V (2), 1942]. The

main report is followed by a list of seventy important papers on Oriental

Mollusca. A useful twelve page index concludes the account.

Essentially a compilation, reports of this nature are bound to

have slight shortcomings and this one is no exception. The keys given

for the identification of the genera and species are by themselves

sufficiently descriptive and this when added to the notes under the

different genera and species has tended to make the report unnecessarily

bulky. In view of lengthiness of the keys and the fact that the

sequence of arrangement of the genera and the species in the text

differs from that in the keys, it would have been desirable to give the

page number after each genus and species in the keys. Another draw-

back is the absence of the known natural distribution of the various

species in the account. Again, since the author had himself had the

opportunity of visiting Krusadai to collect material for the report, the

150 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

addition of ecological notes on the various species would have greatly

enhanced the value of the work by raising it from a bare description of

dry shells and pickled specimens! An unpardonable feature is the very

‘bad printing of the plates and the very poor quality paper used for

them. In this the printers have failed to do justice to the good

drawings. |

Having visited Krusadai on different occasions, and like many felt

the need for an adequate work on the molluscan fauna of the area,

the reviewer has pleasure in congratulating Dr. Satyamurti for bringing

out this timely report. It is a distinct achievement to have

compiled this account the scope of which is not entirely restricted to

Krusadai. Many of the species described are found all along the

Indian coast and far beyond, and hence the keys to their identification

along with the numerous illustrations (almost all the species are illustr-

ated) will make this a useful guide. We should look forward to this

and similar regional reports as eventually forming the basis for a

critical and comprehensive work on the littoral molluscan fauna of

India.

E. Gas:

6. MICROSCOPE: CONSTRUCTION, USE AND Care. By Y. K.

Sane. Pp. 1-24.- June 1957. Size 5-1/3” X82”. ‘Price’ 50 nP:

A basic knowledge of the working and uses of a microscope are

essentials that even elementary science students should know and a

good grounding in the details will undoubtedly stimulate greater

interest in the user to probe into the finer aspects of nature. The

author has compiled a useful and handy pamphlet on the subject which

should be popular both among teachers and students alike. The text

is written in a simple and easily understandable style and is illustrated

with nine drawings. Teachers and college students will find some

additional and useful hints in the 7-page appendix given at the end.

The price of 50 nP. places this booklet within the easy reach of all

students.

iE. G28:

7. JOURNAL OF THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF

INDIA. Vol. 1 No. 1. Pp. 229+xxxvi (11” X9”). . With 37 plates, and

many line drawings. Published by The Palaeontological Society of

India, Lucknow 1956. Price Rs. 30.

The aims and objectives of the Palaeontological Society of India are

researches in palaeontology, palaeobotany, and prehistory. The foreword

to this inaugural number of its journal has been written by the Prime.

REVIEWS 151

Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru. His interest in science is well known

to all Indian scientists. Here he reveals that while at Cambridge he

studied geology as one of the subjects. He points out why it is

important to study palaeontology no matter whether one is engaged

in the pure or applied aspects of the subject. The journal has also

the blessings of the late Dr. $.S. Bhatnagar and of his successor Prof.

M.S. Thacker.

Dr. M. R. Sahni, the founder-president of the Society, gives a review

of the research carried out in India, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon during

the last hundred years. His researches indicate that the first fossil

plant was reported in India in 1810, the first invertebrates in 1831 and

1860, and the first palaeolith in 1863.

Altogether there are 32 articles in this issue the majority of which

deal with palaeontology. Only six articles deal with palaeobotanical

matters. There are also a few other papers relating to subjects like

evolution, and the use of Statistics in evolution and prehistory.

Amongst the authors of these articles we find names of well known

foreign scientists like J. B.S. Haldane, Otto Schindewolf, Le Gros

Clark, L.R. Cox, B.F. Howell, C.A. Arnold, and others. These

names are sufficient indication of the standard of the articles published

in this volume. Amongst the active senior workers of the Indian

zone there are papers by M. R. Sahni, Evans and Nagappa, Shankalia

and Deraniyagala. All told, this inaugural number sets a very high

standard for the journal which it is hoped that future issues will be

able to maintain. It should not be difficult to do so considering the

fact that there exists at present in the Indian zone a team of good

workers in different branches of the science the journal deals with, and

there is also offer of co-operation from many foreign workers. Dr.

M.R. Sahni deserves our heartiest congratulations for starting such

a valuable journal in India.

K. A. CHOWDHURY

8. KNAURS VOGELBUCH. By Georg Steinbacher. Pp. 271

(19X12 cm.), with 48 coloured plates, several in black-and-white line,

and numerous text figures. 1957. Publishers: Droemersche Verlagsans-

talt Th. Knaur Nachf., Munchen & Zurich. Price ?

This book, written by the Director of the Augsburg Zoo, will prove

invaluable to bird fanciers, aviary keepers, zoological gardens, and

bird dealers, who often experience great difficulty in correctly identify-

ing and determining the provenance of exotic species in their stock or

collection, and in providing them with adequate food and care,

152. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

The attractive and beautifully reproduced coloured illustrations of

200 species, mostly of tropical birds, belong to many natural Orders—

including finches, starlings, bulbuls, parrots, thrushes, birds of paradise,

pies, toucans, pheasants and other game birds, and waterfowl. They

are from paintings by one of Germany’s foremost bird artists and for

the non-German-knowing bird-lover constitute the most irresistible

feature of the book. The numerous text figures showing different types

of cages, feeding trays, baths, nest boxes, and other accessories and

gadgets should prove of the greatest usefulness to the bird

keeper. Detailed hints on foods, feeding and care, and the breeding

in captivity of individual species and families are furnished and,

although the text is in German, the usefulness of the book is not

greatly diminished nevertheless. The illustrations alone justify a place

for it in the library of every zoo and serious bird fancier.

S.A.

9. A COMPANY OF BIRDS. By Loke Wan Tho. Pp. 174

(10” x74”). 1 coloured and 107 _ black-and-white photographs.

London, 1957. Michael Joseph Limited. 425. net.

When, during the last war, Loke Wan Tho of Singapore found

himself in Bombay, suddenly free from the pressure of any business,

indeed of any occupation, he casually began to dabble once more with

his old hobby of bird photography. He used the war years to such

good purpose that today he is accepted as one of the best bird photo-

graphers in the world.

Loke’s camera, it would seem, has a sharper eye than the most

powerful pair of binoculars. It can capture the very texture of every

hair and feather on the bird’s body, and it can bring out the triumphant

gleam in the bird’s eye as it returns to the nest with what Loke calls

the ‘family groceries’. And though he can record every physical detail,

his technical virtuosity is always dominated and directed by the high

aesthetic standard which he sets for himself. Loke manages to ‘pose’

his sitter in the most picturesque attitudes; and he manages to arrange

the light so that the finished picture has the look of a studio portrait

by an artist. The picture of the Sea Eagle, in order to secure which

he took, as Mr. Malcolm MacDonald says in the foreword, the most

extraordinary risks, is a gracious portrait of a beautiful and dignified

bird. Impossible to suspect that the photographer was huddled on top

of a flimsy structure 130 feet high, roasting in the sun and giddy from

the motion as the tower swayed in the breeze.

REVIEWS 153

The photographs in the book are divided into three sections, the

birds of India, the birds of New Guinea, and the birds of Malaya.

Each plate is accompanied by lively field notes about the bird’s habits

and behaviour. It is useless to attempt to single out any picture for

special praise. Many of the pictures taken in New Guinea are

scientific triumphs and unique in that they are the first pictures of

a bird which had never been photographed before, or the only known

proof of a particular nest, and so on. In spite of this, it is the affec-

tionate studies of the commoner birds of Malaya, the warblers, the

robins, and the bulbuls, to which one turns again and again. Perhaps

the reason is that, having acknowledged in him a very good ornithologist,

an entertaining writer, and a superb craftsman, it is the artist in him

whose work ultimately holds our attention and our admiration.

LF.

Miscellaneous Notes

1. THE BREEDING SEASON OF THE RHESUS MONKEY

MACACA MULATTA (ZIMMERMANN) IN RAJASTHAN

During the year March 1956 to February 1957 only one troop of

these monkeys was watched. The troop consisted of 20 full-grown

females and 15 sub-adults. It was headed by a big male. Fiive-to ten-

days old young were observed clinging to the breasts of their mothers

between 25 March and 7 May, and again between 28 September and 8

October.

In order to confirm these observations, this troop (i) was observed

again from March 1957 to December 1957; and to counter-check the

observations two more troops near Jaipur were watched regularly

during the year. Troop I now consists of 27 full-grown females, 4

males, and 21 sub-adults. The troop moves in the Chandpole area of

the city. Troop II from the Ramganj area has 25 adults and 15

sub-adults. Troop III is a larger one and consists of over 100 monkeys.

It inhabits Galta, a hilly holy place 6 miles away from Jaipur City.

These troops were observed more regularly during March to May

and September to October.

Newly-born young were first observed on 23 March in troop III.

Most of the females of the three troops delivered during the fortnight

23 March to 7 April. About 40 cases were observed. No newly

born young were observed thereafter till 1 May when a female in

troop I was seen clasping a baby. The females of troops II and III

also delivered till 10 May: 4 cases in troop I, 3 in troop II, and

8 in troop III. The females again delivered during 28 September

to 10 October. The deliveries were: 5 in troop I, 4 in troop II and

7 in troop HL

My observations were also confirmed by a monkey seller who is

doing this business for a considerable time in Jaipur.

It appears that in this region the monkey, Macaca mulatta, chiefly

breeds twice a year.

DEPT. OF ZOOLOGY,

MaAHARAJA’S COLLEGE, ISHWAR PRAKASH

JAIPUR,

January 10th, 1958.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 155

2. THE USEFULNESS OF BATS

Dr. Adam Krzanowski, a chiropterologist of Poland, has sent us a

note on bats as an important secondary aid in locust control.

He mentions in this context the common Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus)

of southern and western U.S.A. which, it seems, is in some ways specially

adapted for the destruction of locusts. It takes its prey mostly off

the ground, rarely also in the air. Its food consists chiefly of orthoptera,

grasshoppers, locusts, etc., besides which it preys on moths,

beetles, and even small scorpions. Its food is easy to study qualita-

tively since, like our Indian Megaderma lyra, its habit is to devour its

prey hanging in a favourite spot under which accumulate dropped wings

and other uneatable portions of the quarry enabling the different items

to be identified. Dr. Krzanowski suggests that there are possibly some

other Indian species also whose economic status as destroyers of

locusts and other insect pests might be profitably investigated by a

properly organized study, including their population densities and local

and seasonal movements.

With reference to two notes recently published in the Journal [Vol.

50 (2): 401-3] on the destruction of Fiying Foxes, Dr. Krzanowski

suggests it might be worth while to investigate the possibilities of

utilizing the skins and fur of these animals in the manufacture of fancy

articles for export to foreign countries where, with proper publicity and

advertising, they could easily create a fashionable and lucrative demand.

Both needs could thus be satisfied, the eradication of excessive numbers

of these destructive fruit bats and the earning of much-needed foreign

exchange.

Scientific research on the life-history and economic status of Indian

birds and other animals is a need which the Bombay Natural History

Society has constantly and repeatedly stressed. In a country like ours,

which is so largely dependent on its agriculture and forests, this

research calls for the highest priority.

BompAY NATURAL History SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET,

ForT, Bomsay 1, EDITORS

February 15, 1958.

3. PORCUPINES AND TREES OF VERNONIA SP.

A day or two ago I passed a very large digging round the roots of

a species of Vernonia, a tree growing at an elevation of 5,000 to 6,000

feet on the Billigirirangans, known locally as Khan Karragillu. My

comment that it was the work of a bear was contradicted by my

156 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

sholags. After an examination of the hole they pronounced it to be

the work of porcupines, which I was told at times appeared to go

berserk over the roots. This species of Vernonia is a common tree

in evergreen sholas here, and especially noticeable for its mauve blossoms

in September-November. As this is the first instance that has come

to my notice of porcupines almost fully devouring the roots of a medium-

sized tree, I shall be interested to hear of similar cases.

DUPABURRAY BUNGALOW,

ATTIKAN P.O.,

Via Mysore, SOUTH INDIA, R. C. MORRIS

February 3, 1958.

4. RABBITS AND MYXOMATOSIS IN THE U.K.

That myxomatosis swept England and Scotland and killed out 97%

of the rabbits is well known. On our property in Devon I saw

disease-affected rabbits with swollen heads nibbling corn shoots,

which seemed to belie the belief that they suffered agonies. Their fleas

were the carriers from burrow to burrow. What of the 3 per cent

survivors? It has been said that there were ‘pockets’ where the

disease missed the local rabbit population. Perhaps in some instances

this was so, but it has been found that the rabbits in such case were

chiefly surface dwellers, living amongst bracken and brambles, and

were not affected by the fleas in the burrows. Their progeny have multi-

plied, and the rabbits now increasing in a number of countries in

England are the surface dwellers, and the terrific damage to the hedges,

especially in the west, by the network of tunnels Known as burrows

is still a thing of the past. The surface-dwelling rabbits do just as

much damage to corn as well as to young forest plantations as their

burrowing brethren, but they are lucky in that the strength of the

myxomatosis virus appears to have weakened and they seem to get

a milder form of the disease which renders them immune. Or may it

be that the disease is not so fatal in respect of surface dwelling rabbits?

So now we have an immune (or partially so) species of surface rabbits,

increasing rapidly and taking the place of the burrowing species. The

colossal damage caused by rabbits in respect of both arable crops and

plantations was fully realised only when the disease knocked them

out. The damage far exceeded the value of their meat and fur.

DUPABURRAY BUNGALOW,

ATTIKAN P.O.,

V1A Mysore, SOUTH INDIA, R. C. MORRIS

February 1, 1958.

(asog ‘wapsv4y joorsojooz Asoyinoo Aq)

‘OOZ jaseq ‘*U}AIq 19}ye sINoY OM} JnNoGYy

‘yoopped ot} Ul IoY}OUL S}I SUTMOTLOF

PES, PlOsieoss Sua

‘00S “LSI “LVN Avawog ‘Nanof

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 157

5. BIRTH OF A GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS

IN CAPTIVITY

(With a plate)

The annual report (1956) of the Basel Zoo, Switzerland, contains

an interesting account of the birth of a calf to the pair of Indian rhinos.

Gadadhar the male and Joymoti the femaie were acquired from the

Kaziranga Sanctuary as young animals in 1951 and 1952 respectively,

and have since grown to maturity.

From certain symptoms, and from the behaviour of the animals

at the beginning of 1956, it was suspected that the female was pregnant

though frequent analyses of the urine gave negative results. At the end

of April, however, movements of the foetus were discernible each time

the female drank cold water. The calf was born on 14 September,

the gestation period calculated from the last ‘heat’ in the female being

474 days. The mother immediately licked her baby clean, and then

lay down beside it on the bedding straw. The calf (christened Rudra)

made its first efforts to stand up 25 minutes after it was born, but

succeeded in doing so only half an hour later. It first fed from its

mother after two hours. Some time later the mother ate up the entire

after-birth. Rudra’s weight and length at birth, and monthly there-

after, are given as follows:

Date Weight (kilos) Length (cm.)

1956 14 Sept. (at birth) 60°5 105

13 Oct. 111 127

10 Nov. 157- 146

15 Dee. PA) 160

1957 15 Jan. 268 168

15 Feb. 316 176

16 Mar. 349 : 190

There are some interesting details given about the behaviour of the

young. Soon after birth the colour of the skin was almost violet,

with all the folds of the armour-plating as prominent as its mother’s.

The margins of the ears were fringed with a growth of hair c. 3 cm.

long, and also the tail tuft was well developed. After some days the

skin colour changed to the normal grey-brown of the adult, though

the joints of the armour showed up reddish.

In a subsequent letter (dated 18 July 1957) Dr. Lang the Zoo

Director writes that Rudra is flourishing and growing apace. Its

‘weight at the time of writing, when just about 8 months old, was over

1,000 lb. The parents mated again and Joymoti has apparently become

i58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. §§ (1)

pregnant once more. Dr. Lang hopes to ascertain the exact gestation

period this time.

In the only previously known instance of an Indian rhino born

in captivity (Calcutta Zoo, see JBNHS 31: i031, 1927) the gestation

period was estimated as about 19 months. Earlier Hodgson had given

it as 17 to 18 months.

For the African Twohorned Rhinonceros (Rhinoceros bicornis) the

period of gestation is given as 530-570 days (THE NATURAL HISTORY

OF MAMMALS by F. Bourliere: 165, 1955).

Since the birth in the Basel Zoo a further ‘domestic occurrence’ in

the world of captive Indian rhinos has been reported. A calf was

born in November 1957 to Mohini the female of the pair living in

Whipsnade Park, U.K., since 1952. The gestation period in this case

is said to have been 16 months. The calf at birth was about 22 inches

in length and about 18 inches high, and estimated to weigh between

85-100 Ib.

BoMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET,

Fort, Bompay 1, EDITORS

November 27, 1957.

6. THE MUNTJAC IN BRITAIN

The muntjac—frequently called the Barking Deer or Rib-faced Deer,

by reason of its vocal powers or facial appearance—was first liberated,

about 1900 by the eleventh Duke of Bedford into the woods both

inside and outside his park at Woburn. The original deer were the

Indian race—Muntiacus muntjak —-but after a time, partly because the

bucks were proving dangerous to small dogs but mainly to make room

for the smaller Reeves’s Muntjac-—Muntiacus reevesi, a native of China

efforts were made to kill off the Indian race. This was not

completely achieved and the two races have inter-bred.

From Woburn this small deer has now extended its range into

all adjacent counties, which include Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire,

Hertfordshire, and Northamptonshire, whilst individual animals have

been reported as far afield as south Leicestershire and Essex.

As regards an estimate of the number of muntjac at large in

Britain, this is of course almost impossible but I would say it was

not less than 400 and might be up to 1,000. Northwest they have

been recorded as much as sixty miles from Woburn and in the south-

westerly direction quite a large number exist in the Bicester area

which is about 25 miles from Woburn. In an easterly direction

_ MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. — ; 159

isolated reports have come from places 60 miles from Woburn but

whether these animals have wandered there or been planted is not

certain.

THE OLD HOUSE, WITHNELL FOLD,

CHORLEY. LANCS., ENGLAND.

G. KENNETH WHITEHEAD

January 24, 1958.

7. ADDITIONS TO THE BIRDS OF THE PALNI

HILLS (SOUTH INDIA)

Subsequent to my notes published on pages 265-267 of Volume 53

of the Journal, I have collected a few more birds in the Palni Hills

the following of which appear to be new records for that area:

1. Chloropsis aurifrons insularis Kinnear & Whistler: Goldfronted

Chloropsis

Palni foothills, 1,500 ft., near Periakulam, 26-5-1956.

2. Hypothymis azurea styani (Hartlaub): Blacknaped Blue Fly-

catcher

Five specimens, Manalur Cardamom and Coffee Estate, 4,000 ft.,

18-5-1956.

3. Lanius vittatus Valenciennes: | Baybacked Shrike

Foothills near Aiyampalayam, 1,000 ft., 20-5-1956.

4. Cacomantis merulinus passerinus (Vahl): Plaintive Cuckoo

Pambar Valley opposite Periakulam, 1,000 ft., 27-5-1956.

5. Hydrophasianus chirurgus (Scopoli): | Pheasant-tailed Jacana

'Needamangalam, a small irrigation tank situated between Palni

Town and the foothills which climb to Perumalmalai, 30-4-1957.

6. Gorsachius melanolophus melanolophus (Raffles): Malay

Bittern

Captured alive by American schoolboys at “Bombay Shola’, Kodai-

kanal, 7,000 ft., and reared for three weeks on tadpoles and frogs;

now in the Shembaganur Museum, 7-4-1957.

_7. Microtarsus poioicephalus (Jerdon): Greyheaded Bulbul

9-5-1957. This species has already been recorded for the Palnis, but

is mentioned here because the specimen was collected as high as 4,000

ft.. near Machur along the motor road from Batlagundu to Kodaikanal,

the earlier ones being from the foothills.

160 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

It may also be of interest to record that I obtained specimens of

the Brown Flycatcher, Alseonax latirostris latirostris (Raffles), and of

the Paradise Flycatcher, Tchitrea paradisi, on 24th and 19th May 1956

respectively. Salim Ali has already suggested (THE BIRDS OF

TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN, p. 78) that small numbers of the Brown

Flycatcher may be resident in Travancore and Cochin as also the

typical race of the Paradise Flycatcher. Stewart is said to have taken

a nest of the latter in Travancore.

LoyoLA COLLEGE,

MaApDRAS 31, NORMAN FULLER sS.,J.

January 6, 1958.

8. A NEW RACE OF THE WHITERUMPED SWIFT

In connection with my review of the genus Apus (bis 1956: 34-62),

I overlooked some specimens from SE. Tibet which Ludlow and Kinnear

(Ibis 1944: 372) referred to A. pacificus leuconyx, but which Mr. Salim

Ali has pointed out to me could not belong to this race owing to their

much longer wings. ‘The five specimens, now in the British Museum

(Natural History), are males collected at Molo on 24 June 1936 and

Nanda on 17 July 1937 and 20 August 1938, at a height of 11,200 to

11,500 feet above sea-level, and the birds were described as breeding

commonly under the eaves of houses and in stone towers in the lower

Tsangpo Valley. 3

The wing-length as measured by me was 173-179 mm. (mean 176

mm.), which places them far outside the normal limits for A. p.

leuconyx of 147-160 mm., and well in the range of the nominate

form of 168-195 mm. However, the specimens have darker upper

parts, a decidedly narrower white rump, and much narrower white tips

to the feathers of the underparts than A. p. pacificus, and in all these

characters are extremely similar to, if not indistinguishable from, A. p.

leuconyx. South-eastern Tibet lies south and west of the known range

of A. p. pacificus as given by Peters (BIRDS OF THE WORLD 4: 249)

while A. p. leuconyx breeds further south. Since these Tibetan birds

are completely separable from A. p. pacificus by colour and from A. p.

leuconyx by size, they represent a distinctive race, which I pro-

pose to name

-“

Apus pacificus salimalii subsp. nov.

designating the type specimen as a male collected by F. Ludlow at

Pye.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 161

Molo, Chu Valley, SE. Tibet, on 24 June 1936, British Museum

catalogue no. 1937.1.17.109.

EDWARD GREY INSTITUTE OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY,

OxFoRD, U.K., DAVID LACK

February 17, 1958.

9. VARIATION IN THE OUTPUT OF SONG OF A

SPOTTED DOVE, STREPTOPELIA CHINENSIS (SCOPOLI)

During April and May 1951, observations were carried out on the

length of time for which a Spotted Dove, Srreptopelia chinensis, called

and the variations that occurred in the duration of the call while the

bird was engaged in duties connected with breeding. Starting with

the assumption that bird song is a result of the excessive energy

which a bird develops during the breeding season, it was argued that

as the work of nest building, hatching, and the feeding of the young

absorbed more and more of the energy of the bird the output of song,

would correspondingly get less and less. At the same time in the

intervals between these tasks when the demand on the energy of the bird

diminished, the output of song would increase. In other words the

maximum output should be during courting and just prior to nest

building, followed by subsidiary maxima in the intervals between nest

building and egg laying, egg hatching and the emergence of the young,

and after the young leave the nest. For this it was necessary to

pick out a pair that was fairly isolated and not liable to confusion

with others. A pair of Spotted Doves were kept under observation

for some time until it was certain that they were a real pair and were

generally confined to the compound of the Forest Rest House at

Doranda in Ranchi. Also no other pairs frequented the compound and

therefore any calls recorded would be of this pair. The sexes wers

differentiated by minute observation, and it was determined that the

male had one of the outer tail feathers missing. The sex was

established by noting their positions during mating. The call of this

bird only was recorded, the calls of the other being ignored. The

times were recorded by a centre-second Rolex Oyster watch and

observations were carried out from dawn to dusk. The total duration

of call within 5 minutes was recorded at 5-minute intervals; of course,

such periods during which there was no call being not recorded. The

following ancillary observations on the habits of the bird were also

made and are given here:

Display: Three kinds of display were noticed. One kind was

while the male was courting the female on a tree. The male

i62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

would inflate its neck, bow and drag his tail, without fanning it out,

along the branch, calling all the while. The whole process could be

likened to a crawl. The second is performed on the ground. Here

the male has the breast almost touching the ground, the breast feathers

are inflated, the wings are slightly expanded with the tips almost

trailing along the ground, and the unexpanded tail is dragged. His

effort appears to be to somehow touch the female with his wing tips.

For this he actually parades round her with quick short steps some-

times getting in front of her, sometimes behind her, and often by her

side. In other words there is no circular movement round her. He

Keeps on calling all the time. The third is an aerial display. The

male shoots up into the air with a whirr, and glides down on motionless

wings, raising and expanding its tail, to a perch near the female. This

display is indulged in most frequently and was observed up to six or

seven times during the day. The female is indifferent all the time,

never calls, evades the male, and generally flies away. Only once did

I notice the female invite mating. On the 24th April 1951, the female

invited the male to mate with her, while the male was displaying on a

tree, by raising her tail and jerking it slightly.

Guarding of Territory: The territory is not guarded

very closely. They do go beyond their territory but recognise the

boundaries. If they have strayed into the territory of another pair they

retire immediately on the approach of the owners, and fights are

very rare. On a few occasions an attempt at a fight was noticed by

two birds coming close together and striking with their bills. The

nest is also left equally carelessly and no attempt is made to ward

off intruders. Rather their nest is better looked after by other species.

I frequently noticed a Redvented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) drive off

Koels (Eudynamys scolopacea) from the vicinity of the nest of this

particular pair by perching on the back of the escaping Koel and

pecking furiously at its head.

Nest-building: The bulk of material is brought by

the male, who does so at intervals of approximately 10 minutes. He

is very choosy about the twigs that he selects and frequently discards

a number, picking them up and throwing them away, before he gets one

to his liking. The female arranges them and constructs the nest

using her bill and feet. She changes her position frequently. While

bringing materials the male first alights on a near-by tree, looks all

round to ensure that the coast is clear, and then approaches the nest.

Neither of them calls while engaged on this work, as also they both

become very shy.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 163

When the female gets tired she quietly leaves the nest and

starts feeding close by. As soon as the male becomes aware

of it he at once takes her place. At this time the female may bring

some materials and the male may build. But generally as soon as

the female has fed enough she returns to the nest and the male

reverts to his original role. They work on the nest from around

7.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. or so, and never in the afternoon or evening.

They roost on a tree very close to the nest.

In this particular case the nest was placed about 4 feet from the

ground in a Duranta hedge. The nest was a scanty platform of small

twigs of Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta) and Eucalyptus, and weeds.

It was a very frail structure and the eggs could be seen from below.

The eggs were laid after dusk, and the two eggs were laid on two

consecutive nights. The eggs were a plain polished white. The male

and the female both incubate, the male doing it enosty during the

day and the female at night.

The observations were started when it became clear from the

behaviour of the birds that they were about to nest. The observations

were begun on 23rd April 1951, and continued every day till 12th

May. No observations could be made on the afternoon of 26th April

and all next day due to sickness. Apart from this, a continuous

watch was maintained throughout the period. Unfortunately a com-

plete case history could not be obtained as the eggs were destroyed

by a rat on the night of 12th May 1951. The birds thereafter

abandoned the nest and the observations had to stop. It may be

mentioned in passing that out of several pairs of Spotted Doves I

noticed in Doranda not one succeeded in producing young ones.

Nests were built and eggs laid, but due to the flimsy structure of the

nests the eggs were always destroyed, either by enemies or by just

dropping out of the nests before they were hatched. I have yet to

see a young Spotted Dove in Doranda.

Analysis of Observations: 23rd April 1951 was clear

and pleasant, slightly hot at midday. A light breeze started in the

morning from west to east but freshened as the day progressed.

This was a day devoted to courtship and display, resulting in a total

duration of call of 11 minutes 4 seconds during the day. It is signi-

ficant that while displaying the duration of each run of calling was

from 4 to 6 seconds, though the average duration is only 2-3 seconds.

Each ‘coo’ takes half a second and is very exact. The 24th, 25th, and

26th were a repetition of the 23rd with almost identical weather con-

dition, giving a total duration of call for the day of 9 minutes 55 —

seconds, 9 minutes 20 seconds, and 2 minutes 30 seconds (morning

only) respectively. The 28th and 29th were devoted to nest building

164 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

and there was a marked dimunition in the total output of song, being

23 seconds and 3 minutes 3 seconds respectively. The days were

sunny and hot with a stiff breeze blowing the whole day from west

to east. The nest was completed on the 29th. On 30th April and

Ist May the male was entirely free to devote himself to courtship and

mating, and this produced the biggest total output of song. On the

30th the total output was 25 minutes 5 seconds and on the Ist 28

minutes 47 seconds. Egg laying was completed on the night of Ist/

2nd May, and with the call on energy made by incubation the output

of song showed a marked dimunition, being 10 minutes 51 seconds

only on 2nd May. From 3rd May onwards incubation started in

right earnest and the duration of song came down to 4 minutes 21

seconds on the 3rd, and was only about 14 minutes from 4th to 12th

May, when the eggs were finally destroyed.

Other interesting facts that emerge are that the heat of the day

affects the calling of this bird, and it is sensitive to changes in weather

conditions. On practically all days it was silent from approximately

12 noon till after 4 p.m. The exceptions were 30th April and Ist

Total output

each day

ge ef ESoSs laid

Nest completed

May when it continued calling till about 2 p.m. Immediately

before actual mating look place the duration of the calling increased;

on 30th April and Ist May, while the normal duration continued to

be 2-3 seconds, the bird called for as long as 12 seconds before mating.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 165

Again whilst nest building was in progress the bird stopped calling at

9.45 a.m. and 11.55 a.m. on 29th and 30th April. When incubation

started, it similarly stopped calling early in the day, being completely

silent after 9.30 a.m., from the 5th May onwards. Rainfall or a

reduction in temperature induces the bird to call. Rain fell around

4 p.m. on 30th April and Ist May, giving rise to subsidiary peaks in

the calling around 4 p.m. In general, the bird stopped calling much

before sunset though it began before sunrise.

A curve showing the variation in the output of song each day is

given, as also a table showing separately the output of song for each

half of the day.

Output of song

a ae

: Total

Date REMARKS

Dawn to | 12 noon to RO

12 noon dusk

23-4-51 10’-27” eee a 1 B7e 11’-4” No calls from 12-20 p.m. to

| 16-05 p.m.

24-4-51 9’-13” | 42” 9’-55” No calls from 12-35 p.m. to

ae 16.00 p.m.

25-4-51 9’ -6” 14” 9’-20” No calls from 12.00 p.m. to

- 16.05 p.m.

26-4-51 2’-30” No. obser-

vation

27-4-51 No observation due to sickness.

28-4-51 DARI Nil D3 No calls after 9.45 a.m.

29-4-51 3’-3” Nil 37-37 No calls after 11.55 a.m.

30-4-51 22’ -30” 2° 3357 253)" No calls between 13.55 p.m. and

17.30 p.m.

1-5-51 28’ -26” 21% 28’-47” No calls between 13.50 p.m. and

16.00 p.m.

2-5-51 10’-35” 16” 10’-51” No calls between 11.25 a.m. and

16.30 p.m.

3-5-51 4’.5” 16” 4’-21” No eave between 10.30 a.m. and

16.30 p.m.

4-5-51 2’-30” 10” 2’-40” No ane between 9.05 a.m. and

15.35 pm.

5-5-5] 3’-31” Nil 3°-31” No calls after 9.25 a.m.

6-5-51 1’-33” Nil 1’-33” No calls after 9.05 a.m.

7-5-51 1’-30” Nil 1’-30” No calls after 7.20 a.m.

8-5-51 3’-17” 9” 3’ -26” No calls between 8.30 a.m. and

17.40 p.m.

9-5-5] 1’-38” Nil 1’-38” No calls after 8.10 a.m.

10-5-51 1’-12” Nil eal 2% No calls after 6.50 a.m.

11-5-51 1’-20” Nil 1’-20” No calls after 8.05 a.m.

12-5-51 | 1’-41” Nil 1’-41” No calls after 6.00 a.m.

Note— ’=Minutes; ”=Seconds.

On the night of the 12th some commotion was heard near the nest

and a rat was heard squeaking. The dove apparently fought silently

as its calls were not heard. Investigation on the morning of the 13th

166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

showed that the eggs had been destroyed and a few feathers of the

dove were lying scattered about in the hedge near the site of the nest.

As the eggs had been destroyed no further observations were recorded.

DORANDA,

HInNoo P.O., JAMAL ARA

RANCHI, BIHAR,

June 25, 1957.

10. NOTES ON THE SARUS CRANE

EARLY ‘IMPRINTING’ OF VITAL COMMANDS

One of the papers read at the XIth International Ornithological

Congress at Basel in 1954 concerned the psychological change that

takes place with brooding waders and other birds just before and at

the hatch of the first egg. Sound recordings by means of a micro-

phone concealed within a few feet of the nest of a Stone Curlew made

possible an analysis of the low conversational calls exchanged,

inaudible to the human ear, which evidently establish the bond

between the parent and the unborn cheeping chick so that, when it

emerges from the shell, it is not in a completely strange world but

already ‘imprinted’ with the voice of the parent who will-be its guide

and protector in early life.

I was reminded of these observations in Bharatpur recently (Sept.

1957) while watching two pairs of Sarus cranes. One pair was lead-

ing two cinnamon coloured downy chicks c. 4 days old, the other at

a nest with two eggs. One of the eggs was chipped, and from a hide

25 ft. away I could watch the whole process of the chick struggling

out of the shell.

The first pair were very alert from the beginning and began to lead

away the chicks as soon as they suspected they were being closely

observed. The terrain was grassy marshland, pock-marked by hoof-

prints of cattle and small shallow puddles here and there. The

parents were walking ahead fairly fast, turning their heads concernedly

to follow the observer’s movements all the time; the two chicks toddled

innocently some 10 yards behind completely oblivious of anything

untoward. Just when the stumbling chicks reached a shallow grass-

covered puddle which the parents had already crossed, one of the

adults (male? as: larger) gave a series of short staccato cails—a sub-

dued kor-r-r—upon which the chicks vanished as if by magic. As I

had my attention fixed on the parents I did not actually see them in

the act of vanishing, or the exact spot at which this happened. But

when a second later I looked for them, they were simply not there!

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 167

Having thus disposed of the chicks, the male began the most extra-

ordinary diversionary tactics to draw away my attention. He half

crouched with lowered neck as if furtively slinking away, and in this

manner made a semicircle some 20 yards in front of me and back

again. In the course of this he waded into an open knee-deep puddle,

spread out and drooped his wings, dipped forward until his breast and

underparts were almost touching the water, and did everything to

simulate dire distress. During these manoeuvres he once jinked quite

realistically for a fraction of a second as if recoiling from something

suspicious seen in the water. It is possible that he had actually seen

something to alarm him then. Variations of this distress display con-

tinued for about ten minutes, accompanied off and on by loud agitated

trumpetings as if to summon outside assistance in which the female (?)

joined in a duet. She had removed herself about 50 yards away from

the displaying bird, not partaking in any of his fantastic behaviour

but sedately stalking around with an air of nonchalance and un-

concern. Here she was occasionally joined by the male in between

his demonstrations.

Soon the male ended these extraordinary antics and flew off about

300 yards, across a bund in the marsh into the territory of a neigh-

bouring pair of saruses, calling loudly all the while as if appealing

for help. He presently returned bringing back with him a new

companion, which now made altogether three saruses on the spot.

After giving some ‘moral support’ to the aggrieved pair which con-

sisted of joining in their loud trumpetings, this new-comer flew back

to his own ‘compound’. The pair seemed somewhat fortified and now

moved about in pretended unconcern, duetting frequently in answer

to calls from distant pairs. Their trumpetings were occasionally

interpolated with the short staccato ‘kor-r-r’, obviously a command to

the chicks to continue lying doggo.

It took me a long time to discover one of the chicks, and that when

all but trod upon; the other remained unseen in spite of a thorough

search. This chick was lying doggo concealed among longish grass

in the puddie, partially submerged with only the top of its back and

head to the eyes showing above the water, with neck fully stretched

in front and beak resting on the grass at a slight upward angle. It

remained completely motionless even when approached to within a

foot, and continued so for over the half hour during which I was

splashing about in its proximity looking for its companion. The

parents appeared to have calmed down considerably and kept a

hundred yards or so away on dry ground pretending to be uncon-

cerned. Earlier, when the chicks had just been commanded to freeze

the male (?) would often advance purposefully straight at the observer

to within ten yards or so trumpeting loudly and. threateningly,

168 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

On 24 September I had the good fortune to observe one of a

clutch of two eggs in a nest hatch, and the complete process of the

chick emerging. At 9 a.m. the egg had chipped, and portions of

the creamy cinnamon down of the stirring and cheeping chick within

could be seen through the hole. By 10 o’clock the chick struggled

completely free of the shell, eyes wide open; but it was feeble and

exhausted, unable to lift its head and falling about helplessly. By 11

the down had dried and become velvety, and the chick was able to

raise its head unsteadily and to shuffle about in the nest cheeping

loudly. The female brooded from time to time or stood by to look

on with bill lowered into the nest. Soon after the chick had freed

itself clear, the nest was visited by both parents together. The mother

touched the chick with her bill tenderly, then picked up and swallowed

bits of the empty shell in the nest. On a later visit she swallowed

some more bits. She removed the bright orange coloured parchment-

like membrane lining the shell which had become partly dry and

icrackly, held it in the tip of her bill, dipped it in water to soften it,

and swallowed it when quite limp. She brooded the second egg with

most of the empty shell still beside it, leaving the struggling chick

uncovered on the periphery of the nest partially hidden from the

observer behind the nest mass.

The floundering chick was brooded by the female intermittently

with the male in close attendance, clearly much interested in the new

arrival, and curious and very much on the alert. Once, on alarm at

some movement and noise from within the hide, the sitting parent

hastily got up and was about to move away when the chick commenced

to cheep loudly. The parent gave the now familiar deep subdued

‘kor-r-r’ alert—-the command to the chick to be quiet and ‘freeze’.

The chick, in his innocence, paid no heed to this but continued to shuffle

and cheep, whereupon the parent took a step back to the nest, repeated

the kor-r-r and at the same time gave the chick a gentle peck. The chick

reacted instantly, lay down flat and quiet and the parent moved away.

Apparently this is how the early post-natal training is given of

obedience to the command to lie down and freeze ‘until further orders’,

which I had experienced the previous day, and which must obviously

be of vital importance for the preservation of the species. The chick

lay completely inert for the next five minutes or so, until the returning

parent uttered another distinct note of a similar pattern which signi-

fied ‘all clear’.

33, Pati HILL,

BANDRA, BOMBAY 20, sALIM ALI

December 30, 1957.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 169

11. THE IDENTITY OF THE GULLBILLED TERNS

[GELOCHELIDON NILOTICA (GMELIN)] IN INDIA

In early March 1953 while waiting for duck in the Salt Lakes near

Calcutta, I idly watched Gullbilled Terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) flying

around and was struck by their apparently quicker wing-beats as

compared to those of the same species around Bombay. Reference to

the FAUNA indicated two races in India, the typical one described

from Egypt said to occur over the whole of India, and a smaller race

affinis (from Java) of which only one specimen was recorded within

Indian limits from the Andamans.

Stuart Baker only refers to breeding records from north-western

India, and on the Godavari and the Ganges, specifically stating that

it had not been found nesting further east. Later Stanford (JBNHS

39: 867) recorded thousands nesting on an island in the Sundarbans,

Khulna District, Bengal, which would presumably be the Javan race

and to which my smaller Calcutta birds possibly also belonged.

The wing of the typical race (FAUNA 6: 116) is given as 300-

330 mm. (with mention of an exceptional one of 287 mm. on p.

117), and that of affinis as 272-292 mm. It is said of the latter that

‘the colour above is also a trifle paler, but the difference is hardly

discernible, the primaries seem to be generally darker. THE HANDBOOK

OF BRITISH BIRDS, Vol. 5, gives the wing measurement of G. n. nilotica

(Witherby ef al.) as oh 315-332 and 9 330, and admits affinis as being

a smaller race with ‘a shorter bill’.

I have examined 21 Indian birds of both sexes available in Bombay

and find that the wings range from 274 to 324 mm. (average 299 mm.).

If they are divided into two groups with wing above and below 300

mm., we have

10 specimens ranging from 274 to 299 mm.—average 292 mm.,

10 ranging from 301 to 324 mm.—average 309 mm.

We have only three birds from eastern India, i.e. Calcutta, kindly

collected by Mr. H. C. Grieve, and these measure 294, 299, and 290 mm.

In three specimens from the Persian Gulf (including one taken off

eggs) the wing is 309, 327, and 330 mm.

There is no difference of size between the sexes, and measure-

ments of the bill (from feathers), tarsus, and tail are in keeping with

those of nilotica as mentioned in the FAUNA and the HANDBOOK.

It would thus appear that birds smaller than the typical nilotica

occur in India, and that possibly both nilotica and affinis are found,

the latter being more easterly. The identity of the breeding form of

northern India as nilotica needs to be confirmed, but Stuart Baker

is probably correct in assigning it to this larger race which occurs

170 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

commonly along the west coast at Kutch, Bombay, and Travancore as

a non-breeding immigrant.

Messrs Faiz & Co.,

75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

BOMBAY-3,

January 6, 1958.

12, THE AVOCET (RECURVIROSTRA AVOSETTA LINN.)

IN ASSAM

Mr. D. J. Wood of Tocklai Experimental Station, Cinnamara,

Assam, reports seeing a party of four avocets on a bheel in the above

neighbourhood in Sibsagar District south of the Brahmaputra. This

species is rare in Assam. One collected in the Goalpara District in

December 1907 (Primrose, JBNHS 18: 683) and another near Charkalia

Island in the Brahmaputra (Dibrugarh District) in May 1952 (Sendall,

JBNHS 50: 947) being the only instances recorded. It is a vagrant

in Burma.

BoMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET, EDITORS

ForT, Bomsay 1,

December 26, 1958.

13. CORMORANTS AND EGRETS FISHING IN

CO-OPERATION

There is a note by Humayun Abdulali in Vol. 48, No. 3, page 585

of the Journal about egrets fishing in partnership with mergansers.

I recently observed egrets feeding in co-operation with cormorants.

I was at Lake Beale, Nasik District, on Christmas Day 1957. At,

about 2 in the afternoon I saw on the far side of the lake two large

flocks of birds one white and the other black. The two flocks were

flying slowly meandering close to each other, yet the whites and blacks

managed to keep distinctly apart. At this stage I did not: pay much

attention to the distant birds. I was only struck by the eye-catching

contrast of glistening white and black in the setting of water and

distant hills. Presently the birds disappeared behind a projecting

headland.

About half an hour later, apparently the same birds showed up

again quite close on my side of the lake. They must have kept

together all this time and flown across the lake, a good half mile

in width at this place. There were about 75 Little Cormorants and

about 50 Little Egrets with a couple or so of Lesser Egrets with them.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Vit

And now for about ten minutes I was treated to a rare display of co-

operative fishing between the two species.

Below where I was stationed the shore curved in a sweeping

contour and the margin was free from weeds. The land consisting

of poor hard soil and murum dipped into the water at a fairly even

gradient. The egrets were strung along the margin of the lake strid-.

ing fairly close together in a few inches of water. The cormorants

were swimming in a compact column about 10 to 15 feet from the

margin where the water must have been less than a couple of feet

deep, and kept busy diving excitedly to left and right. The

formations of about equal length thus moved slowly forward parallel

to each other and to the shore with a narrow ribbon of open water

distinctly segregating the whites from the blacks. In both species

there was apparent an anxiety to keep their formations alongside each

other. Individuals from the egrets would rapidly wade or fly forward

in short hops to take up positions to anticipate the leading cormorants

coming abreast. In their turn the cormorants were loth to lag behind,

the leaders of the column rapidly working up to the foremost egret.

During the few minutes I watched them the birds had thus worked

about 50 yards of shoreline when they flew off scared by a distant

shot. Quite some time later both the flocks were observed flying

in the same general direction and not very far from each other.

ADEN HALL,

NEPEAN SEA ROAD, D. J. PANDAY

BOMBAY,

January 2, 1958.

14. OCCURRENCE OF THE COMMON FLAMINGO

(PHOENICOPTERUS RUBER LINN.) AT NANDYAL,

ANDHRA STATE

The distribution of the Common Flamingo in India is rather

irregular and especially its local migrations during the non-breeding

season. Its arrivals and departures at various places are little known,

and the bird is said usually to affect salt water or keep close to the

sea coast. In view of these, and in response to Mr. Salim Ali’s appeal

(JBNHS 44: 476) for more information in India, my recent observa-

tion of six flamingos on a small irrigation tank at Nandyal (about 8

miles west of the Nallamalah Ranges of the Eastern Ghats) in the

Kurnool District may be of interest.

On 31st December 1957, amidst a large number of White Storks,

Openbills, White Ibises, Grey Herons, Little Egrets, and teals that

were scattered on the tank, I noticed at about 9.15 a.m. six flamingos

172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

(three adults, two post-juveniles and one young) in shallow water at the

north-eastern end of the ‘small tank’ nearer the Nandyal Water Supply

Reservoir. All the three adults had red-pink legs but only one of

them had the pink bill and wing patch at the side. In the other two

adults as well as in the two post-juveniles the bill was dull grey, and

the post-juveniles in addition had grey legs as well as grey back

and rump. The young one was just of the size of a domestic hen,

with complete smoky brown streaked plumage, dark grey legs and

bill and, moreover, neither the neck nor the legs were long enough and

never looked flamingo-like.

They were all standing close together as a flock amidst teals, Little

Egrets, and Grey Herons in the shallow water, sometimes on one leg

or with the neck tucked under the wing and the bill projecting

behind at the tail end, or occasionally dipping the bill to collect

some water in the scoop-like mandible and pour it over the body

for preening. Sometimes they all together paraded a few paces forwards

into the knee-deep water by a slow and dignified march, and all turned

round together as if by command, back once again to the same spot

at the water’s edge. Strangely enough, when all the other birds flew

away on my approach even to 400 yards of them, the flamingos alone

stayed back even when I got to within about 150 yards. From here

I could clearly observe them through my field glasses for an hour and

a half, during which they were quite calm and unperturbed; unfortuna-

tely I could not get nearer because of marshy bogs and the tank bed

ahead of me. I saw them at the same spot by themselves when all

the other birds had gone away even at 1.30 p.m. when I left the tank.

On my next visit to the tank on the following day or the last one on

22nd January 1958, I could not find any flamingos on the tank, although

all the other birds were present. On enquiring of the local shikaris

who frequent this tank, I gathered that they had never seen a flamingo

on this tank before.

So obviously, the flamingos I saw may be passing winter visitors,

and their presence on this small inland fresh water tank at Nandyal

seems worth recording. Moreover, from the descriptions of McCann

(JBNHS 41: 12-38) and Salim Ali VBNHS 45: 586-593), I am sure

that the young one I noticed could not have been more than 2-3 months

old and it is therefore interesting that even such young ones along with

their parents undertake such long migration presumably from their

distant breeding grounds in the Rann of Kutch.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE,

TAMBARAM, P. J. SANJEEVA RAJ

February 6, 1958

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 173

15. JUMPING SNAKES

Reference Mr. D. E. Reuben’s note in your April 1956 issue, and

that of Mr. H. A. N. Medd on p. 195 of Vol. 54, No. 1: the Russell’s

Viper (Vipera russelli) is well known in Ceylon for its jumping capa-

bilities. There is a well-authenticated story of one attacking a

pedestrian in Colombo many years ago in this manner, and on two

occasions I have had wounded ones try to jump at me after I had shot

them, in each case the charge had hit them in the latter half of the

body but they were still able to get off the ground to a height of

of about a foot. Both snakes were about 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. long and

some 2 to 3 in. thick.

HAMBANTOTA,

CEYLON, A. E. BUTLER

January 6, 1958.

16. RAT-SNAKES ‘MATING’

On the 11th of this month whilst returning from the fields after

work at about 4.30 p.m. I saw a very interesting sight of two huge

dhamans (rat-snakes) courting. During the act they would stand

about 4 feet off the ground and sway about like big cobras and

occasionally one would bite the other at the base of the head just like

a stallion does whilst covering a mare.

They seemed quite undisturbed at the presence of five or

six people watching them from a distance of about ten feet, and now

and again one of them would try and puff its neck as if mimicking a

cobra.

The coolies insisted that they were cobras and begged me to shoot

them, whereupon I went up to them and as they tried to make off

caught one of them, which was the slower of the two at getting away,

just to show the coolies that there was nothing to fear from them as

they were harmless. I measured the one I had caught, with some

difficulty, as it had wound considerably round my arm and it measured

nearly 10 ft. The other, I think, was about the same length.

C.L.A.I. (M) LTD.,

GOORGHULLY ESTATE, K. R. SETHNA

SAKLESPUR P.O.,

HASSAN DISTRICT, MYSORE STATE,

February 24, 1958.

i74. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

[It is not easy to decide whether these snakes were actually in

copulation. Mr. Humayun Abdulali records a similar observation of

two Dhamans entwined and apparently mating, which on dissection

proved both to be males (JBNHS 42: 666). From a sketch sent

subsequently by Mr. K. R. Sethna it appears that in this case also the

snakes were entwined round each other. It would be interesting to

ascertain by more dissections what exactly is the purpose of these

entwinements, whether they represent mating, courtship, or fight-

ing.—EDs.]

17. A NOTE ON THE HILSA FISHERIES OF ASSAM

(With one plate and a text-map)

The paucity of information on the hilsa fisheries of Assam was

brought to light in 1952 when the present status of the fisheries for

the species was discussed at a symposium held at Calcutta under the

auspices of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council [see J. Asiatic Soc.

(Sci.) 20, 1]. But for the passing remarks of Day (1873) and De

(1910) about the occurrence of hilsa locally known as ilihi in Assam

waters, there has so far been no report on the disposition and nature

of the hilsa fisheries of the State. A preliminary survey of the fisheries

was therefore made by the authors during the hilsa fishing season of

1956. The data collected during the survey are summarised in this

note. Grateful acknowledgements are due to the staff of the Depart-

ment of Fisheries, Assam, for their help and co-operation in conduct-

ing the survey.

HILSA FISHING AREAS AND SEASONS

Fishing for hilsa is done in Assam in the rivers Brahmaputra and

Barak (see map), larger catches being obtained from the former river.

In the Brahmaputra the fishery extends from Dhubri near the border

of West Bengal to the neighbourhood of Tezpur in the upper reaches,

covering a distance of about 190 miles. During years of abnormal

abundance of hilsa, as in 1955, they are caught in areas further up-

stream also. In the Barak, hilsa fishing is done in an area extending

from the neighbourhood of Lakhipur to Kataganger-mukh, a distance

of about 45 miles. In both these rivers the water is entirely fresh

throughout the year, but in the Brahmaputra near Dhubri it is re-

ported that the tidal effect is sometimes felt during the dry months.

The major fishing centres are located near the consuming centres and

the concentration of fishing units seems to be largely dependent on the

facilities for marketing the catches, but when catches are poor in an

area the fishermen migrate to areas where better fishing can be had.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 175

Fishing rights in the Brahmaputra are mainly owned by private land-

lords or religious institutions who lease out the rights for fishing in

different zones to lessees. The lessee, or sub-lessee when the rights are

sub-leased, levies a fishing permit fee for every month or season of

fishing. ‘The ownership of the fishing areas in Barak River rests with

the State and portions of the river are leased out to private parties who

may sub-lease it to others or give permits directly to fishermen

to fish in the area.

"4 of

aN, ig eo ees

/ meat

: J

y toe ~~ TEZPUR

(mee, ae”

AWN Cate

4 poi GAUHATI

\ Lye eSSaLPaRA

/DHUBRI

Map of Assam showing the location of the Hilsa fishing areas.

The hilsa fishing season in Assam extends from about the middle

of April to September. In the lower reaches of the rivers generally

fishing starts by about the middle of April, whereas in the upper reaches

it starts only by May or June. The peak period differs for each centre,

but is generally between July and the middle of September. There is

176 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

no organised hilsa fishing during the winter months in the rivers of

Assam as in the Sundarbans (West Bengal), but young hilsa are

reported to be caught in small numbers in areas near Dhubri, Goalpara,

Gauhati, and Tezpur.

During the season, fishermen from several villages in Assam migrate

to hilsa fishing centres, where they remain for the whole season. The

number of fishermen engaged in hilsa in the State has increased

considerably in recent years on account of the influx of displaced

fishermen from East Pakistan.

FISHING METHODS AND DISPOSAL OF CATCHES

The most commonly used fishing implement for hilsa in the

Brahmaputtra is the clap net known as sanglo, which is also widely

employed in West Bengal (Naidu, 1939). Large boats known as pansi

nauka, measuring about 30’ X 6’ X 24’, are generally employed, and from

these two sanglo nets are operated at a time, while from smaller boats

known as kosa nauka measuring about 24’ x4’x 12’ only one net is

operated (plate, fig. 1). Sharki jal, another clap net operated in Dhubri

and Goalpara areas of the Brahmaputra, is very similar to the sanglo, but

differs from it mainly in that instead of a rope, a bamboo pole tied to

the lower rim of the net mouth is used to keep the net open and for

closing it. Firki jal or hafa jal, which is also known as chirong jal

is the most commonly used hilsa fishing implement on the Barak. It is

also operated in Goalpara and Tezpur areas along the Brahmaputra

where it is known as garua ilihi. It is a triangular dip net measuring

about 16’ at its base, mounted on a bamboo frame with the two arms

measuring about 18’ and operated from the bow of a boat (plate, fig. 2).

The maximum depth of the bag formed by the net is about 10’ and

the mesh measures about 3”. Only one such net can be operated

from a boat at a time. In Tezpur area along the Brahmaputra

a wide mouthed cast net known as garua ilihi is used for catching

adult hilsa from shallow marginal areas of the rivers. During the

winter months when the water level in the Brahmaputra goes down,

it is reported that kona jal and jagatber jal are operated in the neigh-

bourhood of Goalpara and Dhubri and small quantities of hilsa are

caught. A complete inventory of the fishing craft and tackle has not

yet been made, but on the basis of enquiries made among fishermen

and fish merchants, it has been estimated that there were about 2,200

boats operating about 3,500 nets on the Brahmaputra, and 800 boats

operating 1,200 nets on the Barak during the hilsa season of 1956.

The total landings from these two rivers are estimated to be about

75,000 mds. per year. Fishing is generally done in the Brahmaputra

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

SS POA

Pree

Fig.1. The clap net sanglo jal operated from kosa nauka in River Brahmaputra.

Fig.2. The firki jal, also known as hafa, chirong, and garua ilihi, commonly used for

hilsa fishing in the Barak.

‘MISCELLANEOUS NOTES - st 177

from the early hours of the morning to late in the evening but in

the Barak, which is a small river, fishing is done both during day and

night. The catches are sold to fish merchants who wait at the landing

places. As very few of the fishermen in the area take loans from

fish merchants, they are able to sell their catches to the merchants at

a reasonable price. The price of hilsa, especially when river-fresh and

not preserved in ice, is often very high near consuming centres like

Gauhati. Even though the magnitude of hilsa populations in the

rivers of Assam is not known, it would appear from the available

information that there is scope for intensifying hilsa fishing in the

rivers. At present fishing is done mainly in the neighbourhood of

consuming centres. If better facilities for transport of catches can

be arranged, it may be possible to persuade fishermen to fish in areas

not exploited at present.

BIOLOGICAL NOTES

As can be seen from the map, the river Brahmaputra continues as

the Jamuna in East Pakistan and joins the Padma. River Barak

joins Meghna in East Pakistan. Morphometric studies of samples

of hilsa from Brahmaputra and Barak (by one of us) have shown that

the stocks of hilsa in these two rivers are different'. Whether they

are homogeneous with the hilsa stocks of East Pakistan rivers has

yet to be ascertained. Examination of catch samples showed that the

fish are all in maturing or mature condition. A number of them were

In oozing condition and even though no fertilized eggs or larvae were

collected from these areas, it appears that they breed in the area as

young ones are reported to be caught in fair numbers in small-meshed

nets when the water level goes down.

The length-frequency data of commercial catches of hilsa from

Brahmaputra and Barak, examined during the survey in the month of

July 56, showed that fish measuring 36 to 37 cm. in length formed the

majority group in both the rivers, which on the analogy of the hilsa

of the Hooghly may be considered to be about 3 years old (Pillay, 1957).

Other size groups are not quite prominent in the samples, except for

one with a mode between 39 and 40 cm. in the catches from the

Barak.

CENTRAL ISLAND FISHERIES RESEARCH STATION, T. V. R. PILLAY

CALCUTTA 7. A. N. GHOSH

November 11, 1957.

_ * A detailed account of these studies will be published elsewhere.

i78 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

REFERENCES

Day, F. (1873): Report on the fresh Naidu, M. R. (1939): Report on a

water fish and fisheries of India and survey of the Fisheries of West Bengal,

Burma, Calcutta. Calcutta.

De, K. C. (1910): Report on the Pillay, T. V. R. (1957): The biology

Fisheries of Eastern Bengal and Assam, of the Hilsa, Hi/sa ilisha (Hamilton), of the

Shillong. ; River Hooghly. (In Press).

18. ‘AN INDIGENOUS FISHING ROD AND TACKLE’

I am interested to read the note and see the text figure at page 953

of Vol. 54, No. 4. When at Secunderabad in 1899-1903 and again in

1906 I fished from the bund of the Hussain Sagar Lake using a short

bamboo rod with whalebone tip, or was it buffalo horn? I always

called it whalebone; and it was not easy to obtain.

My short rod had not the nicety of a hole drilled through the butt.

The line was secured to the butt of the bamboo by means of a clove-

hitch, and then passed to the tusser silk loop at the rod tip.

The rest of the technique was as in the note. Fish taken were

mostly rohu up to about 15 |b.; and though I had the place baited

with balls of ragi I never got any larger fish. My experience was that

the whalebone tip is superior to the use of the peacock quill float I

had used before going to Secunderabad.

C/o LLoyps BANK LTD.,

39, PICCADILLY, R. W. BURTON

LONDON, W. 1. Lt.-Col., 1.A. (Retd.)

February 16, 1958. —

19. ‘CROP PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL IN THE PANJAB’

I am afraid that I cannot allow Dr. K. N. Trehan’s paper under

the above title (1957, JBNHS 54: 581-626) to escape without very

severe criticism, so far as the Lepidoptera is concerned. I am not in

a position to comment on the other groups.

In the first place the text figures are unrecognisable; to put it

mildly, not only are the markings shewn wrongly but the general outline

has no resemblance to the actual insect. Also, in many cases, the

scale is wrong. Compare Fig. 13 (Prodenia litura F.) with Fig. 139

from Hampson’s FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA, Moths, Vol. II, for example.

Would anyone think that the two figures depicted the same insect?

Fig. 8 (Earias insulana Bsd.) is not symmetrical, the apex of the left

forewing is truncate, that of the right produced. Fig. 1l0b

(Achaea janata L.) is said to be to scale x 14. The wing expanse of

the figure is 40 mm., i.e. actual size 32 mm. Hampson, in the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 179

CATALOGUE OF THE LEPIDOPTERA PHALAENAE, gives the wing expanse

as 52 to 70 mm., and all the specimens that I have seen have been

nearer the top figure. Fig. 33 (Virachola isocrates F.) shews a vena-

tion that is completely unknown in the Rhopalocera, no cell and all

the veins arising from the base of the wing. If a paper is to be

illustrated by text figures they should not be grossly misleading.

The text is also full of errors. :

P. 591. Is the ‘Lahn’ moth really Utetheisa pulchella L.? I know

the species is easily identifiable, but the usual food-plants of Utetheisa

belong to the Boraginaceae. Crotalaria is the food-plant of Argina

cribraria Clerck.

P. 592. Euproctis lunata Wik. and E. fraterna Moore do not

pupate in the soi! but spin small cocoons affixed to leaves or twigs in

which they pupate. Achaea janata L., also, does not pupate in the

soil but, like all the Catocalinae known to me, spins a slight cocoon

between leaves.

P. 593. Amsacta moorei Btlr., not Butt., and Arctiidae not

Arctiadae. I have no personal experience of this species but I am

very doubtful of any of the Spilosominae pupating in the soil; [ would

expect it to pupate in cocoons spun amongst litter on the surface of

the soil or possibly under stones or clods of earth.

597. Amsacta moorei, again Btlr., not Butt.

598. " 2

Sek 5 9

599. Cirphis unipuncta, Haw. not ‘N’.

601. Amsacta moorei, again Btlr., not Butt.

603. Pieris brassicae L., not brassica.

606. Heliothis, not Heliothes. An identification open to very

considerable doubt.

P. 611. Pieris brassicae L., not brassica.

P. 613. Malacosoma indica Wlk., this belongs to the Lasiocam-

pidae.

P. 616. Parasa sp., this belongs to the Limacodidae and larvae

should not be handled as they sting.

P. 616. Cacoecia, not Cocoecia, belongs to the Torticidae.

P. 620. Euproctis, not Euprocitis. Lunata are pale, bright what?

P. 620. MHerse convolvuli, not Heise. I am rather dubious about

this species and also Acherontia styx Westw. (not ‘W’) attacking Vines.

Bell & Scott do not include Vitis in the long list of food-plants given

for these species. To me it seems more likely that the species con-

cerned would be one of the Choerocampinae, say Hippotion celerio L.

or a Theretra species.

P. 621. Papilio demoleus L. Dr. Trehan makes no mention

of Papilio polytes L., which is equally common and has the same food-

BOLD nen eee aw

180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

plants and habits. To a non-entomologist, the larvae of the two species

are almost indistinguishable.

Dr. Trehan is, presumably, following Hampson in his use of the

family name Pyralidae. Nowadays Hampson’s subfamilies are given

family status, i.e. Crambidae, Schoenobiidae, Phycitidae, etc.

MomBASA, D. G. SEVASTOPULO, F.R.E.S.

November 12, 1957.

20. A NEW BUTTERFLY FROM ASSAM

(With a text figure)

Ypthima cantliei sp. nov.

Four males of this very distinct species were taken by me on 12th

and 15th April 1957 near Margherita in Upper Assam. They were

caught at plains level in scrubby bamboo jungle near the point where

the Dirok River enters the hills, flying in company with Y. ceylonica

hiibneri, Y. nareda, and Y. baldus. Y. cantliei appears to be closest to Y.

ceylonica Hewitson, from which it may readily be distinguished by the

greater size, the coarse dark striation of the underside, and the very

different clasp of the genitalia.

Inside view of right clasp of Ypthima cantliei.

Specimens from the type series will be presented to the Zoological

Survey of India, Calcutta, and to the British Museum (Natural History),

London. 3

DESCRIPTION

o&. Antenna brown, narrowly ringed with white at joints, club

chestnut; head thorax, and abdomen brown.

Upperside: Fore wing. Ground colour brown, without brand; an ill-

defined dark discal line and a prominent dark sub-

terminal line present; a bipupilled apical ocellus obscurely

ringed with yellow, the upper pupil being placed nearer

to the apex than in other species of this genus; length

from base to apex 21 mm.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ; 181

Hind wing. Ground colour as fore wing but becoming

lighter in outer third, where there are a few striations;

discal and sub-terminal lines as on fore wing, the former

sharply angled outwards opposite end of cell; three yellow

ringed single-pupilled ocelli in tornal area, prominent in

spaces 2 and 3 but minute in space le.

Underside: Fore wing. Ground colour greyish white, evenly and

densely covered with coarse dark brown striations; faintly

marked discal, post-discal and sub-marginal dark bands;

a large yellow-ringed bipupilled ocellus at the apex.

Hind wing. Ground colour as fore wing. One apical and

three tornal yellow-ringed ocelli, subequal and one-third

the size of fore wing ocellus; all single pupilled except-

ing the ocellus in Ic which is bipupilled; the three tornal

ocelli in a straight line.

Cilia brown.

Genitalia: The valve is short and broad, in the fresh specimen ter-

minating in the shape of a spoon. In the dried specimen

the valve appears of equal width throughout due to two

flaps being raised medially.

It is a pleasure to name this species for Sir Keith Cantlie C.L.E.,

1.C.S. who is doing such valuable work on problems connected with

the taxonomy of Indian butterflies, and without whose help, together

with that of Mr. T. G. Howarth of the Department of Entomology,

British Museum (Natural History), this species would not at present

have been elucidated. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Howarth and Sir

Keith Cantlie for ascertaining that no other species in the British

Museum collection has an exactly similar facies; and to Mr. Howarth

for preparing a slide of the genitalia and the figure of the clasp.

SELENG T.E.,

SELENG Har P.O., T. NORMAN

UprER ASSAM,

February 19, 1958.

21. NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF

BRITHYS CRINI FABRICIUS

The joint authors of the note under the above heading (1957,

JBNHS 54: 784) are wrong when they state that the species is not

even mentioned in Hampson’s FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA. It is described,

and also figured, and the larva is also described, but under its old

name of Glottula dominica Cr, It is also described, again under the

182 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

old name, and both the imago and larva figured in Moore’s

LEPIDOPTERA OF CEYLON, Vol. III.

I do not think that the control measures suggested would be

altogether successful as the newly hatched larvae bore into the leaf

tissue and eventually find their way into the bulb, they do not feed on

the surface of the leaf until after the 4th instar. Incidentally, the very

high larval mortality in the first instar was probably due to unnatural

conditions in the laboratory.

There are two other serious pests on Amaryllidaceae in Calcutta,

Polytela gloriosae F. and Calogramma festiva Don, both of which

feed on the surface of the leaf from the time of hatching, and which

would respond more readily to the control measures suggested.

MOMBASA,

November 13, 1957. D. G. SEVASTOPULO, F.R.E.s.

22. ‘AN EPISODE FROM THE LIFE-HISTORY OF

THE MOTH SUANA CONCOLOR WLK.’

With reference to the note under the above heading (1957, JRNHS

54: 784), I have records of the following food-plants:

Careya arborea (Myrtaceae).

Litsaea polyantha (Lauraceae).

Shorea ‘robusta (Dipterocarpaceae).

I have not bred the species myself but, like so many of the Lasiocamp-

idae, it appears to be a fairly general feeder.

With regard to the efficiency of the insect as a ‘flying machine’, I

think it extremely doubtful that any of the larger Lasiocampid females

indulge in really sustained flight until a fair proportion of their eggs

have been laid.

MOMBASA,

November 11, 1957. D. G. SEVASTOPULO, F.R.£.s.

23. A NOTE ON THE DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES OF

LARVAE OF ANOPHELES VARUNA IYENG.

(With three text figures)

Puri (1931) originally described the larvae of Anopheles varuna

basing his observations on specimens collected from south India.

Roy (1938) noted certain differences in the larvae of the same species

from Bengal and pointed out that “The antero-internal clypeal hairs of

the larva’. . . show a constant fraying. ‘The thoracic palmate hairs

have the ends drawn out and in this respect also these larvae differ

from those of varuna which resemble minimus in having their ends

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 183

truncate.’ On the basis of these differential characters Roy held that

the varuna of Bengal represented a new variety.

While a constant fraying of ‘antero-internal’ or inner clypeal hairs

in varuna larvae, as noticed by Roy, was at variance with what Puri

(1941) had described as primarily simple with some fraying in a few,

the second character about the ‘drawn out’ thoracic palmate hairs in

varuna from Bengal was in fact a reassertion of what Puri had also

observed (p. 155). Roy somehow missed this point in Puri’s des-

cription. In this character therefore the two larvae from the South and

Bengal do not show any difference.

According to Venkat Rao and Ramakrishna (1940) the varuna

larvae from Waltair and Gopalapatnam (Madras coast) also have inner

clypeal hairs branched in 98 per cent of the specimens observed, while

the outer and the posterior clypeal hairs were invariably simple. In

the larvae from Bhadrak (Orissa), on the other hand, not only the

inner clypeal hairs were branched as in Waltair specimens, but the

other two sets of clypeal hairs, 56 per cent of the outer and 0.7 per

cent of the posterior, were also branched.

I have recently examined a large number of larvae of varuna from

Bengal (collected from different places), and the observations

made have been given in Table 1. These observations show that

TABLE 1.

Morphological characters of varuna larvae from Bengal.

Actual number

showing the Percentage

character

Blotching ‘ Y’

shaped. 17 23.0

Head Pattern ..| Blotching ‘U’

shaped. 16 21.6

No blotching. 41 55.4

Frayed. 56 75.6

Inner clypeal hairs ..| Not frayed. 18 24.4

Frayed. 11 15.0

Outer clypeal hairs ..| Not frayed. 63 85.0

Frayed. 4 5.4

Posterior clypeal hairs ..| Not frayed. 70 94.6

4-7 branched. 73 99.0

Inner sutural hairs ..| 2-3 branched. 1 1.0

4-7 branched. 71 96.0 a

Outer sutural hairs ..| 2-3 branched. 3 4.0

14-22 leaflets. 72 97.0

Thoracic palmate hairs ..| 11-13 leaflets. 2 3.0

184. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

the anterior clypeal hairs were branched in about 75 per cent of the

- jarvae examined. The percentage of larvae showing frayed inner

clypeal hairs was not as high as in the specimens from Waltair (Venkat

Rao and Ramakrishna, loc. cit.) or as observed by Roy (loc. cit.).

Such fraying of inner clypeal hairs has often been observed as a

variation from normal in a number of species. The mere presence

of branching in the clypeal hairs further does not warrant splitting of

the species into varietal forms, especially as the adults emerging from

these larvae have all the characters of typical A. varuna. Oppos-

ing the idea of creating a new variety on the basis of this variation,

and in order to avoid complications, Venkat Rao and Ramakrishna

(loc. cit.) suggested certain amendments to the original description to

include this branched condition of the inner clypeal hairs. The

amendments suggested by these authors have not proved very informa-

tive. In view of the above position, therefore, I have suggested the

following alterations in the revised synoptic table given below for

distinguishing the larvae of the funestus group in Bengal:

Revised Key.

1. Anterior clypeal hairs with barb-like branches: Posterior else

peal hairs frayed from base (Fig.1) .. aconitus

Anterior clypeal hairs may or may not show fine branches :

Posterior clypeal hairs simple, branching if present (5°) is an

exception : (2)

2. Presence of a pair of minute hairs, one on each side in the an-

terior tergal plate of certain abdominal segments (Fig.2) .. varuna

The pair of minute hairs arises outside the tergal pie? these

when relatively better developed .. fluviatilis

When these hairs are poorly represented” (Fig. a .. minimus

- Fig. 1. xca. 290

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 185

Fig. 2. x 100

Fig. 3. x 100

SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE,

CALCUTTA, P. SEN

December 20, 1957.

RE ERENCES

Puri, I. M. (1931) : Larvae of anophe- Roy, D. N. (1938) : A note on the larva

line mosquitoes with full description of of A. varuna Iyengar. J. Mal. Inst.

those of the Indian species. Ind. Med. India1 : 269-272.

Res. Memoirs 21: 1-227. Venkat Rao & Ramakrishna, V.

— — (1941): Health Bulletin, No. (1940): A note on the larva of A. varuna

16, p. 101. Iyengar. J. Mal. Inst. India3 : 509-512.

24. FLOWERING OF STROBILANTHES

I am very interested to find that the flowering of the hillside grass

Strobilanthes kunthianus, which blooms and dies once in twelve years,

has coincided this year with the flowering of Strobilanthes species in

the evergreen sholas, blooming and dying once in seven years, on

the Billigirirangan Hills, S$. India. Such combined flowering must be

rare. The results were beautiful.

DUPABARRAY BUNGALOW,

-ATTIKAN P.O., R. C. MORRIS

ViA Mysore, SOUTH INDIA,

February 6, 1958.

[A few years ago the Bombay plant, Strobilanthes callosus or

Carvia callosa, produced one of the general flowerings which also coin-

cided with several other species of Strobilanthes in an area from Mt.

Abu in Rajputana to the Nilgiris and Palnis in S. India. The period

between any two general flowering seasons for many of the species

of Strobilanthes varies between 7 and 12 years, but our information

is rather scanty on the subject. See Santapau in Bot, Mem, Univ,

186 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

Bombay 2: 47-50, 1951 on authenticated general flowering of several

species of the genus.—-EDs.]

25. THE PHYLLOTAXY OF EUPHORBIA NERIIFOLIA LINN.

In a recent outing to Purandhar, Poona district, we have had

occasion to study large numbers of Euphorbia neriifolia plants, and

had our attention strongly called to the strange behaviour of the leaf

or leaf scars on the stems and branches.

Each leaf is accompanied by two stout stipular thorns, which persist

even after the leaf has disappeared; the leaf scar, showing the point

of attachment of the leaf to the plant, is a clear whitish areole between

the stipular thorns. In this plant it is quite easy, even in the absence

of the leaves, to determine their position on the stem or branches, in

other words, their phyllotaxy. Further, on most plants, particularly

the younger ones, the leaves and thorns are borne on a prominently

raised ridge or wing-like structure that remains quite evident in all but

the very oldest plants; in these the ridge may become somewhat

flattened, and the stem thereby becomes more or less terete or round

in section.

In most Phanerogams generally the phyllotaxy or arrangement of

the leaves is quite a constant character, so constant in fact that use

may be made of it for the purposes of classification. Apart from the

phyllotaxy, which is constant, some climbers show marked preference

for a definite direction in their turning ov twisting round their supports

and, where this is the case as in Dioscorea, this becomes an important

detail for classification. But a careful reading through the standard

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 3 187

works on the subject has failed to reveal any mention of the phyllotaxy

twisting to the right and to the left on one and the same plant. ‘This

is why the behaviour of Euphorbia neriifolia attracted our attention.

Shortly after visiting Purandhar, the senior author went to

Khandala, on the Western Ghats, and carefully studied Euphorbia

neriifolia Linn. and noted the same strange behaviour which had been

observed in Purandhar.

The following are the common arrangements of the leaves in

Euphorbia neriifolia as shown either by the leaves themselves or by

the stipular thorns and leaf scars.

1. On rather old stems, the stipular thorns were placed in practi-

cally vertical rows without any noticeable deflexion to either side;

the ridges or wings were nearly flat, and the stems were practically

circular in transverse section. Most of the older plants, reaching the

size of small trees, showed this arrangement both on the main stem

and on the branches.

2. Some other plants had their stipular thorns forming usually five

strong spirals twisting from left to right from below upwards, i.e. going

counter-clockwise; other plants had the spirals twisting from right

to left from below upwards, i.e. going clockwise. Either direction in

the twisting could be noted, but the stems and all the branches had a

constant direction in the twisting of the spirals. This arrangement

was noted as rather rare in Euphorbia neriifolia.

3. In most of the younger plants examined, it was noted that

whilst the stems might show a left to right spiral, some of the branches

of the same plant showed twisting from right to left; or alternatively

the stem showed right to left spirals, the branches left to right. This

double arrangement on one and the same plant was noted in practi-

cally all young plants, that is to say in plants up to | m. high. Both

of us and a group of senior students in our company examined well

over 100 specimens in the field, and noted this double phyllotaxy in

most of the plants.

This double twist is well shown in the accompanying photograph,

which is reproduced from a Kodachrome slide made by the senior

author in Purandhar. In the photograph the main stem in the middle

shows left-right spirals; the lowest branch at the right follows the same

direction as the main stem; but the next two branches on the right

show twisting in the other direction; the two branches on the left-

hand side show right-left twisting. The actual plant in the photo-

graph was about one meter in height.

St. XAVIER’S COLLEGE,

Bombay 1, H. SANTAPAU, S.J., F.N.1.

November 15, 1957. G. L. SHAH, M.Sc,

188 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (1)

26. THE COCONUT, COCOS NUCIFERA LINN.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE FIRST ENGLISH JESUIT IN INDIA

Father Thomas Stephens, the author of The Christian Purana, was

born in 1549 at Bushton, in Wiltshire; he entered the Society of Jesus

in Rome in 1575; he sailed for India from Lisbon on April 4th,

1579, and landed in Goa on October 24th of the same year. He was

the first English Jesuit to set foot on Indian soil, though he was not

the first Englishman to come to India; already in 1546 two Englishmen

took part in the defence of the besieged harbour-town of Diu. Fr.

Stephens died in 1619.

His observations on the coconut palm are given in a long letter to

his brother Richard, at the time a professor in Paris; the letter is

dated October 24th, 1583 and is written in Latin. This is not the

first or oldest mention of the palm-tree by European authors; already

Garcia d’Orta mentioned it in his Coloquios published in 1565; C.

L’Escluse in 1567 summarized d’Orta’s notes on the subject in his

Aromatum and Simplicium . .. Historia, chapter 26. The remarks of

Fr. Stephens, however, may be of interest to our readers, and for this

reason the text is here given in the original Latin with a free translation.

Fr. Stephens’s letter has been lately published by G. Schurhammer in

Archiv. Hist. Soc. Jesu (26: 71-77, 1957).

Fr. Stephens’ text is as follows: ‘Est apud nos arbor non rara,

sed ulmis et vitibus frequentior, palma dicta a similitudine et fortasse

vere palma, si palmae nomen esse genericum et duas sub se

species continere concesseris. Haec oleum dat, et vinum, lac et mellis

saccarum, nec non et acetum, chordas etiam ad ligandum, et frondes,

quibus pluviae a tuguriis arcentur. Fructus habet perennes, non

dactylos, sed nuces potius instar humani capitis, quae detracta lanugine,

quae extrinsecus est, duorum pugnorum magnitudinem exaequant.

Intus habet aquam tenuis cerevisiae similem, ad sitim sedandam non

ineptam, eamque tam copiosam, ut una exhausta aliam plerumque non

desideres. Nuci intrinsecus adhaeret tamquam caelum undique

claudens albugo, qui cibus est non contemnendus. Hinc faber

ferrarius carbones petit. Hac, qui in maritimis locis habitant.

navigia non solum onerant, sed etiam compingunt cum velis et funibus

aliisque requisitis. Literas vix alias reperies, quam quae in harum

foliis descriptae sunt. Non alio tegumento, qui terram colunt, ad

pluvias arcendas fere utuntur.’

This may be freely translated thus: ‘In this country there is a

common tree, more common than elms and vines in other countries,

the so-called palm-tree, which looks like and is perhaps truly a palm-

tree, if you are ready to admit that the name “palm-tree” is a generic

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 189

one with two species. This palm-tree yields oil, wine (or toddy), milk

and honey-sweet sugar, and even vinegar; in addition it is used for the

making of cordage and its leaves for the thatching of cottages to keep

out the rain. It bears fruit throughout the year, not dates, but rather

nuts like a man’s head; stripped of the outer fibrous covering, the

nut is about as large as two fists put together. Inside it has a liquid

which is like light beer and is a refreshing drink; this is so abundant

that after drinking the contents of one nut, you scarcely feel the need

of another. The inside of the nut is lined with a white substance,

which is quite tasty to eat. From the nut the village blacksmith gets

his charcoal, whilst those who live along the sea shores transport to

other places not just full shiploads, but mountains of the nuts stacked

high round the sails, the cordage, and other fittings of the ship.

Besides, the letters which people send to one another are nearly always

written on the leaves of this palm-tree; further, labourers working in

the field scarcely use any other protection against the rains.’

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE,

Bompsay 1, H. SANTAPAU, S.J.; F.N.J.

November 11, 1957.

27. EXPORT OF ANIMALS FROM INDIA

According to the office of the Chief Controller of Imports and

Exports, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, live animals

of the following value were exported from India between January and

June 1957.

Monkeys An ..» Rs. 40,15,284

Birds ae a 3,50,515

Bulls is re, 9,000

Dogs x ae 81,294

Elephants RA ae 59,780

Tigers me Lis 10,646

Cows ae a 8,000

Buffaloes a Len 43,100

Others so oe e795

Total ... Rs. 46,95,414

114, APOLLO STREET,

Bomsay 1, EDITORS

January 10, 1958.

Gleanings

Carbonic Acid kills Whales in two seconds

A new Norwegian invention for hunting whales using carbonic

acid (H,CO,) will now be tried out in practice in whale hunting around

Iceland. The new idea, experimented with by the Norwegian engineer

C. U. Wetlesen, is that when the harpoon hits the whale the shell

releases 2.5 cu. metres of carbonic acid, which spreads through the

whale’s body and kills it in two seconds. It then causes the whale to

float up to the surface without air having to be pumped into it, as is

the present method.

‘Norway Press Bulletin’ (No. 30/1957).

(From Government of India, Ministry of Education and Scientific

Research, Department of Scientific Research and Technical Education,

Science Newsletter No. 321 dated 29 November 1957.)

EXTRACTS FROM THE MAMMALS OF CHINA AND MONGOLIA ParT I, BY

J. A. ALLEN. Natural History of Central Asia, Vol. XI. Published

by the American Museum of Natural History, New York 1938.

Hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus dealbatus ‘are looked upon as

sacred animals by the Chinese and so are not molested, but on the

contrary, little shrines are often built for them. This may in part

account for their comparative abundance in parts of this province

(Hopei), for elsewhere they are often eaten, and Sowerby recounts that

in Manchuria the woodsmen prepare them for eating by first encasing

them in a coating of mud, which, after the animal has been roasted

whole in the embers of a wood fire, comes away with the spines, hair,

and skin adhering to the clay, ‘leaving a very toothsome morsel of

beautifully cooked meat’. He adds that foxes often kill hedgehogs by

thrusting their snout under the spiny ball, and throwing the animal

into the air. ‘This makes the hedgehog uncurl, and, before it can curl

up again, the fox has nipped it in the unprotected vitals.’ (Pages 51

and 52.)

Tylonycteris pachypus fulvidus (Blyth). “The usual hiding place

of this little bat during the day is in hollow bamboo stems, and Mell

records that he once took thirteen from a bamboo joint split on one

side in the midst of forest, and had on four other occasions obtained

from three to five specimens in similar situations ... Its very much

flattened head is perhaps an adaptation allowing it to enter narrow

cracks and so to obtain access to the hollow interior of bamboo stalks,

GLEANINGS — | i9i

while the obvious pads under the thumbs and soles of hind feet per-

haps are useful, as Dobson long ago suggested, to enable it to cling

to the smooth sides of such places.’ (Page 248)

[The range of this bat as given by Ellerman & Scott (1951, p. 175)

is: Sikkim, Manipur, Chin Hills, Shan States, Pegu, Tenasserim,

Yunnan, Laos, Tonkin, Annam.—EDs.]

Scotophilus temminckii consobrinus J. A. Allen. ‘On April 18 a

large number, estimated at about one hundred, were found among

the dead hanging leaves of a palm tree in the mission compound;

eighteen of them were shot and all proved to be females. Later, on

June 9, this colony was found to have increased to large size and

several hundred were killed. They had sought refuge under the droop-

ing leaves of the palm. All of those examined proved to be adult

females, most of them with young. Many of the latter were still

hairless but others were already well covered.’ (Page 255)

[This race occurs in §. China, Hainan, and Formosa. Its Indian

representative is S. t. wroughtoni Thomas—-W. India and Ceylon.—

EDs.]

The Himalayan Marten, Charronia flavigula flavigula (Boddaert).

‘Mell (1922, p. 17), writing of Kwangtung, tells of two that were shot

on the edge of an opening in the woods in early morning as they were

snapping at bees going in and out of a hive; their stomachs contained

the bees they had already caught. A male shot October 15 in a high

tree in a village wood at Fungwahn, also had honey bees in its

stomach, so that these are evidently a favourite food. Indeed, Sowerby

(1923) states that it is known in Manchuria as “mi-kou” or Honey

Dog, although in Shansi and Shensi the Chinese call it “hwangyao”

(Yellow Marten), in reference to its yellow colour. A_ writer

in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (1916,

Vol. 24, p. 589) has mentioned its fondness for nectar, and another

speaks of its running down fawns of the Barking Deer. Evidently its

predaceous habits of diet are modified by a liking for sweets, but of its

special animal food there seems to be little recorded for China.’

(Page 367)

[Range: Kashmir to Tibet and Southern China, north to Shensi,

Kansu.—EDs. ]

EXTRACTS FROM I.U.C.N. BULLETIN SELECTED AND ANNOTATED

BY R. W. Burton, Vol. VI, No. 5 (November 1957)

A Case for the Crocodile

Marginal to the editorial in the above we have in about 1,200

words ample reasons for the re-appraisal of Man’s attitude towards

192 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (i)

the crocodiles of Asia and Africa and the alligators of the American

continent.

‘Numbers are reducing in Madagascar, and over large tracts of

tropical countries these reptiles are no more than a curiosity. On

the Island of Mauritius and in Palestine they are but a memory.

Already Guatemala has decided to pass a law before these reptiles

(Alligators and Caymans) completely disappear.

Dr. H. B. Cott, Cambridge:

‘Non-adult crocodiles feed on insects or nymphs of water insects

which would have otherwise destroyed fish spawn. On the other

hand caymans of the Amazon, harmless to humans, wage savage

warfare on pirayas—a meat-eating fish that breeds in lakes—which

attacks man and beast once the reptiles, which kept down the

numbers, have been killed off.

Near certain fishing grounds, functions resembling those of a

policeman are taken on by crocodiles which, by exterminating the

cat-fish that terrorise the tilapias (a sort of perch) are thus protect-

ing a valuable source of protein . . . as is often the case with animals

of prey, the specially ferocious individuals need to be eliminated

without endangering the whole breed. (R.W.B. italics.)

‘There is no doubt that it would be regrettable were the

crocodile to disappear; that it is high time more detailed studies were

made of its biology and ecology; that, as it is the duty of authori-

ties to provide protection for their inhabitants against its misdeeds,

it is equally right to preserve this animal in sparsely inhabited

regions, particularly in national parks and reserves and, where

necessity arises, to regulate its capture and slaughter.’

Definitions

The Director General of Nature Conservancy in Great Britain

(Dr. E. Max Nicholson) gives definitions of some terms in current use

by nature protectors.

Ecological research means studying the relations of plants and

animals to their environment and to one another.

Nature conservation means ensuring by ownership of control and

by suitable management that the natural fauna and flora survive

and flourish together with the rocks, landscape features, soils, and

water on which they depend.

Nature reserves are areas which serve either as outdoor living

museums for nature conservation or as open air laboratories for

ecological research, or both.

GLEANINGS 193

To really manage an estate . .. is the conservation of

nature based on ecological research aiming at keeping the country

worth living in for all its living creatures, including people.

Use of Bats

‘Experiments have proved that every night a bat apparently con-

sumes a quantity of insects proportional to about half its own weight.’

Vol. VI, No. 6 (December 1957)

Pesticides

The Assistant Secretary for the Interior for Fish and Wildlife,

Washington, has recently emphasised the need for a comprehensive

study of the effect of the use of pesticides on the valuable resources

represented by wildlife. .. . ‘It is essential that investigations

should be conducted both in the laboratories and in the field in con-

junction with the Forest Service.’

The retired head of the ornithological department of the American

Museum of Natural History (Dr. R. C. Murphy) ‘has published a

sharp attack on the use of D.D.T. with photographic proof of the

death of birds as a resuit of diet of poisoned insects, and a photo-

graph of 98 trout and one ee! scooped off a brook on the day following

a spraying, and points out the danger to human beings of these toxic

substances’. . . . Dr. Paul F. Springer, an American Fish and

Wildlife Service biologist, has recently published (1957) a short evalua-

tion of the effects of the use of herbicides and fungicides on wild life.

‘Dr. Springer attributes part of the responsibility of some of

these results to inexcusable carelessness or lack of knowledge in the

use of these products.’

In India, users of these products need the guidance and control

of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research through the Board of

Research and ‘its attendant organizations set up at a special meeting

held at New Delhi on the Ist November 1950.

Notes and News

The President of India has awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’, the third

highest civilian honour in the Indian Republic, to Shri Salim Ali for

services to ornithology.

* * * *

The Zoological Society of India is organising the First All-India

Congress of Zoology with the object of bringing together all zoologists

in the country.

The Congress will be held in Calcutta from 31 October to 6

November 1958.

The last date for submission of papers to be read at the Congress

is August 15. Communications should be addressed to the Secretary,

Dr. B. S. Chauhan, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

* * x *

Mr. B. N. Ghildyal author of the paper ‘On a Botanical Trip to

the Valley of Flowers’ (JBHNS 54: 365) wishes us to say that his

address should have been printed as ‘School of Plant Morphology,

Meerut College, Meerut. _Now at Indian Forest College, Dehra Dun’.

* * * **

Thanks to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Society is again “in a

position to offer modest amounts by way of a grant-in-aid for specific

pieces of field work in natural history. Applications, together with

a summary of the nature of the proposed investigation and the appli-

cant’s qualifications and competence, should be made to the Honorary

Secretary, Bombay Natural History Society, 114, Apollo Street, Fort,

Bombay 1.

* * * a

The Zoological Society of India invite reprints of papers from

researchers in any branch of zoology published during the three-year

period 1955, 1956, and 1957 for consideration for the third award of

the Society’s ‘Sir Dorabji Tata Gold Medal’. One reprint of each

publication should reach the President, Zoological Society of India,

34, Chittaranjan Avenue, Calcutta 12, by the 30th of June 1958 at the

latest.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MADRAS—/-6-58. (C9434

EDITORS: SALIM ALI, AND H. SANTAPAU

.114 APOLLO STREET, FORT, BOMBAY

REGISTRATION OF NEWSPAPERS (CENTRAL) RULES 1956

Statement about ownership and other particulars about the

JOURNAL OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

to be published in the first issue every year after the last

day of February

FORM IV

(See Rule 8)

Place of publication—The Diocesan Press, Vepery, Madras 7.

Periodicity of its publication—Three times a year. April/

August / December.

Printer’s Name.—V. M. Philip.

Nationality.—Indian.

Address.—Diocesan Press, Post Box 455, Vepery, Madras 7.

Publisher’s Name.—V. M. Philip.

Nationality.—Indian.

Address.—Diocesan Press, Post Box 455, Vepery, Madras 7.

Editor’s Name.—(1) Salim Ali, (2) Rev. Fr. H. Santapau, S.J.,

Nationality.—(1) Indian. (2) Indian.

Address——Bombay Natural History Society, 114, Apollo

Street, Fort, Bombay 1.

Names and addresses of individuals who own the Newspaper

and partners or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the

total capital—Bombay Natural History Society.

I, V. M. Philip, hereby declare that the particulars given above

are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(Sd.) V. M. PHILIP,

Date: 20-6-1958. Signature of Publisher.

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CONTENTS

PAGE |

ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE IsLANDS. Part I—INTRODUCTION. By W. W. AS

Phillips. Part II—Mammals. By J. E. Hill ye ath RS:

SoME NOTES ON THE REPRODUCTION, METAMORPHOSIS, AND THE ECOLOGY OF

A CEYLONESE TREE FRoG Rhacophorus cruciger cruciger ay By

A. M. Morgan-Davies Pe: af, x a phew &

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. PartI. By R. B. Seymour Sewell.. 17

NOTES ON THE LIVERWORT FLORA OF EaST NEPAL. By M. L. Banerji fae

ON THE COLLECTION, ACCLIMATISATION, AND TRANSPORT OF MULLET SEED IN

West BENGAL (INDIA). By K. K. Sarojini te es - 42

STUDIES ON CYPRINID FISHES OF THE ORIENTAL GENUS Chela Hamilton. By

E. G. Silas he i | Sad fe ve | Sy hae

NOTES ON THE BAYA: BREEDING SEASON 1957. By V. C. Ambedkar .. 100

Two New Specigs oF Echinoderella (PHYLUM KINORHYNCHA) FROM THE BAY

OF BENGAL. By Richard W. Timm .. ve + .. 107

SoME RARE INDIAN APHIDS. By S. Kanakaraj David ye .. 110

THE FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF SOME FRESHWATER FISHES OF MADRAS

STATE. By M. D. Menon and P. I. Chacko .. gt Pre 8

A NOTE ON Aeginetia acaulis (Roxb.) ae. ee, N. A. ne and K.

Rajappan ie Ne se hee

THE FLORA OF AJMER (RAJASTHAN). I. A LIST OF TREES, SHRUBS, AND

Woopy C.imBers. By Vijaya Shanker Sharma .. is .. 129

OBITUARY .. a A ae es e «» dae

REVIEWS .. si 55 s oe 8 .. 144

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES mH be 6 - .. 154

GLEANINGS =e Bs oe Se = .. 190

NOTES AND NEws ue 4 1% bes yr .. 194

Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society

MOL 3S). NO 2

Editors

SALIM ALI & H. SANTAPAU, s.1.

= yee

y me \*

— 3 he +

AUGUST 1958

Rs. 15 Ohi

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 publica-

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 under-

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

letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and sub-specific 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 31X23 inches

(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

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

not underlined (roman type), thus:

Roepke, W. (1949): The Genus Nyctemera Hiibner. Trans. ent.

Soc. Lond. 100 (2): 47-70.

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: (Roepke, 1949).

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

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

and packing.

91, Walkeshwar Road, EDITORS,

Bombay 6. Journal of the Bombay Natural

History Society.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 2

PAGE

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS

Part I1I—Birps. By W. W. A. Phillips and R. W. Sims. (With two

plates) WA oe ae oe ite me

Part [V—AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES. By W. W. A. Phillips nae poi.

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE SEASONAL VARIATION IN STARCH CONTENT OF

BAMBOOS IN KERALA STATE AND ITS RELATION TO BEETLE BORER INFESTA-

TION. By K. V. Joseph. (With two graphs) % as ree BONA!

NEw SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA FROM AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ. By

E. P. Wiltshire. (With a plate and three text-figures) ‘ nag Leo

A FEW NOTES ON THE PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION OF GAMBLE’S FLORA OF

THE PRESIDENCY OF MApRAS. By D. Daniel Sundararaj. (With a plate) 238

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN East NEPAL. By M.L. Banerji. (Witha map) .. 243

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. Part II. By R. B. Seymour

Sewell te bin ay oa we .. 269

INDIAN MARSILEAS: THEIR MORPHOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS. By K. M.

Gupta and T. N. Bhardwaja. (With twelve text-figures) ee sa 28

NOTES ON A VISIT TO CERTAIN ISLANDS OF THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO,

with special reference to Fisheries. By V. Balan. (With a map) ree 297

NoTES ON THE EGGs, TADPOLES, METAMORPHOSIS, AND ECOLOGY OF THE

CEYLONESE NARROW-MOUTHED FROG Ramanella obscura (GUNTHER).

By A. M. Morgan-Davies. (With two plates and four text-figures) 2, 307

ENDEMISM AND OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON THE FLORA OF MANIPUR. By D.B.Deb 313

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME MyYXOPHYCEAE FROM HIGH ALTITUDES. By G.S.

Venkataraman. (With five figures) .. Pe 4e Ay ee 8)

REVIEWS :—

1. The Monkey Book (D. J. Panday) .. a ee See ey

2. ‘I Name this Parrot....’ (N.J. Northover) a fen 923

3. Seal Morning (D.E.R.) .. ae = Rs a.» 324

4, Les Champignons d’Europe (J. H. Crook) ee: Ae 7%, 2326

5. Wildfowl of the British Isles (N. J. Northover) nes Sane

6. The Pet-keeper’s Manual (N. J. Northover) .. ire 32" 3528

7. No Tears for the Crocodile (D.E.R.) xe oF .~ 329

8. Bird Hybrids : A Check-list with Bibliography (S.A.) Sa ge 352

li CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 2—(contd.)

PAGE

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

1. Habits of the Asiatic Black Bear Selenarctos thibetanus G. Cuvier. By

Tun Yin (p. 334). 2. A Note on the Flying Fox (Preropus hypomelanus maris) of

Addu Atoll, Maldive Islands. By W. W. A. Phillips (p. 334). 3. Wild

Elephants in the Union of Burma (Supplementary Note). By Tun Yin (p. 337).

4. Bharatpur ‘ Wild’ Cattle (With a plate). By E. P. Gee (p. 338). 5. Notes on

the Fourhorned Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis (Blainville). By E. M. Shull

(p. 339). 6. Eastern limit of the Himalayan Ibex Capra ibex sibirica. By Col.

K. Guman Singh (p. 341). 7. Gazelle in North Africa. By D. E. Reuben

(p. 343). 8. Note on the use of Bamboo Gun Rocket for scaring Wild Animals.

out of Cultivation. By R.C. Morris (p. 344). 9. Bird Notes from Nepal. By

(Mrs.) Desirée Proud (p. 345). 10. Woodpeckers drumming. By (Mrs.) Desirée

Proud (p. 350). 11. Bluetailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus Linnaeus in western

Saurashtra. By R. S. Dharmakumarsinhji (p. 351). 12. The Eastern Swift

Micropus apus in Saurashtra. By R.S. Lavkumar (p. 352). 13. Deliberate drown-

ing by a raptorial Bird. By Humayun Abdulali (p. 353). 14. Elwes’s Eared

Pheasant (Crossoptilon c. harmani Elwes) in Tibet (With a plate). By Loke Wan-

Tho (p. 354). 15. Occurrence of the Great Skua (Catharacta skua lonnbergi

Mathews) at Malwan, Ratnagiri Coast (Bombay). By Editors (p. 356). 16.

Sandwich Tern [Thalasseus sandvicensis sandvicensis (Latham) } in Saurashtra.

By R. S. Dharmakumarsinhji (p. 357). 17. Occurrence of the Red Sea Masked.

Gannet (Sula dactylatra Lesson) at Nasik, Bombay State. By Editors (p. 358).

18. Occurrence of the Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot) in

Bombay. By Humayun Abdulali (p. 358). 19. Occurrence of the Baikal Teal

[ Nettion formosum (Georgi)]in Assam. By C.D. Hopper (p. 359). 20. Water

birds and our Irrigation Schemes. By K. K. Neelakantan (p. 360). 21. Egg-

laying habits of Sea Turtles described in the Tamil Sangam literature. By P. J.

Sanjeeva Raj (p. 361). 22. On the abnormal tail of a Gecko. By N. Krishna

Pillai (p. 363). 23. Rat-snakes ‘ Mating’. By R. C. Morris (p. 366). 24. On

a collection of Fish from Delhi State. By N. N. Majumdar (p. 366). 25.

Parasitism of Ophicephalus gachua Hamilton by the Copepod Argulus indicus

Weber. By R. B. Malaviya (p. 370). 26. Pelagic swarming of Polyophthalmus

(Family Opheliidae—Polychaeta). By P. R. S. Tampi (p. 371). 27. A list of

Butterflies found on date palms tapped for toddy. By Ajoy Shankar Bhaduri

(p.375). 28. Individual host discrimination by blood-sucking Insects. By Oscar

M. Root (p. 376). 29. Paragrewia Gagnep. ex Seshagiri Rao synonymous with

Leptonychia Turcz. By Rolla Seshagiri Rao (p. 376). 30. On the identity of

Kerstania Rech. f. By Syed Irtifaq Ali (p. 378). 31. Observation of vivipary in

Erythrina indica Lamk. (Witha photo). By S.S. Kelkar and B.S. Navalkar (p.

380). 32. Sericocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek. (With a plate). By V. G. Phatak

and B. B. Joshi (p. 383). 33. Coelogyne calcicola Kerrin Burma. By Tun Yin

(p. 385). 34. Growing Saffron in Lucknow. By G. S. Srivastava (p. 385).

NOTES AND NEws

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HIsTorRy SOCIETY FOR THE

YEAR ENDING 31ST DECEMBER, 1957

HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1957

APPENDIX TO THE HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT COVERING THE PERIOD

JANUARY TO APRIL 1958

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE BomBAY NATURAL HIsTory SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

387

389

390

404.

406

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1958 AUGUST Vol. 55 No.

Some Observations

on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands

Part HI—BIRDS-

W. W. A. PHILLIPS AND R. W. SIMS

(With two plates)

[Continued from Vol. 55 (1): 10]

INTRODUCTION

The ornithology of the Maldive archipelago is not well known for

few collectors or observers have visited the islands. The only previous

list of birds was that made by Gadow & Gardiner in 1903 when 24 species

were recorded, some of them by sight identification. During the period

December 1956 to February. 1957 one of us (W.W.A.P.) visited Malé,

the capital, and North Malé Atoll when 128 birds were collected and

many observations made. This report gives the results of that visit.

Specimens representing 39 species are listed (25 of them being new records)

and another 17 species (14 new records) were seen by, or reported to,

W.W.A.P. Thus the number of birds recorded from the Maldive archi-

pelago is increased from 24 to 63 species. In addition, two new races

have been distinguished and described (Phillips and Sims, 1958). The

collection has been presented to the British Museum (Natural History).

Lying between Latitude 8°N. to 1°S. and longitude 72° to 74°E.

the Maldive archipelago extends over an area of 470 miles from north to

south and 70 miles east to west at its widest, with its capital about 400

miles south-west of Ceylon. It is composed of groups of islands and

reefs which form an incomplete double chain of 19 coral atolls resting

on a submerged mountain range. Depths of over 2,000 fathoms have

SMITHSONIAN 5 FC 1 1 {30%

; INSTITUTION

196 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

been recorded in the open seas adjacent to the atolls but 20 to 30 fathoms

are usual within the reefs. The Maldive archipelago lies between two

other archipelagoes in a north to south line. To the north, linked by the

island of Minicoy between the 8° and 9° channels, is the Laccadive archi-

pelago, while 300 to 400 miles to the south of the most southerly atoll of

the Maldives, Addu Atoll, is the Chagos archipelago.

The climate is*tropical being governed by the two monsoons, the

South-west Monsoon lasting from about April to August and the North-

east Monsoon from approximately October to February. The rain

brought by the monsoon winds is ample and is well distributed through-

out the archipelago. |

The scattered islands forming the atolls are all fairly small and low-

lying, being seldom more than six feet above sea-level ; many have swamps

and miniature lagoons in their interiors. Over 2,500 of these islands

have been counted but less than 220 are permanently inhabited by man.

Most of the larger have had coco-nut palms planted in the coral sand

amongst the low scrub and succulent-leaved undergrowth, while a few

large evergreen trees, mostly introduced, grow around swamps and

villages.

The human population, estimated at between 85,000 and 90,000, is

chiefly dependent upon fishing for a livelihood (especially for bonito

from which ‘ Maldive fish’ is made) and partly on the manufacture of

copra and coir rope from the coco-nut palms. The islanders live almost

exclusively on rice and fish but will eat any bird that has webbed, or semi-

webbed, feet. Other birds are often snared and kept as ‘ pets ’ for, being

strict Moslems, dogs are banned and the children have few toys (although

kite-flying is a national pastime). Several specimens in this present

collection were brought in by fishermen and others from the more

northerly atolls and outlying reefs for sale alive in the market at Male.

Malé Island, situated in North Malé Atoll in the centre of the

archipelago, is about one mile long and half a mile wide, with a popula-

tion of over 8,000 people. Owing to the difficulties of travel in

the Maldives most of our observations were made and specimens collected

on North Malé Atoll. Additional information was obtained from Mr.

Ibrahim Didi who has travelled throughout the Archipelago and, being

a reliable observer, a reasonable degree of accuracy can be credited to

the identifications of species and to the dates of their arrivals and depar-

tures that he has furnished.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Grateful thanks are due to the Hon. Mr. Ibrahim Ali Didi, the

Prime Minister, who not only made the visit possible but by his thought-

ful kindness greatly helped the work and comfort of the expedition ;

to His Excellency Philip K. Crowe, the American Ambassador to Ceylon,

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 197

and Mr. Norman Costar, C.M.G., the Acting High Commissioner for

Ceylon, who facilitated arrangements and contributed in so many ways

to the success of the visit. We are indebted also to many friends in Malé

and specially to Mr. Ibrahim Didi, interpreter and constant companion,

who provided not only the Maldivian names of all birds collected or seen

but gave much extremely valuable information on the distribution and

movements of the various species. To Mr. William Perera, taxidermist

and collector, who accompanied the expedition from Colombo, go thanks

for his excellent work in preparing the specimens. Grateful acknowledge-

ment for help and advice is also made to Mr. J. D. Macdonald, British

Museum (Natural History), and lastly the contribution made by Mrs.

Paddy Phillips, who always cheerfully put up with so many hardships,

contributed, more than any one else, to the success of the expedition.

MIGRATION

Knowledge of bird migration in the Maldives is restricted chiefly

to the evidence provided by specimens in the present collection, infor-

mation gathered from Maldivian islanders, and a few personal observa-

tions of W.W.A.P. Migration in the Archipelago is represented almost

solely by the arrival of comparatively small numbers of non-breeding

visitors and stragglers during October to December with the north-east

winds ; then, during the following March and April with the onset of

the South-west Monsoon, their return northwards. Of the 37 species

listed as visitors all but 4 can be placed in this category, two exceptions

being non-breeding and the other two breeding visitors. The non-

breeding exceptions are two species of the family Procellariidae (a shear-

water and Oceanites oceanicus) ; these breed in the southern hemisphere

during the southern summer and spend their non-breeding months, Le.

from April to October during the southern winter, in the warmer, tropical

seas. The breeding visitors are two species of oceanic terns (Sterna

anaethetus and S. fuscata) that, according to local reports, resort to the

islands to breed during March, April, and May after which they return

to their pelagic life.

Of the 33 species that visit the Maldives 28 represent non-passerine

families: 4 Ardeidae, 2 Anatidae, 4 Falconidae, 6 Charadriidae, 10

Scolopacidae, 1 Strigidae, and 1 Apodidae. Apart from their variable

numbers these visitors call for little comment. They arrive annually

throughout October, November, and December, then return northwards

during the following March and April. It is probable that their route to

the Maldives passes down the west coast of India, southwards through the

Laccadives, then finally to the northern atolls of the Maldives by way of

Minicoy. From local reports it appears that most of these species are

more common towards the north of the Archipelago than in the south, so

198 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

it seems that for many the northern atolls of the Maldives are at the

southern limit of their range. On North Malé Atoll, situated about

midway along the Archipelago, however, many waders, such as

Numenius p. phaeopus, Tringa nebularia, and Arenaria interpres, are

common throughout the northern winter.

Although the passerine migrants are few in number, five species

representing only two families (Hirundinidae and Motacillidae), they

are the ‘more interesting of the non-breeding visitors. The pattern of

migration is largely the same as that of other visitors in dates of arrival

and departure, but the migration is on a smaller scale with greater

fluctuations in numbers. During the period of the visit by W.W.A.P.

swallows (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) were frequently observed with the

maximum of three seen in one day. The House Martin (Delichon urbica),

however, was not seen although Gadow and Gardiner reported that it

was plentiful during the latter’s visit. Three pipits were recorded, one

female of Anthus t. trivialis and one male of A. cervinus being collected.

These pipits were seen around the playing fields and on the foreshore

feeding grounds. Local informants reported that some years these

birds may arrive in moderate numbers but they always depart southwards

after a brief stay of a few hours to a day or so. Their destination is

unknown. :

Unfortunately, the Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) was not

observed during the visit but one was, curiously enough, during the

homeward voyage from Colombo to Tilbury via Capetown. On 10

April 1957, when the ship was about latitude 1° 13” S. and longitude

73° 37” E., 1.e. about 45 miles south of Addu Atoll and 320 miles north

of the Chagos archipelago, a Yellow Wagtail came on board. It was

in the fresh breeding plumage of a male with a bright grey-blue crown

and a white superciliary stripe (probably either flava or beema). As

this bird was observed in April it is probable that it was moving north-

wards ; it would be unlikely that during the South-west Monsoon it

would be blown out to sea southwards from the Maldives. The presence

of the bird in this area would appear to indicate then the possibility of

occasional birds passing between the Maldives and the Chagos

archipelagoes. Unfortunately we have a negligible knowledge of the

birds of the Chagos islands, but this wagtail may provide a clue for future

investigation into migration to that archipelago. The fact that the

pipits continue southwards after their brief stay on North Male Atoll

lends support to this claim for the desirability for research into the avifauna

of the Chagos archipelago.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 199

CHECK-LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE MALDIVE ARCHIPELAGO

Breeding Species

Non-breeding Species

Species of Uncer-

tain status

R—Resident N—Northern winter visitor

V—Visitor S—Southern winter visitor

PROCELLARIIDAE

Procellaria lherminieri bail-

loni (R)

PHAETHONTIIDAE

Phaéthon lepturus lepturus (R)

SULIDAE

FREGATIDAE

Fregata ariel iredalei (R)

ARDEIDAE

Ardea cinerea rectirostris (R)

Butroides striatus albidulus (R)

Butroides striatus didii (R)

ANATIDAE

FALCONIDAE

RALLIDAE

Amaurornis phoenicurus maldi-

vus (R)

Gallicrex cinerea (R)

CHARADRIIDAE

SCOLOPACIDAE

DROMADIDAE

Procellaria sp. (S)

Oceanites oceanicus (S)

Sula leucogaster

Sula dactylatra

Fregata minor (N)

Ardeola ibis coromanda (N)

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (N)

Dupetor f. flavicollis (N)

Egretta garzetta

Anas crecca (N)

Aythya fuligula (N)

Circus macrourus (N)

Circus pygarus (N)

Circus aeruginosus (N)

Falco t. tinnunculus (N)

Chettusia gregaria (N)

_ Squatarola squatarola (N)

Pluvialis dominca fulva (N)

Charadrius hiaticula tundrae (N)

Charadrius mongolus atrifrons (N)

Charadrius leschenaulti (N)

Numenius phaeopus phaeo-

pus (N)

Numenius arquata (N)

Limosa 1. lapponica (N)

Tringa totanus eurhinus (N)

Tringa nebularia (N)

Tringa glareola (N)

Actitis hypoleucos (N)

Arenaria interpres (N)

Capella stenura (N)

Capella gallinago

Erolia minuta (N)

Dromas ardeola

200 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

CHECK-LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE MALDIVE ARCHIPELAGO— (Contd.)

LL a SSS SSC OSS

Breeding Species Non-breeding Species Species of Uncer-

tain status

—

R—Resident ~N—Northern winter visitor

V—Visitor S—Southern winter visitor

LARIDAE

Sterna dougalli korustes (R) Gelochelidon n.

Sterna sumatrana mathewsi (R) nilotica

Sterna albifrons saundersi (R)

Sterna anaethetus (V) Hydroprocne caspia

Sterna fuscata (V) ;

Thalasseus bergii velox (R)

Thalasseus _ benga-

lensis

Gygis alba (R) pee stolidus

pileatus

Anous tenuirostris

PSITTACIDAE

Psittacula calthro-

pae

CUCULIDAE

Eudynamys s. scolopacea (R)

STRIGIDAE

Asio f. flammeus (N)

APOPIDAE

Collocalia brevirostris (N)

HIRUNDINIDAE

Hirundo rustica gutturalis (N)

Delichon urbica (N)

MOTACILLIDAE

Anthus t. trivialis (N)

Anthus cervinus (N)

Motacilla flava (N)

CORVIDAE

Corvus splendens maledivicus (R)

ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE MALDIVE

ARCHIPELAGO

In this report, with few exceptions, the nomenclature and the sequence

of families, genera, and species follow Phillips (1953). The Maldivian

name for each species is given in parenthesis after the English name.

Procellaria lherminieri bailloni Bonaparte: Audubon’s Shearwater.

(Hoogula)

2 ad. 3, 3 ad. 2, 1? juv., North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner (1903) identified the Maldivian shearwaters as

persicus Hume (from the coasts of Persia and India) but the present series

sdiiiud VOM °M * $0,04q

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OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 201

match specimens of the race of Audubon’s Shearwater from the Seychelles

both in size and colour. These birds are somewhat smaller, particularly

in the length of the bill, than those of the more northerly occurring

persicus ; also bailloni differs in the grey of the neck extending to the

sides of the breast. The differences between these taxa are slight and seem

to indicate a close relationship, so we propose that persicus Hume should

be regarded no longer as a monotypic species but as a race of P. [herminieri,

Measurements (in millimetres) of Procellaria lherminieri

Sex Bill Wing

(Nostril to tip)

bailloni

Maldives 2¢ 21 195, 197

a 32 21-22 185-198

Seychelles 1d 21 # 181

ou 2° 22023 189, 197

Reunion 1¢ 21 worn

persicus

Aden 1¢ 25 210

Mekran coast 1? 25 ; 199

Bombay (Colaba) ; 13g 26 210

% Ma 1? 25 199

Trivandrum* 1? 21 worn

We wish to thank the Bombay Natural History Society for their

kindness in lending specimens of persicus taken near Bombay and

Trivandrum from their collections.

It is curious that Maldivian shearwaters (or even the Indian race)

have not yet been recorded in Ceylon. Occasional reports would be

expected from off the coasts of individuals from this breeding colony

on the Maldives or of injured or exhausted birds being washed ashore

on the west coast during the South-west Monsoon.

All the present specimens were taken at the breeding burrow (the

unsexed juvenile is unfledged). The breeding sites in the Maldive

archipelago are reported to be widely scattered along the eastern sides

of the islands in all the atolls ; burrows being particularly numerous on

small, uninhabited, scrub-covered islets. The nest burrows are mostly

within 20 feet of the shore and scraped out of the sand beneath roots of

the scrub. The birds visit the burrows only at night, ESI US) between

midnight and 4 a.m.

In addition to the unfledged juvenile taken from a burrow on 26th

January a single, slightly incubated, white egg measuring 49 x 35 mm.

was taken from another burrow on 3lst January. Gadow and Gardiner

*Salim_ Ali, 1953

202 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

(1903) reported that burrows contained eggs and young on 29th December.

It would appear, therefore, that the breeding season is protracted, possibly

throughout the cooler weather. Indeed, the islanders state that breeding

continues throughout the whole year and we see no reason to doubt their

statement as they take birds, young and old, and eggs for food.

Resident.

Procellaria sp. (Bodu-Hoogula)

The islanders report that large dark shearwaters which they name

Bodu-Hoogula are often plentiful on the open seas around the atolls

during the South-west Monsoon (April to October) but they do not come

inside the reefs. As both the Greenbilled Shearwater, P. pacificus, and

the Pinkfooted Shearwater, P. carneipes, occur regularly on the seas

between the Maldives and Ceylon either, or both; could be the species

observed.

Southern winter visitor.

Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl) : Wilson’s Petrel. (Kurangee)

New record. Large numbers of these petrels are reported to be

present at times in the seas surrounding the atolls during the South-west

Monsoon (April to October). Like the large shearwaters they remain

outside the reefs where they are frequently caught by fishermen when they

land on the boats. One was identified at sea, somewhat less than 100

miles east of the archipelago, on 28 November 1956.

Phaéthon lepturus lepturus Daudin: Longtailed Tropic-bird. (Dande

fulu-doonie)

12, Tambrudu Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner reported that this species bred on

Mahlosmadulu Atoll where an adult, nestling, and egg were collected on

24th November. On 9 January 1957, a fully fledged juvenile, but still

with some down, was brought in from Tuladu Island in South Mahlos-

madulu Atoll, and a larger bird, too young to fly, was also brought from

there on 15th January. Breeding in the Maldives appears, therefore,

to take place during the cool weather from November to January and to

be centred around South Mahlosmadulu Atoll. On Malé an occasional

bird was heard calling and seen flying around the island and the

neighbouring reefs.

Resident.

Sula leucogaster (Boddaert) : Brown Booby. (Mardoonie)

New record. A captive Brown Booby was photographed in February

1957 by W.W.A.P. The bird had been caught on a fishing line five

months previously on Fadipollu Atoll. Others were seen near the

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 203

Cassanfaru Reef, North Malé Atoll. The species appears to be moderately

plentiful in some areas in the archipelago but no information could be

obtained of its breeding.

Status uncertain.

Sula dactylatra Lesson : Masked Booby. (Mardoonie)

New record. Two of these gannets were seen while our ship was

stranded on the Cassanfaru Reef on the north-eastern aspect of North

Malé Atoll. None was seen afterwards nor could any information be

obtained regarding the status of the species.

Status uncertain.

? Fregata minor (Gmelin) : Frigate Bird. (Hora)

New record. Large, all-black frigate birds were seen over Malé on

four occasions during December 1956, and January 1957. They appeared

to be too large and dark for F. ariel, and with black abdomens were not

F. andrewsi, so it is likely that they were F. minor.

Mr. Ibrahim Didi stated that frigate birds regularly appear over

Malé during the cooler weather of the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Fregata ariel iredalei Mathews : Lesser Frigate bird. (Hora)

22, Tuladu Island, Mahlosmadulu Atoll, January 1947.

Gadow and Gardiner recorded that this species bred on

Mahlosmadulu Atoll during October and November. It is reported

locally to breed only on the more northerly atolls.

Roosting frigate birds are captured in the palm trees and sold alive

in the markets for food.

Resident.

Ardea cinerea rectirostris Gould : Eastern Common Heron. (Makana)

12, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

This species is plentiful throughout the Maldives; Gadow and

Gardiner found it especially numerous on Mahlosmadulu Atoll. Herons

are always to be seen on the reefs at low tide searching for eels. At

high water they may be seen flying from reef to reef or, more usually,

resting on breakwaters, trees, or palms. On Malé they are moderately

tame and allow a close approach. Two partially fledged juveniles were

brought in on 9th December, then on 4th January five empty nests were

found in small bushy trees overlooking a lagoon, further on 15th January

a down-covered nestling was also found. The breeding season appears

to last from November, possibly October, to January or later. Although

204 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

these herons are not captured for food, young birds are often taken from

the nest and reared as pets.

Resident.

Butorides striatus didii : Phillips & Sims: Paler Maldivian Little Heron.

(Rabonde)

2 adult #', 2 immature , 3 adult 2, Malé Island ; 1 adult 3, Willing-

gillie Island ; 1 adult 2, Hulule Island ; 1 immature, Gardu Islet, North

Malé Atoll, December 1956 and January 1957.

The race didii was separated on this series as the birds are markedly

paler than birds of the more southerly occurring race, albidulus, also the

crown is streaked (Phillips & Sims, 1958). The Little Heron is plenti-

ful on the beaches and around the swamps of the central and northern

atolls of the Maldives. The call is a short, sharp yelp.

Nests were found during December and January ; these are simple

saucers, or platforms, of small sticks and twigs placed among the foliage

on the horizontal branches of low bushy trees growing near the beach.

Two well incubated eggs found on 2nd December were a rather pale

green with a chalky appearance and measured 39x 29 and 40x 29 mm.

respectively. Two quarter-grown nestlings were found on 16th January.

Resident.

Butorides striatus albidulus Bangs: Darker Maldivian Little Heron.

(Rabonde or Rabulli).

This race is known only from the unique type collected on Suvadiva

Atoll in the southern Maldives.

Resident.

Ardeola ibis coromanda (Boddaert) : Cattle Egret. (rruwar Hudu)

2, Diffuri Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956, January

1957.

New record. Cattle egrets are reported to be regular visitors arriv-

ing in small flocks of about 15 or so during October and November.

They leave again during the following March and April after some of

them have assumed the orange and buff breeding plumes. During their

stay they usually remain in small flocks on the coral shores or reefs.

The present specimens were snared by fishermen.

Northern winter visitor.

Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus) : Little Egret

Gadow and Gardiner recorded one bird on Hedufuri, South Mahlos-

madulu’ Atoll and that two were seen in captivity on Huludu, Addu

Atoll. This species was not seen by W.W.A.P. nor were there any loca]

reports of it. ie

Status uncertain,

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 205

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (Gmelin): Chestnut Bittern.

14, Toddu Islet, west of Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December

1956. | |

New record. Regarded as a very occasional visitor during the North-

east Monsoon.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

Dupetor flavicollis flavicollis (Latham) : Black Bittern. (Karlu Rabonde)

23, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956; Willinggillie Island,

North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

New record. Small numbers arrive singly about December and stay

during the remainder of the North-east Monsoon. They frequent scrub

covered islets where they feed on the shores at low tide.

Northern winter visitor.

Anas crecca Linnaeus : Common Teal. (Ratu-rairu)

Gadow and Gardiner recorded that this species was reported from

various parts of the Maldives. It was not encountered by W.W.A.P.

but information was received of small flocks of up to ten being seen

occasionally on the southern reef of Malé Island during the North-east

Monsoon. It is considered to be more plentiful on islands with fresh

or brackish water lagoons.

Northern winter visitor.

Aythya fuligula (Linnaeus) : Tufted Duck. (Rairu)

New record. Two adult females that had been snared were brought

in alive to W.W.A.P. and were examined by him. They came from a

small flock that frequented the southern reef of Malé Island in Novem-

ber. Tufted duck are reported to visit the reefs occasionally during the

North-east Monsoon.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

Circus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin) : Pallid Harrier. (Bazzu)

This species was reported without comment by Gadow and Gardiner.

It was not seen by W.W.A.P. but reports were gathered of it visiting the

islands in varying numbers during the North-east Monsoon. It is

possible that the islanders may confuse this species with C. pygargus

although both may visit the islands.

? Northern winter visitor.

Circus pygargus (Linnaeus) : Montague’s Harrier. (Bazzu)

This species was reported without comment by Gadow and Gar-

diner. (See note on C. macrourus).

Northern winter visitor.

206 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus): Marsh Harrier. ( Bazzu, 2 Ahunda)

New record. A bird in adult male plumage was seen in the interior

of Hulule Island, North Malé Atoll, on 26 December 1956. This was

the only harrier observed during the visit although this species is reported

to visit Malé regularly during the North-east Monsoon when it takes

many domestic fowls.

Northern winter visitor.

Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus (Linnaeus): European Kestrel. (Siru-

muthi)

12, Hulule Island, North Malé Atoll, February 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner collected two specimens but gave no informa-

tion. Several Kestrels were seen on Hulule Island, including an adult

male on 17 January 1957. They were reported to visit the Maldives

annually in moderate numbers during the North-east Monsoon. They

appear to feed only on insects and Calotes lizards.

Northern winter visitor.

Amaurornis phoenicurus maldivus Phillips & Sims: Maldivian Water-

hen. (Cumbilli)

39, 19, 1 juvenile, Hulule Island, December 1956 ; 1 juvenile 9,

Willinggillie Island, December 1956; 16, 12, Himmafuffi Island, January

1957; 1 juvenile 4, Gardu Islet, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

The race maldivus was separated mainly on the greater extent of white

on the forehead and the more slaty coloured backs of the birds of this

series in comparison with a series of phoenicurus Pennant (Phillips and

Sims, 1958). The species is moderately plentiful on most of the larger

islands throughout the Archipelago. It is an elusive skulking bird living

amongst the undergrowth near the beach or around swampy areas ;

frequently it is seen along the reefs at low tide searching for food. Many

birds appear to have become entirely terrestrial and, except during the

rainy weather, live away from freshwater and feed on the outskirts of

clumps and thickets. The bird was reported to breed in the pandanus

scrub and thickets during May or June to August and September. It

can be very noisy at-times.

Resident.

Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin) : Watercock. (Coolee-Kukulu)

19, Malé, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

New record. The Watercock was reported to be more common in

the more northerly atolls of the Maldives ; it was said to breed during

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 207

June and July in the swamps around fresh, or brackish, water lagoons on

some of the larger islands. Seldom seen on Malé Island where this

specimen was collected.

Resident.

Chettusia gregaria (Pallas) : Sociable Plover. (Abulargee)

New record. Not observed by W.W.A.P.; but small flocks were

reported to visit the playing fields on Malé occasionally during the North-

east Monsoon.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

Squatarola squatarola (Linnaeus): Grey Plover. (Alaka)

192, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

New record. A regular visitor seen usually singly or in pairs on the

reefs of Malé and neighbouring islands during the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Pluvialis dominica fulya (Gmelin) : Eastern Golden Plover. (Durrceen)

Gadow and Gardiner reported the presence of this species both in

captivity and in the wild state. A single bird was brought in on 30

January 1957, having been snared about a week previously on the

southern reef of Malé. During January, several were on this reef and

it was reported that often small flocks visit the playing fields.

Northern winter visitor.

Charadrius hiaticula tundrae (P. R. Lowe): Arctic Ringed Plover.

(Findon)

14, Malé Island Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen was the only one seen ; it was in com-

pany with a Lesser Sand Plover, C. mongolus atrifrons, on a patch of

sand on the southern reef.

. Irregular northern winter visitor.

Charadrius mongolus atrifrons Wagler: Lesser Sand Plover. (Findon)

12, Malé Island, North, Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen was the only one seen ; it was in com-

pany with an Arctic Ringed Plover, C. hiaticula tundrae, on a patch of

sand on the southern reef.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

308 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Charadrius leschenaultii Lesson: Large Sand Plover. (Bondun)

12, Dunidu Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. Several birds were seen on the southern reef of Malé

Island. They were reported to visit Malé in small numbers during the

North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Numenius phaeopus phaeopus (Linnaeus) : Whimbrel.

23, 22, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956 and

January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner regarded this species as common on Mahlos-

madulu and Miladumadula atolls where birds were seen either singly or

in small groups of three to four. They stated that it was a regular win-

ter visitor to the Maldives from November to March. On North Malé

Atoll it is one of the commonest winter visitors with flocks of up to 16

being seen by W.W.A.P. on the reef close to Malé Island.

Northern winter visitor.

Numenius arquata (Linnaeus) : Curlew. (Bodu-Bulithumbi)

New record. One bird was definitely identified on the shore of

Lankeumfurii Island, North Malé Atoll, on 6 February 1957. This was

the only Curlew seen. Birds of this species were reported to be annual

visitors staying in small numbers during the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Limosa lapponica lapponica (Linnaeus) : Bartailed Godwit. (Bulithumbi

Elolly)

13, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen was snared on the southern reef; it

was the only one seen. Birds of this species were reported to visit the

islands annually in small numbers during the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Tringa totanus eurhinus (Oberholser): Eastern Redshank. (Ratafy

Elolly) |

19, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen and another bird of the same species

were seen on the southern reef. The species was reported to visit the

islands annually in small numbers during the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 209

Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus) : Greenshank. (Chunchun Elolly)

23, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956 and January

1957.

New record. Several birds were always to be seen on the southern

reef, a flock of nine being counted on one occasion. An annual visitor

generally arriving in moderate numbers in early December.

Northern winter visitor.

Tringa glareola Linnaeus: Wood Sandpiper. (Findon Elolly)

1, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. Several birds were observed, always singly, on the

southern reef of Malé Island during December and January. It was

reported to be an annual visitor in small numbers during the North-east

Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus): Common Sandpiper. (Findon)

1, Hulule Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner reported seeing birds of this species either

singly or in small flocks of seldom more than six in number. Single

birds are common on the shores and reefs throughout the North-east

Monsoon ; some occasionally visit the interior of the islands.

Northern winter visitor.

Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus): Turnstone. (Ratafy)

1g, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. Plentiful, occurring in flocks up to 15 or more on the

reefs throughout the North-east Monsoon. It is probably one of the

commonest visitors to the Maldives.

Northern winter visitor.

Capella stenura (Bonaparte): Pintail Snipe. (Durrceen Elolly)

12 Hulule Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen was shot from a wisp of six in a small

swamp on Hulule Island, others were seen on the reefs on Male. It was

reported to be an annual visitor staying in small numbers during the

North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

210 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Capella gallinago (Linnaeus) : Common Snipe

Gadow and Gardiner reported that this species bred on Addu Atoll ;

but it is possible that it was confused with C. stenura which was the only ,

snipe seen by W.W.A.P. when on Male Island?.

Status uncertain.

Erolia minuta (Leisler): Little Stint. (Kirru Bondun)

12, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This specimen and, on another day, one other bird

were seen on the southern reef at low tide. Little Stints pass through

Malé annually in small numbers and may be a passage migrant.

Northern winter visitor (? Passage Migrant).

Dromas ardeola Paykull : Crab Plover. (Tayrawa ; juv., Moola Lumbo)

13, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

Gadow and Gardiner reported that this species was seen only in

mid-December 1899, on Miladumadulu Atoll, where it was particularly

common around Furnadu. Parties of five to six in number, however,

were frequently seen on the southern reef of Malé by W.W.A.P. in

December and January. On three occasions a juvenile was seen in the

company of adults, but breeding had not been observed by the islanders.

From the size of the juveniles, it would seem that they would have hat-

ched about July or August.

? Resident.

Gelochelidon nilotica nilotica (Gmelin): Gullbilled Tern. (Kirru Dooni

Amma)

12, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This species was seen occasionally over the reefs in

the North Malé Atoll but much less frequently than other species of

terns. It is reported to breed, together with the other species, on the

sandbanks and islets during March and April but this statement requires

confirmation.

? Resident.

Hydroprocne caspia (Pallas) : Caspian Tern

New record. Three birds were seen separately over the Cassanfarra

reef, North Malé Atoll, on 30 November 1956.

Status unknown.

1 The record of breeding, to whichever of the two species it may refer, is palpably

erroneous. It must not be accepted without proof.—Ebs.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 211

Sterna dougalli korustes (Hume) : Eastern Roseate Tern. (Kirru Dooni)

23, 22, Fujarde Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

New record. This tern was frequently seen flying over the reefs or

settled on the sandbanks, usually in company with S. sumatrana. It was

reported to breed on Fujarde Islet during March and April together with

other species of terns.

Resident.

Sterna sumatrana mathewsi Stresemann: Blacknaped Tern. (Kirru

Dooni)

30°, 32 Fujarde Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner regarded this species as being the most common

tern occurring in the Maldives ; Gardiner saw large flocks from October

to January. It was found by W.W.A.P. to be indeed most abundant ;

it was reported to breed in very large numbers on Fujarde Islet and other

sandy islets about March and April.

Like Audubon’s Shearwater P. Jherminieri it has, curiously, not been

reported from Ceylon despite the fact that both breed in large numbers

in the Maldives.

Resident.

Sterna anaethetus Scopoli: Bridled Tern. (Walla, or ?Walli)

New record. Large flocks were seen over the ocean between Ceylon

and the Maldives. In the Maldives it was reported to breed amongst

other terns on Fujarde and similar islets during March and April.

Breeding visitor.

Sterna fuscata Linnaeus: Sooty Tern. (Walla, or ?Walli)

New record. Large flocks were seen wheeling over the ocean bet-

ween Ceylon and the Maldives. It was reported to visit the Maldives

to breed during March and April.

Breeding visitor.

Sterna albifrons saundersi Hume: Little Tern. (Bondu, or Bondu-

dooni)

23’, 12, Fujarde Island, North Malé Atoll, January 1957.

New record. Flocks of about 25 birds were often seen over the reefs

or on the sandbanks in North Malé Atoll. It was reported to breed,

amongst S. sumatrana and other terns, on Fujarde Island during March

and April.

Resident.

212 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Thalasseus bergii velox (Cretzschmar): Large Crested Tern. (Gar-

dooni) sit

43, Haulule, Weehammanarfurri and Dunidu islands, North Malé

Atoll, December 1956 and January 1957.

Gadow and Gardiner reported that this species was abundant during

the period October to January. It was found by W.W.A.P. to be mode-

rately plentiful over the reefs and around the islands in the North Malé

Atoll, usually in small numbers or even singly. It was reported to breed

on Fujarde Island amongst other terns during March and April.

Resident.

Thalasseus bengalensis bengalensis (Lesson) : Small Crested Tern.

(lammuti Gar-dooni)

39, Tulargiri and Wehammanarfurri lands ‘Nore Male Atoll,

December 1956 and January 1957. mt eee

New record. Small numbers of this tern were srequeatty seen on the

reefs around small islands in the North Malé Atoll. It was reported to

breed on sandbanks and islets during March. and April but this state-

ment requires confirmation.

Resident ?

Anous stolidus pileatus (Scopoli): Common: Noddy. (Maranga)

23, 22, Tulargiri and Minueofinol islands and feels. North Malé

Atoll, December 1956 and January 1957.

New record. The Common Noddy is plentiful eee the North

Malé Atoll. The birds feed both within and outside the main reefs

usually in association with other terns. It was reported to be present

throughout the year but breeding had not been observed. Many birds

are netted at night for sale as food.

? Resident.

Anous tenuirostris (Temminck) : Lesser Noddy

Gadow and Gardiner reported that this species bred on the South

Mahlosmadulu Atoll in November ; but it was not observed by W.W.A.P.

? Breeding visitor.

Gygis alba (Sparrman): White Tern. (Cundu-Wallu-Dooni)

2 juv. ?, Addu Atoll, February 1957. . | |

New record. The two juvenile specimens are too young for racial

determination. It is possible that they belong to the same race as the

Seychelles form, monte Mathews. They were brought in by the Hon.

Mr. Ibrahim Ali Didi, the Prime Minister, who stated that the White

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 213

Tern breeds intermittently throughout the year on Addu Atoll but not

elsewhere in the Maldives. The egg is laid on the branch of a tree or on

a plantain (banana) leaf ; the young survive because there are no pre-

dators on Addu Atoll. Even the House Crow Corvus splendens is

absent from this southern atoll although it is present on most of the

others.

Resident.

Psittacula calthropae (Blyth) : Emeraldcollared Parakeet

Gadow and Gardiner reported seeing a pair of birds, twice in January

on Hulule Island, North Malé Atoll. The species was not seen by

W.W.A.P. and parakeets are unknown to the islanders.

? Irregular visitor.

Eudynamys scolopacea scolopacea (Linnaeus): Koel. (', Karlukoel ;

©, Dindin Koel)

20’, 1 juvenile 3, 32, Malé, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

Gadow and Gardiner reported that koels were seen constantly during

November and December on Mahlosmadulu, Miladumadulu, and Fadi-

foli atolls while during January one pair was seen on Hulule Island,

North Malé Atoll. W.W.A.P. found koels to be plentiful on Malé Island

and received reports that apart from Addu (where the House Crow is

absent) koels occur throughout the majority of the atolls. More adult

males were seen than adult females. Eggs are laid in the nests of the

House Crow Corvus splendens maledivicus. A female, shot on the 11th

December, dropped a fully formed egg.

Resident.

Asio flammeus flammeus (Pontoppidan): Shorteared Owl. (Bukka-

moonu)

Gadow and Gardiner recorded this species on Goifurfehendu Atoll

in October and on Miladumadula Atoll in December. It was not

observed by W.W.A.P. ; but it was reported to visit Malé and neigh-

bouring islands occasionally during the North-east Monsoon, sometimes

in moderate numbers.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

Collocalia brevirostris (Horsfield) : Edible-nest Swiftlet. (Forika)

New record. One swiftlet was seen on the morning of 19 December

1956 flying around a clump of mango trees close to the Guest House at

Malé. It flew comparatively low when hawking for insects so it was

identified with certainty. As there are no caves or tunnels in the Maldives

suitable for breeding it was, presumably, a straggler.

? Straggler.

214 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Hirundo rustica gutturalis Scopoli: Eastern Swallow. (Forika)

14, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. Although only one bird was collected several were seen —

during December; on two occasions two were seen flying together over

the harbour breakwater. It was reported to visit the island annually

in small numbers during the North-east Monsoon.

Northern winter visitor.

Delichon urbica (Linnaeus) : House Martin. (Forika)

Gadow and Gardiner reported that a number of martins arrived over

Hulule Island at the end of January, also others were to be seen over

Malé throughout February. However, martins were not observed by

W.W.A.P. but it was reported to be an irregular visitor during the North-

east Monsoon.

Irregular northern winter visitor.

Anthus trivialis trivialis (Linnaeus): Tree Pipit. (Fanfoudune)

12, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. For further notes see under Anthus cervinus. It 1s

curious that this species has not yet been recorded from Ceylon for it

occurs in southern India and now, on the evidence of this specimen, also

in the Maldives.

? Passage migrant.

Anthus cervinus (Pallas): Redthroated Pipit. (Fanfoudune)

13, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

New record. This species does not normally migrate southwards

through peninsular India, so it is possible that this bird was carried south-

westerly across the Bay of Bengal by the North-east Monsoon. During

December three pipits were seen of which two were collected, this speci-

men and another listed as A.t.trivialis. Pipits are well known on Maleé

where they visit the playing fields and grazing grounds. They were

reported to arrive annually in small numbers during December but pass

on after a few hours or, maybe, a day or so.

? Passage migrant.

Motacilla flava Linnaeus : Yellow Wagtail. (Fanfoudune)

New record. Not seen on Malé but in April one bird came on board

a ship 45 miles south of Addu Atoll. Birds of this species were reported

to arrive annually in Malé in small numbers during November and

December. While on Malé they remain near the playing fields and the

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 215

foreshore grazing grounds but soon pass on southwards after a few hours

or perhaps even several days. Sometimes they are seen during March

and April on their return flight.

Passage migrant.

Corvus splendens maledivicus Reichenow : House Crow. (Karlu)

23, 22, Malé Island, North Malé Atoll, December 1956.

Reichenow (1904: 356) separated this race on colour differences

between one specimen from Suvadiva Atoll, southern Maldives, and a

series of House Crows from India, unfortunately without referring to birds

taken in Ceylon. In colour the series now under consideration and two

other specimens from the Maldives already in the British Museum (Natural

History) differ but little from protegatus Madarasz of Ceylon and then

only in the grey of the nape and neck being almost imperceptibly clearer

in tone. The racial separation, however, can be upheld on size, the

Maldivian bird, in series, being larger than birds from Ceylon.

Measurements (in millimetres) of Corvus splendens

Ceylon Maldives

Males Females Males Females

No. of specimens 5 f/ 3 3

Wing ae 225-275 219-255 262-274 256-269

(mean) (244.8) (236.5) (268.0) (263.0)

Tail a 147-156 128-149 158-172 158-168

(mean) a) (152.5) (138.1) (165.0) (162.6)

Culmen 46-49 42-45 50-54 47-49

(mean) ae (47.4) (42.6) (52.0) (47.0)

Three specimens, including one juvenile, from the Laccadives were

also examined and were found to be nearest to the nominate form in

colour and size. It seems that there may be a slight colour difference

between birds of this population and those from peninsular India but,

if there is, its significance cannot be assessed until longer series are available

for study. Meanwhile, it is advisable to continue to list the population

on the Laccadives as C.s.splendens Vieillot.

Gadow and Gardiner stated that this species breeds in the Maldives

between May and September, that is, during the South-west Monsoon. |

A pair were building 30 feet up in a mango tree in the Guest House

compound on 5 December 1956 and another pair were seen building on

216

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

7 January 1957 when all the crows appeared to be in fresh plumage. It

is probable, therefore, that breeding continues throughout most of the

year.

House Crows are abundant in Malé and, apart from Addu Atoll

where they are absent, numerous throughout the Archipelago. They are

fearless of man and as much a pest in Malé as, say, in Colombo.

Their

numbers seem to be Kept in check largely by the Koel’s cuckolding

and by the Maldivian custom of shooting them on Friday afternoons.

Resident.

REFERENCES

Ali, Salim, (1953): The Birds of

Travancore and Cochin. Bombay,

Oxford University Press.

Baker, E. C. S. (1922-30) : The Fauna

of British India including Ceylon and

Burma. Birds. ed. 2, 1-8. London,

Taylor and Francis.

Bangs, O. (1913): The Green Heron

of the Maldives. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.

26: 93-94.

Betts, F. N. (1938) : The Birds of the

Laccadive Islands. JBNHS 40: 382-387.

Bourne, G. C. (1886) : General obser-

vations on the fauna of Diego Garcia,

Chagos Group. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.

1886: 331-334.

Gadow, H. & Gardiner, J. S. (1903) :

Aves. The Fauna and Geography of the

Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagos.

ed. Gardiner, J.S., 1: 365-373. Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press.

Mathews, G. M. (1912-13) : The Birds

of austae 2: 1-527. London, Witherby

Oo.

Mathews, G. M. (1914): On _ the

species and subspecies of the genus

Fregata. Austral. Av. Rec. 2: 177-181.

Peters, J. L. (1931-40) : Checklist of

Birds of the World. 1-4. Cambridge,

Mass., Harvard University Press.

Phillips, W. W. A. (1953): A (1952)

Revised Checklist of the Birds of Cevlon.

Colombo, National Museums of Ceylon.

Phillips, W. W. A. & Sims, R. W.

(1958) : Two new races of birds from the

Maldive archipelago. Bull. Brit. Orn.

Club 78: 51-53.

Reichenow, A. von (1900): Zwei

neue Arten von den _ Tschakosinseln.

Ornith. Monastbr. 8: 140-141.

— — — (1904) : Uebersicht der auf der

deutschen Tiefsee Expedition gesammelten

Vogel. Wiss. Erg. D. Tiefsee-Exp. ed.

C. Chun 1: 345-358. Jena, Gustav

Fischer.

Saunders, H. (1886): On the birds

obtained by Mr. A. C. Bourne on the

island of Diego Garcia, Chagos Group.

Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1886: 335-337.

Vesey-Fitzgerald, D. (1936): Birds of

the Seychelles and other islands. Govern-

ment Printing Office, Mahe Seychelles.

Since the above was written, the following additional species have

been observed by W.W.A.P. in Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll of

the Maldivian Archipelago.

of the Birds of the Maldives.

Procellaria pacificus [? chlororhynchus (Lesson)] :

Greenbilled Shearwater.

They should be included in the Check-list

Wedgetailed or

(Bodu-Hoogula or Ma-Hoogula).

Plentiful in the Equatorial Channel, between Addu and Hagadu

Atolls, in early July.

Procellaria carneipes Gould : Pinkfooted Shearwater. (Ma-Hoogula)

Small numbers observed in the Equatorial Channel in early July.

Ardeola grayii (Sykes) : Pond Heron.

(Hoodu-Rabulli)

Plentiful in swamps and on reefs throughout Addu Atoll.

OBSERVATIONS ON .THE. FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 217

Anas querquedula Linnaeus : Garganey. (Rairu).

One, in captivity on Hittadu Island, was caught with three others

from asmall flock that visited the island during the North-east Monsoon

season.

Erolia temminckii (Leisler) : Temminck’s Stint. (Kirru-Bondun)

One remained for several days, towards the end of May, in a swamp

on Gan Island.

Erolia testacea (Pallas) : Curlew-Sandpiper. (Findon)

Plentiful in flocks. up to 45/50, on Gan Island, during May and

June.

W.W.A.P.

Part IV—AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

a BY

—oW. W. A. Putcups

Miss Grandison and Mr. Battersby of the British Museum (Natural

History) have very kindly supplied the following list of identifications,

of the Amphibian and Reptile collections. Due acknowledgement

is made of, and thanks tendered for, their assistance. In the following,

‘list, the field-notes by the author are placed in brackets.

~. ANNOTATED LIST

TOADS

BUFONIDAE

Bufo melanostictus Schneider

Nos. 8, 9, half-grown: Male.

Previously recorded from Malé Atoll and Addu Atoll (Laidlaw).

(Plentiful in Malé; mainly nocturnal; noisy croaking on wet nights.

Maldivian name=Bouk.) —

218 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

LIZARDS

GEKKONIDAE

Hemidactylus frenatus (Schlegel)

Nos. 33:22,-12} 16 os = OO aMiale:

Abundant and widely distributed. Laidlaw reports it from fourteen

localities. (Plentiful in buildings; chiefly nocturnal. Maldivian

name=Hornu or Honnu.)

Hemidactylus brookii Gray

Nos. 4, -?, oo; 23, 24, 9 9; 13, half-grown: Male.

Recorded by Laidlaw from Hululé, Malé Atoll as H. gleadovit

(=H. brookii). (Plentiful; lives chiefly in trees, amongst the foliage.

Maldivian name, as above.)

AGAMIDAE

Calotes versicolor (Daudin)

Nos. 15, 14, 16, 18, o'c"; 6, 2, 5, half-grown 9 9: 17, 29: Male.

Nos. 27, ot; 26, -?, 9; Hululaé Island, N. Malé Atoll.

Very abundant in Maldives. Laidlaw reports it from these and

other localities. (Abundant on all islands visited. Maldivian name=

Boundu.)

SCINCIDAE

Riopa albopunctata Gray

Nos. 19, half-grown; 99 (4 specimens), adult and half-grown; -?,

half-grown; 28, half-grown; 33, adult; -? (2), adult and young; 34,

half-grown; -?, adult; 29, adult: Male.

Nos. -?, half-grown; -?, half-grown: Girawa Island, N. Malé Atoll.

Common species; Laidlaw records it as Lygosoma albopunctatum,

from many localities. (Plentiful on most islands; lives amongst dead

leaves. Maldivian name=Gahaheta.)

SNAKES

TYPHLOPIDAE

Typhlops braminus (Daudin)

No. -?. adult: Girawa Island, N. Malé Atoll.

A wide-spread species. Laidlaw reports it from Manadu in

Miladumadulu Atoll. (One only, seen; dug up in loose soil; said to

be unknown in Malé. Maldivian name=Nanuguttee.)

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 219

COLUBRIDAE

Lycodon aulicus capucinus Boie

No. 32, 9: Hululé, N. Malé Atoll.

INOSees ose, 2581-7 40. -7,, 37, 30) 31,038, 9 @: 40, 10, -2,.39, 11,

oo: Male, N. Malé Atoll.

Although the anal is usually divided this plate is single in two of

the specimens of this collection; the anomalous condition has pre-

viously been reported. Two specimens recorded by Laidlaw from

Hululé as variety A, which means without spots on the labials.

This character is not constant and such condition may also be found,

in variety D. [Plentiful in Malé; chiefly nocturnal; lives in holes in

trees and walls; feeds on lizards (Calotes versicolor). Said to be the

only snake known in Malé. Maldivian name=Nanuguttee.]

HYDROPHIIDAE

Pelamis platurus (Linne)

| Nos. 2. 3, 4, Adults: Himmafurri Island, N. Malé Atoll.

These three specimens represent two colour varieties, two of the

black and brown forms and one as variety E with an intervening yellow

stripe.

Laidlaw reports one specimen as Hydrus piaturus, var. E. (Taken

in the sea off a reef some 20 miles NE. of Malé; reported to be

plentiful outside the main reefs but rarely seen inside; none seen at

Malé. Maldivian name=Feng-harufar.)

TURTLES

Eretmochelys imbricata (Linne)

2 young: Malé. Caught | December 1956.

Laidlaw records this species as being very common off the

Maldives and Laccadives. (Plentiful around Malé; Maldivian name=

~ Carhambu.)

None of the above species was previously represented in the

B.M. from the Maldives.

Laidlaw recorded the following species in addition to those listed

above:

SNAKE

Aspidura trachyprocta Cope, from Malé.

220 . JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

TORTOISE

Nicoira trijuga thermalis (Lesson) from Hulué, Malé Atoll.

(Plentiful in swamps on Hululé island close to Malé; reported)

to have been liberated there. (Maldivian name=Kandhu Kahambu).

TURTLES

Chelone mydas (Linne)

A recent report on the Maldives (Deraniyagala 1956) increases the

herpetofauna with:

Dermochelys coriacea (Linne): A nest on an island near Hululeé.

Caretta caretta gigas Deraniyagala: Two nests on Gulifalu Island.

LIZARDS

Mabuya carinata (Schneider): A single specimen from Malé.

REFERENCES

Laidlaw, F. F. in Gardiner (1902) : The Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1956): Zoologi-

Fauna and Geography of the Maldive cal collecting at the Maldives in 1932.

and Laccadive Archipelagos 1, pl. 11. Spolia Zeylan. 28 (1) : 7-15.

pp. 119-122. (Included in this is a frog

from the Laccadives, Rana tigrina.)

Preliminary Studies on the

Seasonal Variation in Starch Content

of Bamboos in Kerala State

and its Relation to

Beetle Borer Infestation

K. V. JOSEPH

Agricultural College and Research Institute, Vellayani, Kerala State

(With two graphs)

The starch content in felled bamboos has long been recognized

to be essentially correlated with their susceptibility to attack by beetle

~ borers. Beeson (1941) observed that there is fluctuation in the

concentration of starch in living bamboos in the different seasons.

Gardner (1945) noted that at Dehra Dun starch content in the living

culm varied with the season. It was highest in May and June, de-

creased with the commencement of the monsoon in July to the end

of August, remained constant in September, rapidly decreased to the

minimum level in November-December, and once again rose to reach

the maximum in May. It was also seen that the degree of attack on

felled bamboo by beetle borers, which need starch for their develop-

ment, is correlated with the variation of starch content in the culm.

In view of this observation the months July to January were con-

sidered safe, under Dehra Dun conditions, for felling bamboos,

ensuring least attack by beetle borers. Jones (1948) conducted some

trials under climatic conditions prevailing in Travancore (now Kerala),

and found the months June and July as the safe period to fell

bamboos. Piank and Hageman (1951) noted a positive correlation

existing between starch content in different varieties of bamboos and

their susceptibility to powder-post beetle infestation.

The present paper embodies the results of further studies made in

continuation of those already reported (Jones, 1948). The main

purpose of these studies has been to ascertain the most favourable

period for felling bamboos ensuring least borer infestation under con-

ditions prevailing in Kerala.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Culms used in the present investigations were selected from well-

established clumps of Bambusa arundinacea Willd., growing wild in

222 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

the reserve forest at Kallar (mear Trivandrum). Ten pieces, each

five feet long, cut out from the basal region, were collected at random

every month from culms of about two years’ growth. Three rings,

each two inches long, were cut out from three of these pieces chosen

at random and analysed for starch content. A.O.A.C. methods of

analysis were used. Of the ten pieces collected each month, five were

split lengthwise each into two equal halves, and five kept unsplit.

The split and unsplit pieces were all kept exposed to natural beetle

infestation. After one year under storage the pieces were examined

for borer attack, the degree of infestation being assessed by noting

the number of holes on the pieces made by the borer beetles.

The species of beetles found attacking bamboos are Dinoderus

minutus Wlk., and Minthea rugicollis Wk.

RESULTS

Starch content of bamboos in different seasons:

Table I gives the concentration of starch in monthly samples of

bamboo coliected during the period April 1948 to March 1949.

Figure 1 represents the same. It will be seen that the concentration

is highest in February, decreases gradually till the end of May, and

shows a sudden drop from June, reaching the lowest level in July and

August. A good increase is registered in September and a slight

drop in October and November. From then onwards the starch con-

centration rises gradually to the peak point once again.

TABLE I

Monthly starch content of bamboo during the period April ’48 to Mar. ’49 |

rere reer reser cee

Starch content %

of samples Average Sandan

starch ae

Month a TON | Cisne deviation

I | Il | I

Soe. ST

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Januar sig 15.15 | 16.42 15228 | Jeera) 0.4864

Ecbriary ie 19.70 | 19.20 18.10 | 19.02 0.6749

March aC 14.80 | 16.45 16.16 15.80 0.7891

April Bis 12752 13e17, 12.07 12.59 0.3464

May : 14.37 | ee) 10.16 12.14 0.7365

June Le 11.96 | 19.56 14.52 i ta S 36 3.1544

July ae 9.04 | 8.70 hol 9.08 0.4133

August wad | 8.84 Py ol O97 10.56 | 10.12 0.9586

September .. | 14.68 |» 14.20 15275 14.89 0.5815

October .. 11.49 | 1255 14.84 | 12.95 1.4354

November .. 14.96 12.70 13.05 ey 13525n 0.9932

December .. 15.28 20.79 13.60 | 16.56 3.0530

eee eee e eee eee eer eee een

STUDIES ON THE STARCH CONTENT OF BAMBOOS 2a8

Ow)

StTarcH ConTeNT (PERCENT)

rs)

JAN FeBp MarR APR May Jun Jui AuG SEP Oct Nov Dec

Fig. 1. Monthly variation in starch content in bamboo in Kallar

(Kerala State)

Analysis of variance is given in Table II. It is seen that ‘F’ 1s

very highly significant, the 1% value being equal to 3.09, indicating

that the variation in starch content from month to month is highly

significant. Now, critical niierence= oN w= Xt) where ty is

the value of ‘t’ from ‘ t’ tables corresponding to d.f. 24 and significant

level 0.05, or A/2% 35M x 2/064 = 3-168. According to this the

months of the year can be graded into four groups based on starch

content, as shown in Table III. It is seen that starch content is low

in July and August, moderate in April to June and September to

November, high in December to January and March and very high in

February.

TABLE II

Analysis of variance of data in Table I

Source of | Degrees | ee

Between months 256.7714 11 23.343 6.605

Remainder 84.8165 | 24 3.534

Total

341.5879 | 35

224. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

TABLE Il

Grouping of months according to starch content in bamboo

Average starch content

Degree of starch content Months in the months in-

cluded in the group%

Low .. | July, August | 9.60

Moderate .. | April, May, June, Sept., 13.63

Oct., and November |

High .. | Dec., Jan., and March 16.04

19.02

Very high .. | February

Starch content and its relation to borer attack:

Data on the intensity of borer attack on bamboos felled during the

months grouped above are given in Table IV. Statistical analysis

shows that the values of chi. squares of independence for unsplit and

split bamboos are 18.5 and 10.43 respectively.

TABLE IV

Relation between starch content and borer attack

: No. of pieces showing different ranges of borer

holes

| Degree of

Month group starch con- i

tent | fi II Ill IV

Less auae 11 to 50 | 51 to 150 | Above 150} Total

July, Aug. Low (a) 10 10

(b) 4 6 | 10

April to June |

& Moderate (a) 24 4 | 1 1 30

Sept. to Nov. b) 8 15 | 1 6 30

Dec., Jan., High (a) q| 2 | 6 15

Mar. (b 6 2 | | 7 15

February | Very high (a)| D2 | 3 5

| b 2 | 3 5)

| chal

Total | (a) 43 6 10 60

| (b) 20 23 1 16 60

(a) denotes unsplit and (b) split pieces.

In the case of unsplit bamboos the value of chi. square 18.15 has

a probability of being exceeded only less than 0.05 and therefore is

STUDIES ON THE STARCH CONTENT OF BAMBOOS 225

very significant. In the case of split bamboos, however, the probabi-

lity of exceeding the calculated chi. square value lies between 0.30

and 0.20 and hence the assumption of the existence of an association

does not seem quite justified. This is unexpected, and an explanation

for it does not appear possible with the present data.

The correlation between the concentration of starch in bamboos

and the highest intensity of borer attack has, however, been found

to be very significant. The results of the observations are given in

Table V and represented in Fig. 2. It will be seen that for split as

BORER ATTACK

POOR MODE RATE | HEAVY V. HEAVY

STARCH CONTENT

e SPLIT PIECES

(ee --ee--33: UNSPLIT PIECES

Fig. 2. Association between starch content and borer attack

well as unsplit bamboos the percentage of pieces showing the

maximum intensity of borer attack is highest in the lot showing ‘very

226 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

high’ starch concentration, this being followed in the descending

order by lots with ‘heavy’ and ‘moderate’ concentrations.

TABLE V

Starch content in relation to highest intensity of borer attack

(Percentage of bamboo pieces showing more than 150 holes)

| Starch content

Group Total

Poor Moderate Heavy ees

Split pieces 0 | 20.00 46.67 | 60.00 16.67

Unsplit pieces 0 | 3.33 40.00 60.00 26.67

DISCUSSION

Depletion of starch in bamboos has been attributed to rains and

the growth of new culms (Gardner, 1945). The present findings lend

support to this observation. It is seen that with the pre-monsoon

showers in March to May there is appreciable depletion of starch,

and following heavy monsoon showers in June-July there is a sharp

drop. This period is also characterised by vigorous growth of new

culms. ‘The cessation of rains and the subsequent lowering of growth’

rate of bamboos result in increased accumulation of starch as reserve

food. It is also seen that the ‘starch high’ and ‘starch low’ months

in Dehra Dun and Kerala are different. In Kerala, starch concentra-

tion is highest in February and least in July-August. The present

investigations confirm the observation recorded by previous workers

that a positive correlation exists between starch content and borer

attack. Based on this information it may be inferred that the best

time for felling bamboos in Kerala would be during the months July

and August.

SUMMARY

Concentration of starch in bamboo felled in the different months

of the year in Kerala shows significant monthly variations. Based on

the concentration of starch, the months of the year fall under four

groups, namely (1) July and August showing low concentration

(9.60% average); (2) April to June and September to November, show-

ing moderate concentration (13.63%); (3) December, January, and

March showing high concentration (16.04%); and (4) February,

showing very high concentration (19.02).

STUDIES ON THE STARCH CONTENT OF BAMBOOS 22,

Starch content and intensity of borer attack on felled bamboos

are positively correlated. The best time to fell bamboo in Kerala,

ensuring minimum attack by beetle borers, is during the months July

and August.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is thankful to Mr. S. Janardana Iyer, of the Statistical

Department, Central Research Institute, Trivandrum, for the analysis

of data, and to Dr. P. V. Nair, Professor of Applied Chemistry, for

the chemical examination of the samples. He wishes to express his

appreciation of the assistance rendered by Sri. S. P. Christudas in the

course of these investigations. He is grateful to the Director of

Research, University of Travancore, for kindly providing the necessary

facilities for the work. |

REFERENCES

Beeson, C. F. C. (1941) : The Ecology Jones, S. (1948): Report for Sep-

and Control of Forest Insects of India, tennium 1939-46, Dept. of Res., Univer-

and the neighbouring Countries. Dehra sity of Travancore, Trivandrum.

un. Plank, H. K. & Hageman, R. H.

Gardner, J. C. M. (1945): Indian For. (1951): Jour. Econ. Ent. 44 (1).

Bull, No. 125., Ent., New Ser.

New Species and Forms of Lepidoptera

from Afghanistan and Iraq’ |

E. P. WILTSHIRE, F.R.E.S.

(With a plate and three text-figures)

The exploration of the lepidoptera of the Middle East continues.

Afghanistan is comparatively unknown, and since the Second World

War has been visited by three expeditions’, of which that of

J. Klapperich in 1952-3 produced the material for the following

descriptions from that country. I am much indebted to Father

Froitzheim of Essen for permission to study part of this material,

which he has so meticulously preserved and prepared. An account

of the expedition and some descriptions of new species in other groups

have already appeared’, and there is reason to hope that the next

few years will see further additions to our knowledge of the Afghan

fauna.

As regards Iraq, besides my own collections of 1935-8, 1942-4,

and 1952-7, the north of this country has also been visited by the

well-known Rhopalocera specialist, Dr. L. Higgins, in May-June

1957. Though concentrating on butterflies he did not ignore the

moths and among his captures of the latter are several new records

for Iraq listed below, and one new species described below.

During summer 1957 in England I was able to investigate certain

problematical Iraqian species about which only provisional opinions

could be inserted in my recent book (August 1957). The present

* This is the XIVth article in this taxonomic series on Middle East

Lepidoptera. The previous one (X[lIth) appeared in The Entomologist 89,

No. 1121; it dealt with material from Jordan. Too large to be considered as

in the series is ‘The Lepidoptera of Iraq’ (2nd Edition), Nicholas Kaye, August

1957, London, to which reference is. made in the present article as ‘Wiltshire

(August 1957)’.

* The following papers deal in part with these three expeditions, one of

which was Danish and two German:

Amsel, H. G. (1957): Die Deutsche Afghanistan-Expedition 1956 der

Landessamlung fiir Naturkunde in Karlsruhe. (Beitr. z. naturk. Forsch. i.

Sudwestdeutsch. 16. H. 1. pp. 1-28.)

Boursin, C. (1957): Description de huit nouvelles Caradrina Od’

Afghanistan de 1’ expedition Klapperich et de deux Oedibrya Hps. (Bull. Mens.

Soc. Linn. de Lyon 26. No. 6. 158-163.)

Clench, Harry K. & Shoumatoff, N. (1956): The 3rd Danish Expedition

to Central Asia. Zoological Results. 21. Lepidoptera Rhopalocera (Insecta)

from Afghanistan. (Vidensk. Medd. fra Dansk. Naturh. Forem 118.)

Klapperich, J. (1954): Auf Forschungsreisen in Afghanistan. (Ent. Blatt.

pp. 107-118.)

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA 229

article includes a more final verdict on these, and shows that in the

case of the Archanara from SE. Iraq I erred on the side of caution in

not immediately describing it as a new species in the book.

I am particularly grateful for the assistance given me by Mr.

W. H. T. Tams during these studies, and also must acknowledge my

debt to Messrs. C. Boursin and C. L. Collenette.

Family LASIOCAMPIDAE

Dendrolimus klapperichi sp. n. (Plate, Figs. 9, 10)

This dull brown, faintly marked, fair-sized moth recalls in pattern

some Metanastria but in genitalia comes nearer to Dendrolimus.

The course of the intra-neural series of black marks on the forewing,

parallel to the outer margin, easily distinguishes it from the known

species of those two genera, for in them the corresponding marks

form a more angular, broken, submarginal line.

o antenna, orange-brown, bipectinated.

2 antenna, pale brown with shorter pectinations.

Head, palps, thorax, and abdomen, dark greyish brown.

Forewing, dark greyish brown, paler marginad, darkest basad and

costad. Markings, very faint and consisting only of three triple, faint,

postmedian lines parallel to the outer margin, of which not all are

always discernible, and a clearer submarginal series of intra-neural

black marks, arranged roughly parallel to the outer margin. Fringes,

concolorous. |

Hindwing, dark greyish brown; fringes, concolorous.

Underside, both wings, monotonous greyish brown.

Span: 45-50 mm.

Holotype, ot, Afghanistan, Nuristan, Bashgul Valley, 26-4-53,

1,100 m., leg. Klapperich, in coll. Klapperich.

Allotype, @, same locality and captor, 3-5-53, in coll. Klapperich.

Paratypes, 3 co‘, same locality and captor, 4-5-53, in coll. Klapperich,

Wiltshire, and British Museum.

Family LYMANTRIIDAE

Euproctis froitzheimi sp. n. (Plate, Fig. 6)

Palps, black. Feet, whitish grey.

Male antenna, grey, copiously bipectinated.

Head and thorax, yellow. Abdomen, with pale yellow hairs.

Forewing, plain yellow; fringes, concolorous.

Hindwing, whitish, fringes pale yellow.

230 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Underside, forewing with costa black near base, ground colour

paler yellow than upper side; hindwing pale yellow.

Span: 32 mm.

Holotype, co’, E. Afghanistan, Paghman Mts., 28-8-53, 3,000 m.,

leg. J. Klapperich, in coll. Klapperich.

I designate as paratypes a series of similar examples from north

India in the British Museum, at present unnamed.

Family NOTODONTIDAE

Damata dicyma sp. n. (Plate, Fig. 5)

This fair-sized, beautiful, and very distinctive greyish moth is

smaller than its relatives.

Antenna black, bipectinated.

Head, palps, and thorax, dark fuscous, except for the pale grey,

dark-edged tegulae. Abdomen, dirty grey.

Forewing olive-grey, finely powdered with black and white, and

crossed by three wavy black markings. The first of these is the

median band, filled in with black at the costa, narrower on crossing

the cell, and olive-grey-centred towards the hind-margin. Orbicular

stigma, represented by two faint white spots, reniform, by a not very

large but clear white oval spot, about 1 mm. long and at right angles

to the hind-margin. The post-median fascia is represented by a

double wavy black line, the proximal strand being smoky black, the

distal strand marked with white on some of the-nervures and followed

on the costa by a black shade. Submarginal line, wavy, obsolete,

pale grey. Fringes, dark grey, chequered with whitish.

Hindwing, brownish-grey, with traces of a pale post-median line,

clearest at the anal angle where it is edged proximally with a wavy

fuscous border and distally with a broader fuscous border. Fringes,

as on forewing.

Underside, forewing brownish grey, with upper-side markings

represented on costa only, and only the post-median markings being

traceable there; three black shades and a paler spot between the

second and third of these comprise these costal marks. Fringes, as

on upper-side. Hindwing, whitish grey with curved brown ante-

median and post-median fasciae, between them a distinct brown

cell-spot. The pale outer edge of the post-median fascia is followed

by brownish apical and anal shades. Fringes and nervures, marked

as upper-side.

Span: 60 mm.

Holotype, ¢@, Afghanistan, Nuristan, Bashgul Valley, 1,100 m.,

9-4-53, leg. Klapperich, in coll. Klapperich.

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA 231

Harpyia pulcherrima Brandt nuristana subsp. n. (Plate, Fig. 7)

This race, spanning 31 mm., is larger and has the dark markings

deeper and more extensive than the typical Zagros form from Iraq

and SW. Persia.

Holotype and paratype, Afghanistan, Nuristan, Bashgul Valley,

1,100 m., 9-4-53 and 14-4-53, leg. Klapperich, in coll. Klapperich and.

mea.

Harpyia lanigera Butl. terminata forma n. (Plate, Fig. 8)

There is not enough material to decide whether this form re-

presents an aberration or a subspecies. The fringe chequer-spots are

united in it to form a continuous grey post-terminal line along part of the

forewing termen. Otherwise it is very similar to the British Museum’s

series of lanigera from Kashmir and Japan, and to the type of that

species from Japan.

Holotype, 1 ex. Afghanistan, Faizabad, Kokscha Valley. 1,450 m.,

7-8-53, leg. Klapperich, in coll. Klapperich.

Family PHALAENIDAE (AGROTIDAE, NOCTUIDAE)

New forms and species in this family taken by Herr J. Klapperich

in Afghanistan are described either in articles by Monsieur Boursin if

Trifinae (the first of these articles is mentioned in footnote 2), or

if Quadrifinae will appear in later articles by myself, together with

new Geometridae. The following Trifinae are from Iraq.

Lithophasia cyaxares sp. n. (Plate, Fig. 3)

A preliminary brief description of this appeared in Wiltshire

(August 1957), No. 297a.

Antenna, filiform in both sexes, with white and sepia scales near

base. Palps, wood brown and darker brown, mixed. Collar and

head, similar, tufty. Thorax, very tufty, with white, pale brown, and

sepia scales mixed. Feet, coloured like thorax.

Forewing, varying between pale wood brown and deep sepia,

marked with snow-white, and recalling in coloration Cucullia

verbasci L., but smaller and with general aspect suggesting a

Cleophana. Costa and cell, pale wood brown dusted with grey and

whitish; these form a pale area edged by the median nervure, outlined

darker brown; stigmata, absent. Seven of the nervures reaching the

outer margin are indicated in brown outline from the cell to the

margin and are more or less distinctly white-edged on both sides

marginal; the fringes are brown, chequered finely with pure white at

the termination of the nervures. Dark sepia streaks separate the

232 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

nervures in the submarginal area. Between nervures 1 and 2 and

parallel to the former runs a characteristic, arrow-like streak from base ©

to tornus, starting as a deep sepia basal streak and prolonged into

a club-shaped, snow-white centred loop, terminating below and short

of the end of the cell, and followed by a pure white arrow-head

whose point links up with the Te. intra-neural marginal lunule

between nervures 1 and 2.

Forewing under-side, less distinctly marked, but the nervures near

the termen are as in the upperside; so is the fringe.

Hindwing, pale dirty brown, darker in the 9, with nervures

infuscated. Termen, a fine brown line, pale-edged. Fringes, whitish.

Underside, as upperside.

KALCHBERGI

QUADRIVIRGULA

CYAXARE S

Fig. 1. Right valve and aedeagus of four Lithophasia and Bryomima species.

The male genitalia, shewn in text fig. 1 (Prep. 888), shew the

affinity of this distinctively marked species to two other Lithophasia

species, namely quadrivirgula Mab. and its form jordana Stgr. and

Lithophasia (=Hypomecia) venosula Stgr.; the hitherto unpublished

genitalia of Bryomima kalchbergi (first described, wrongly, as an

Antitype) are also shewn in the same figure for comparison, having

been traced from the photo of a preparation of the type of that

species made by Monsieur Charles Boursin, to whom I am much

indebted; evidently the genus Bryomima is not distant from

Lithophasia.

Holotype and allotype, co and @ respectively, Iraq, Kurdistan,

province Erbil, Haj Omran, 1,525-1,830 m., 2 to 13-6-56, leg. E. P.

Wiltshire, in coll. m.

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA Zoo

Agrochola egorovi B.-H. laciniatae subsp. n. (Plate, Fig. 2)

Though distinct in aspect from typical egorovi this moth is here

introduced as a subspecies of it on account of the similarity of the

male genitalia. I am obliged to M. Charles Boursin for a photo of

the genitalia of the type of egorovi from Daghistan. It may possibly

be distinct. The early stages are described, and the foodplant pro-

vides the new form’s name. :

From typical egorovi as described and illustrated in Seitz III

Suppt. the new form differs in its less-marked forewing. In particular,

the conspicuous brown angulated central shade of egorovi is absent,

and the black markings also not in evidence. The general colouring

is dull orange-yellow with faint orange-brown lines. Only the wavy

post-median and submarginal lines and termen are completely defined.

The lower lobe of the reniform stigma is slightly paler; the outlines

of the stigmata are very faint. Underside, paler yellow, unmarked.

Hindwing, whitish. Span, 30 mm.

LACINIATAE

Fig. 2. Male genitalia, open ventral view, with aedeagus separated, of

Agrochola egorovi laciniatae ssp. n. (AS = aedeagus sheath; AN = anus)

The male genitalia (shewn in text fig. 2) differ from those of

egorovi only in the greater extension of the costal tip of the valves

and the more evenly tapering form of the uncus, and perhaps also

the blunter-formed harpe.

234 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Holotype: 1 co, Iraq, Kurdistan, province Erbil, Haj Omran

(nr. Rayat), c. 1,830 m., bred from larva found in flowers of

Eremostachys laciniata, a giant labiate with wool-clad, white

anflorescence. Hatched 18-10-56; in coll. m. This species was

referred to under no. 317a without definite determination in Wiltshire

(August 1957).

The larva when found in June was about 14” long and of a

whitish green colour with a pale yellow head. The sublateral stripe

was whitish, the wrinkles at the somital joints were yellowish, and

there were no other markings. The feet were pale, the spiracles were

inconspicuous. A week later the colour became dull red-brown,

darker dorsally, putty-coloured sublaterally. The head was now buff

or putty-coloured. It ate no more on assuming this colour but

remained torpid; after a few days it spun a cocoon on June 14. Since

the cocoon was against glass, it was possible to observe the larva’s

development. It became smaller, more whitish and discoloured during

the summer, and indeed had a diseased appearance before finally

turning into a healthy pupa on September 18. The moth emerged

a month later.

This phenology is typical of all Middle East and Near East

Agrochola species which I have bred myself or of which the early

stages have been published [cf. Pinker, R., 1956: Beschreibung der

Raupen einiger pontischer und mediterraner Heteroceren. Zeits.

der Wiener Ent. Ges. 41 J. (67 Bd.) No. 10. pp. 265-270].

Archanara pringlei sp. n. (Plate, Fig. 1)

In Wiltshire (August 1957) this moth appeared as No. 382a and

was attributed, with a query, to insoluta Warren-Seitz. I have now

seen Warren’s three types (all 9 9) from Central Asia, and they are

evidently a distinct species without the need for dissecting the same

sex of both forms. A. insoluta has shorter forewings with a more

arched costa and usually better defined fasciae. The Iraqi form is

larger, richer red-chestnut in colour, plainer, lacking the pale costal

suffusion and the black terminal intraneural dots of insoluta. |

therefore introduce it here as a new species named after its captor,

Dr. G. Pringle, the malariologist and dipterist, who has worked many

years in Iraq and taken some interest in its lepidoptera.

Tongue, developed. Palp, pale grey-brown in front and above,

but dark brown on sides. Head, brown mixed with pale grey scales.

Thorax and abdomen, chestnut brown. Forewing, warm chestnut

brown, without any fasciae, the post-median being represented by

a series of very short black streaks on the nervures, some of which

terminate in a small white spot. The costal and medial nervures and

‘v. | are powdered with dark grey and white scales as far as these

JOURN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Sper tcp A te last

ethan or ono

Rimes

1, Archanara pringlei sp. n., holotype g ; 2. Agrochola egorovi B.-H. subsp. laciniatae ssp. n.,

holotype ¢ ; 3. Lithophasia cyaxaressp.n., holotype ¢ ; 4. Syntomis higginsi sp.n., holotype ¢ ;

5. Damata dicyma sp. n., holotype $ ; 6. Euproctis froitzheimi sp. n., holotype ¢; 7. Harpyia

pulcherrima Brandt, subsp. nuristana ssp. n., holotype ¢ ; 8. Harpyia lanigera Butler, forma

terminata {. n., holotype 2 ; 9. Dendvolimus klapperichi sp. n., paratype ¢, genitalia;

10. Dendrolimus klapperichi sp. n., paratype ¢. (Figures 5, 6, 7, and ro natural size, others

enlarged).

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA 235

post-mediaa streaks. At the lower corner of the cell there is a

conspicuous single white point. Nervures, slightly and finely powdered

with dark grey and white scales crossing the marginal area. Termen

and fringes, concolorous.

Hindwing, whitish, the nervures lightly infuscated and a wide

marginal brownish shade from the apex but not reaching the anal

angle; in this shade are faint traces of a wavy pale submarginal line.

Nervures 2 and 3 are each dotted with brown just after leaving the

cell:

Underside, both wings, pale dirty whitish with metallic, bronzy

sheen, infuscated on the nervures, with a faint powdering of grey

scales near the outer margin and elsewhere.

TTIVITD

Fig. 3. Male genitalia, open ventral view, with aedeagus separated, of Archanara

pringlei sp. n. (J = juxta).

The male genitalia (see text fig. 3) (Prep. 885) show affinity both

to Nonagria typhae Thunb. and to Archanara geminipuncta Haw.,

and the new species may therefore be placed after the former and,

before the latter.

236 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Span: 42 mm.

Holotype, 1 ot, Iraq, Amarah marshes, near sea-level, 15-5-56,

leg. G. Pringle, in coll. m. .

Family SYNTOMIDAE

Syntomis higginsi sp. n. (Plate, Fig. 4)

Antenna, black.

Head, black, with yellow or white collar. Thorax, yellow or

white. Abdomen, black with yellow or white rings, that on somite

8 being entire and conspicuous, those on somites 4-7 being dorsal but

not ventral, and variable in extent. 7

Forewing, black with yellow or white spots, placed as in sintenisi

Wlngrn. or aurivala Schaw. but large and more angular in form.

Hindwing, yellow or white with a black marginal border which widens

towards the apex.

Span: 21 mm.

The following key will help to distinguish these three species:

A 1. Thorax and head, black.

A 2. Thorax yellow or white; head with yellow or

white collar.

A 1. Forewing and hindwing black with small

yellow spots; hindwing yellow spot,

very small, sometimes absent ... sintenisi

A 2. (i) Forewing and hindwing as in A 1.

Antenna with yellow tip. ... aurivala

(ii) Forewing with larger, angular yellow

or white spots; hindwing, yellow or

white, with black border. Antenna,

black ... higginsi

Holotype and paratype: Iraq, Kurdistan, Salah-ud-din, 1,037 m.,

3 to 10-6-57, leg. L. Higgins (in British Museum).

Paratype: same data, in coll. m.

The three species named above are similar in size and obviously

close relatives; and all occur within about 300 miles of each other.

They are however never found, as far as I know, together. S. aurivala

and higginsi seem to be very local forms, while sintenisi extends from

east Turkey (whence there is a series in the British Museum from

Mardin) to west China. Until biological observations give contrary

indication, they should be considered distinct species.

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA aod

Both Herr J. Klapperich and Dr. L. Higgins have added a number

of species hitherto not recorded from Afghanistan and Iraq respecti-

vely. A list of such from Afghanistan will appear separately later,

but the additions to Iraq’s fauna list, known too late for inclusion in

Wiltshire (August 1957), are as follows: ;

Family PHALAENIDAE (AGROTIDAE, NOCTUIDAE)

Triphaena subsequa Schiff.

Hadena syriaca Osth.

Hadena pumila Staudinger

Hadena pfeifferi Draudt

Calophasia acuta Freyer

Omphalophana durnalayana Osth.

Leptosia sefidi Brandt

Hylophila bicolorana Fuesl.

-Phytometra daubei Boisd.

Family SYNTOMIDAE (AMATAIDAE)

Syntomis minuta B.-H.

Syntomis aequipuncta maraschi Dan.

Family GEOMETRIDRAE

Pseudopanthera syriacaria Guen.

Chiasma clathrata L.

Family PYRALIDAE

Tretopteryx pertusalis Hubn.

Noctuelia superba Freyer

All the above were taken in the scrub-oak zone of the mountains

of northern Iraq, except P. daubei which was taken to light in the

central plain, on oasis ground near Bagdad, by Dr. Dhia Ahmad.

A few Notes on the Preparation and |

Publication of Gamble’s

Flora of the Presidency of Madras

D. DANIEL SUNDARARAJ

Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore

(With a plate)

Every botanist in India knows Gamble’s FLORA OF MADRAS, but few

of them know the details of how such a monumental work came to be

written. The following pages will attempt a detailed account of the

preparation of the Flora.

The FLORA OF MADRAS was one of the last provincial floras to be

published on the completion of the FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA by Sir

J. D. Hooker and his associates. A very brief account of the story

behind the FLORA OF MADRAS is given by Sir Arthur W. Hill,

the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the preface to

the 11th part of the FLORA OF MADRAS. Further details may be gathered

from the introductory notes to the various parts and from the

critical notes published in the Kew Bulletin as each part made its

appearance. A few extracts from old correspondence may be of

interest to Indian botanists.

Col. D. Prain, the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,

by a letter dated the 19 July 1909, proposed to the Secretary of State

for India in Council that the preparation of the Flora of Madras be

undertaken, and that the work be entrusted to Theodore Cooke on

the same terms as those under which this author had published his

FLORA OF THE PRESIDENCY OF BOMBAY, Cooke had published the last

part of his Flora of Bombay in 1908, and the Director of the Royal

Botanical Gardens, Kew, thought it would be of advantage if his

experience was made use of in the preparation of the Madras Flora.

The following are the terms under which Cooke published his

Flora of Bombay:

1. The work should be issued in parts of about 200 pages each.

2. The profits of the first edition should go to the author, but

the Government should reserve to itself the copyright of the book.

3. An honorarium of £50 to be paid to the author on the

publication of each part.

TSUISI ee 3) gqquier) *S [

‘00S “ISIH “IVN AVAWog ‘Nuno[

NOTES ON GAMBLE’S FLORA OF MADRAS 239

4, 500 copies to be purchased by the Government at a discount

of 121% of the published price, which should not exceed 8d. per

sheet of 16 pages. .

The matter was then referred to the Commissioner of Revenue

Settlement, Survey, Land Records, and Agriculture, Madras, who in

turn referred it to M. E. Couchman, the Director of Agriculture,

Madras. At the time Dr. C. A. Barber was the Government Botanist,

_and was appropriately consulted on the matter. Dr. Barber’s opinion

is of interest. He agreed that the need for a Flora of the State of

Madras was a pressing one; in the Madras Government Herbarium

there were more than 30,000 sheets which could scarcely be identified

in the absence of a local Flora. He pointed out, however, that in

south India there were large tracts outside the Presidency proper which

needed intensive exploration; under the circumstances it would be

difficult to give correct details about the distribution of plants until

such tracts had been explored and the existing materials in the

Government Herbarium had been worked out. His final suggestion

was that exploration be intensified, the identification of materials be

taken up at once, and only after the completion of these tasks would

it be possible to write up a complete Flora.

The Government of Madras was not agreeable to the delay this

would involve and, on 5 January 1910, an order was issued by the

Government stating that the preparation of the Flora was an urgent

need and that Dr. T. Cooke be requested to take up the matter at

once. A letter of the same date written to the Government of India

by the Government of Madras states: ‘His Excellency the Governor

in Council recommends that the preparation of the Flora of Madras

Presidency should be entrusted to Dr. Theodore Cooke . .. Even

allowing that the materials for such a Flora are not ideally perfect

or absolutely complete, its publication would, in the opinion of the -

Government, do far more to advance botanical study in the Presidency

than the production of any preliminary materials intended to lead up

to a local Flora later. Such publications will not give the same

stimulus to workers in the field of Botany or be as readily available

for their use as a formal Flora, summing up the results at present

attamed. If such a Flora is found twenty years hence to need

revision, it will still have served as a standard for research in the

interval, while even if the undertaking of a formal Flora were post-

poned, it is not to be expected that finality will ever be attained.’

Just as these proposals were taking shape, towards the close of

the year 1909, Dr. Theodore Cooke was struck down by an illness

of a grave character. Dr. Prain reports on Dr. Cooke’s interest in the

work in the following terms: ‘This illness, while severely affecting

240 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

his physical powers, has left his intellectual capacity unimpaired and

his interest in the task of preparing a Flora of the Presidency on

behalf of the Government of Madras has remained as keen as

ever...’ However, all these plans had to be given up on receipt of

a letter of regret from Mrs. Cooke, dated the 26 March 1910, in which

she explained that her husband had become incapacitated for the

task. Dr. Cooke died on 5 November 1910. 7

At the suggestion of Mr. Lodge, the Conservator of Forests,

Southern Circle, the Government of Madras urged the Government

of India in August 1910 to request Mr. J. S. Gamble, C.1.E., to under-

take the work. Gamble had retired from the Forest Service in 1899

and, at the time he was asked to undertake the publication of the Flora

of Madras, was engaged, in collaboration with Sir George King, in

the collection of materials for a Flora of the Malay Peninsula. For

this reason, he ‘was compelled to defer the inception of the task’

of preparing the Flora of Madras. In 1913, after a delay of about two

and a half years, Mr. Gamble suggested to the Government of India

and the Government of Madras that Mr. T. S. Dunn, formerly the

Superintendent of the Botanical and Forestry Department, Hongkong,

be permitted to collaborate with him in the preparation of the book;

this suggestion was accepted by the Government on the re-

~ commendation of Col. Prain.

In order to expedite the work, it was arranged that the herbarium

sheets from the Madras Herbarium should be packed and despatched

to Kew as soon as possible. Specimens belonging to the families

Ranunculaceae to those of Smithia in the Papilionaceae left the port

of Madras by sea in November 1913. Meanwhile the first World

War broke out, and the rest of the specimens could not be dispatched

until the end of the war in 1919. In spite of this, however, Parts II

and III of the Flora from the Papilionaceae to Caprifoliaceae were

prepared and published from materials kept in other herbaria, mostly

those of the British Isles. The obstruction caused by the war

actually forced Gamble to look into some collections of Madras

plants that otherwise might have passed unnoticed, as for example

those of Roxburgh, Elliot, Wight, Cleghorn, and others in the

herbaria of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, of the British

Museum (Natural History), the Dubois collections, etc.

The first 182 pages of the Flora of Madras were prepared in

draft form by T. S. Dunn; he scrutinised the specimens of the Madras

Herbarium from Clematis in the Ranunculaceae to Biophytum in

the Geraniaceae and checked their identities; but in 1915 Dunn ‘was

then most unfortunately obliged to relinquish his share in the work’

(Gamble, in Intro. to Part I, FL. MADR.). However, before he went

NOTES ON GAMBLE’S FLORA OF MADRAS > 241

out, Dunn contributed a critical paper entitled “Notes on the Flora

of Madras’ in the Kew Bulletin 1916.

Gamble began his work from the Rutaceae and went steadily

checking all the sheets in the Kew Herbarium, and other sheets sent

to him from time to time. His critical examination of such sheets

is a model for any botanist; the floral parts of the many sheets were

dissected, then carefully drawn, and the detailed drawings attached

to the original sheet. On this count alone, it may be said that

Gamble’s work in the Kew Herbarium is about the best and most

critical; certainly no such detailed examination was made in the pre-

paration of other provincial Indian floras. Gamble continued his

Jabours until 1925 when he died on the 16th October; at the time

of his death he had finished the examination and writing of the

Euphorbiaceae, and a few further genera in the Ulmaceae.

Sir Arthur W. Hull, at the time the Director of the Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew, recommended that Mr. C. E. C. Fischer be requested

to continue the work of Gamble. Fischer was a retired officer from

the Indian Forest Service, who had had long experience of south

Indian botany and was undoubtedly the most competent man at

the time. Fischer took on the work and continued the critical

examination of specimens from Celtis onwards, that is to say from

Part VIII to the end of Part XI. The first part of Fischer’s work was

published in 1928, the last in February 1936; Fischer, following

the example of Gamble, published three sets of critical notes on the

Flora. The work of Fischer, unfortunately, is not of the high

standard of Gamble; his examination of the herbarium sheets was done

somewhat hurriedly, or so it appears from examination of the same

—one does not find the careful dissections and drawings seen on

Gamble’s sheets.

Thus, the publication of the FLORA OF MADRAS took in all 22

years and engaged the attention of three distinguished botanists, Dunn, |

Gamble, and Fischer. It has remained the best of the provincial

Floras of India, and probably on this account the edition soon became

exhausted. With the revival of the Botanical Survey of India, and

the great interest created in students for botanical exploration, the

need for copies of the book has become critical. Happily the

Botanical Survey of India has decided to bring out a reprint of the

same, so as to supply the immediate need. It would have been

more appropriate to revise this and other provincial Floras; but

the work of revision will be a long one and may take a number of

years. In the meanwhile students of Botany will be able to use

Gamble’s Flora of Madras in its original form, while they gather

more detailed information on which the new revision will have to

242 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

be based. Meanwhile the floras of smaller areas of Madras are

being prepared by various botanists. All such local floras will be

of great help in the final revision of the Flora of the whole State.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is greatly indebted to Rev. Fr. H. Santapau for having

gone through the original manuscript and for bringing it out in the

present form. He also renders his thanks to Dr. Rama Rao,

Principal, and Sri Somasundaram, Curator, of the Southern Forest

Ranger’s College, Coimbatore, for the photographs of Gamble and

Fischer kindly made available for publication.

Botanical Exploration in East Nepal

M. L. BANERJI

Meerut College, Meerut

(With a map)

The kingdom of Nepal occupies about one-third of the Himalayas and

extends from 80° 15’ to 88° 10’ E. and 26° 20’ to 30° 10’ N. The total

area is 54,000 sq. miles, the length being about 525 miles and the breadth

varying from 90 to 140 miles. The entire kingdom approximately corres-

ponds to the central Himalayas.

The history of botanical exploration in Nepal begins early in the

19th century when Hamilton (1802-03) and Wallich (1820), both famous

botanists, spent a year or two in Nepal collecting plants amongst

the forested hills near Kathmandu and its vicinity. They induced

pilgrims to Gossain Kund to bring back plant specimens. B.H. Hodgson

went to Kathmandu in 1822 as Assistant Resident, and later as Resident.

For the 21 years that he stayed in the Valley he laboured on the natural

history of Nepal. In later years many have devoted their time and

energies to the cause of the natural history of the country, but our know-

ledge of it has remained quite meagre. In recent years mountaineering

expeditions are being accompanied by scientists and, when the results of

all these expeditions are published, the natural history of Nepal will be

greatly enriched.

I have been interested in the study of the vegetation of east Nepal

(85° 20’-88° 10’ E. and 26° 30’-28° N.) since 1948; five visits to the country

were made during the pre-monsoon months. The first post-monsoon

collection was made during the months of August, September, and the

early half of October 1956. In the following pages an account of this

excursion is given. The route that was followed is given in the accom-

panying sketch map.

KATHMANDU TO CHARIKOT

_ With a complement of six porters I left Kathmandu on the 25th

August. Kathmandu Valley is saucer-shaped, with a diameter of 10-15

miles. The valley is thickly populated and heavily cultivated. The

adjoining small cup-like valley of Bhadgaon is followed by a still smaller

valley in which Banepa is situated. As one descends from Banepa

(1,680 m.) to the Jhikku Khola, the vegetation all around is rather sparse.

The soil is very loose and of a grey colour. At most of the places the

244 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

bare slopes have started eroding and gully formation has started. The

Jhikku khola valley is about 3 miles in length east to west and about 13

miles north to south. Rice is the principal crop. Along the slopes the

vegetation is composed of Pinus roxburghii, and Rhus parviflora with

Woodfordia fruticosa ; in some places Trema politoria is occasional. In

the ravines Shorea robusta is localised. Along the banks of Sun Kosi,

Indrawati, and other principal streams, where the altitude is as low as

765 m., Acacia spp., Zizyphus spp., and Jatropha curcas form the principal

species. Atcertain places Ipomea quamoclit with beautiful crimson flowers

grew over the shrubs. En route, where the path ascends to about 1,375

m., Swertia angustifolia is in profusion. Under shade and in moist

places Begonia spp. was in great abundance and in flower. At a little

lower altitude Rhus parviflora formed pure formations and the ground

was covered by prostrate Desmodium triflorum and Crotolaria albida;

Polygala triphylla was occasionally seen.

The vegetation around Chaubas, which is at 1,985 m., is strikingly

different. Chaubas is exposed on all sides except the north and is wind-

swept. The flat grassy meadows are full of Herminium gramineum,

Spiranthus australis, Micromeria biflora, Desmodium triflorum, and

Hypericum elodeoides. The narrow ravines have a dense growth of

Berberis, Cotoneaster, Andromeda, Wikstroemia canescens, and amongst

these Viburnum stellulatum var. glabrescens, which was in fruit, was

the tallest. In partly exposed places which get some sunlight were

species of Impatiens, Valeriana hardwickii, and Satyrium nepalense. In

sunny situations grew in great profusion Hypericum patulum and Swertia

angustifolia var. pulchella. Campanula colorata was to be seen everywhere.

From Chaubas to Risingo the track ascended to 2290 m. and

Rhododendron arboreum, Andromeda elliptica, Cotoneaster thymifolia,

and Berberis became very common. At certain places the ground was

covered entirely by Wikstroemia canescens, which with its yellow flowers

added to the beauty of the landscape. Near Risingo there is again very

heavy cultivation and we passed through cultivated terraces. Risingo

is famous for its old Gompha, and from the carvings on the woodwork

of the old ‘ pati’ it was clear that ‘tantrik ’ influence had penetrated so

far east. After Risingo I have not seen any other place that bears signs

of ‘tantrik’ influence. All along I noticed that in the hamlets bananas

and cucumbers are great favourites and are cultivated wherever possible.

I crossed the Manga Deorali at 2,440 m. The two sides of Manga Deorali

have a vegetation similar to that of Chaubas and Risingo but J/ex sp.

is in profusion ; Rubus paniculatus is an addition, and Rhododendron

arboreum grows to its normal size. Human habitation is scanty and as

such the trees are saved from the axe. As we descend to Charikot,

we pass through a belt of Castanopsis. En route there were a number of

species of Impatiens, Serissa foetida, and in marshy places Utricularia

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bifida. At lower altitudes, where Agave grew, Aeginetia indica was very

common. While crossing the Manga Deorali we encountered leeches of

two varieties and every one caused profuse bleeding. After five days’

trek, I was in Charikot which is one of the sub-districts. I had a day’s

halt and the time was spent in changing the driers, purchasing rations,

and attending to the much needed washing.

To KALINCHOK

Kalinchok is one of the pinnacles of the range that separates the Sun

Kosi watershed from the Bhotea Kosi watershed. The range is sparsely

populated and is visited by herdsmen who camp there during the summer

months. The only other visitors are pilgrims to the Kali temple situated

at the top, which is 3,815 m. above sea-level. This area was also visited

in 1952, but before the rains. The vegetation up to 2,295 m. is composed

of poor specimens of Gaultheria fragrantissima, Viburnum erubescens,

Andromedia elliptica, Rosa sericea, and Berberis wallichiana ; Castanopsis

hystrix was seen only at a few places, similarly Melastoma sp. was noted

as scattered. In the ravines Symplocos theaefolia was in great abundance,

and in places there were pure formations of the species. Higher up,

species of Quercus appeared in places, I/ex and later on the tree species

Pinus wallichiana and Tsuga dumosa became the predominant species.

The ground was covered with herbs, many of which were not in flower.

The species that were in flowering state were Geranium nepalense, the

trailing blueflowered Parochetus communis ; Crawfurdia speciosa also with

blue flowers, Ranunculus diffusus, species of Impatiens, and Edgaria

darjeelingensis, which had just started flowering ; Aconitum laciniatum

was found growing under shade and it was plentiful, so also was Allium

wallichii. My porters could only inform me that this blue-flowered

Allium has some medicinal properties. In exposed sunny situations

Swertia angustifolia var. wallichii and Anemone vitifolia added to the

flowering species. As I climbed to about 3,360 m. the number of species

in flower increased; along the slopes grew Corydalis casimiriana, Heracleum

sublineare, Thalictrum chelidonii, Microglossa albescens, Saxifraga

brachypoda var. fimbriata, Saxifraga strigosa, Saxifraga nutans, Cynanthus

linifolius, C. lobatus, Pedicularis gracilis, and many others. In the open

grew gregariously Dipsacus inermis, Senecio graciliflorus, and Swertia

dilatata. Occasionally appeared Cremanthodium oblongatum, Lactuca

macrantha, Primula glomerata, and Pedicularis longiflora; for Parnassia

nubicola the flowering period was over, as many were in fruit. At about

3,665 m. small groves of Rhododendron species appear, and form the

principal species along with Abies. The top of the ridge is a wide flat

traversed by a number of small streams coming down from the pinnacle.

The grassy flat is dotted with Polygonum viviparum with pink flowers,

246 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

blue-flowered Primula glomerata, Cremanthodium oblongatum, Aster

tricephalus, and Swertia dilatata. Along the sides of the small streams

Corydalis casimiriana grows in profusion. Along the slopes near the

top Rhododendron campylocarpum, R. campanulatum, and Abies grow

but far apart. On the northern slopes R. setosum and R. lepidotum grow.

After staying in the area for four days I returned to Charikot. }

CHARIKOT TO JUNBESA

For most of this part of the journey I was in the cultivation belt,

where forests have been reduced to scrub. Wherever the altitude was

about 1,830 m., Rhododendron arboreum, Pinus wallichiana, Symplocos

theaefolia, and S.ramosissima appeared. The range known as Hanu-

manthe, which is 3,114 m., was crossed at about 2,442 m. The predomi-

nant species is //ex which is densely covered with festoons of lichens. The

lop-sided appearance of the trees gave evidence to the direction of the

prevailing winds. In this area Impatiens species seemed to be very

abundant ; the commoner plants noticed were Pedicularis gracilis,

Elsholtzia blanda, Halenia elliptica, Campanula argyrotricha ; on rare

occasions I noted specimens of Chirita urticaefolia, Lobelia pyramidalis,

and Astilbe rivularis.

After two days I reached Those where there are iron mines. The

village of Those is on the banks of Khimti Khola, which is a perpetual

stream. All around Those there are neither forests nor even small groves.

The forests have been cleared to make charcoal to be supplied to the

smithies. Herds of cattle graze along the banks of Khimti; above

Garjan towards Panchpokhri and Jatapokhri there are extensive grazing

fields for the chumries. It is this area that supplies ghee to the capital.

I halted at Those for a day and attended to the collection and other neces-

saries. Leaving Those I moved along the banks of Khimti Khola for

some distance, then ascended the Tambe Danda. This range was crossed

at about 2,900 m. and this day’s travel was very unpleasant. No other

day did we have such heavy rain accompanied with strong wind as on this

day ; shelter under boulders and ledges proved futile, and it was decided

to continue the trek. We were later enveloped in a thick mist and were

chilled to the bones. All along it was noticed that Polygonum panicula-

tum was in abundance and covered most of the trees and shrubs that we

passed. Impatiens falcifera and I. racemosa were two common species. |

As I descended to Bhandara (also known as Chyangma) I found Cam-

panumea inflata twining all over. Next day under a clear sky I saw the

village of Bhandara, with its beautiful broad terraces all under potato

cultivation.

The Lamjura Bhanjyang stood between us and Junbesa. This range

was crossed at 3,815 m. ; on both the faces the vegetation is very dense

and the forest is virgin. Lumbering has not been attempted and grazing

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 247

is very little. The principal tree species are Ilex fragilis, Acer campbellii,

A. papilio, Sorbus folioloso Rhododendron arboreum, R. barbatum, R.

campylocarpum, R. campanulatum, and another species of Rhododendron

that was not in flower and could not be recognised. Symplocos was in

the ravines at lower altitude. The commonest shrubs were Viburnum

sp., Berberis wallichiana, Daphne, Piptanthus nepalensis. Above 3,055 m.

Tsuga dumosa appeared and did not contribute much to the forest com-

position. Big clumps of Osmunda claytoniana were very common. The

ground was sparsely covered with herbs as compared to Kalinchck ;

Fragaria and Androsace were in fruiting stage, a number of species of

Impatiens were seen, Pedicularis regeliana, Desmodium parviflorum,

Lespedeza formosa, Bupleurum tenue were common herbs. Gentiana

ornata, which so far has been rarely seen in this tour, was in great profusion

here ; species of Saxifraga and Corydalis casimiriana, which were

so common and abundant at Kalinchok, were much less here. Although

the number of species was more or less the same at the two places, yet

there were some striking differences. Kalinchok was richer in Tsuga and

Abies, whereas Lamjura is richer in Rhododendrons. Kalinchok had

more species in flower than Lamjura. There were some species that were

seen only at Lamjura, such as Acer campbellii, A. papilio, Ilex fragilis,

and Sorbus foliolosa. I failed to notice Symplocos along the slopes of

Lamjura.

As we moved along the top of the ridge for nearly three miles we were

in a pure Rhododendron forest. In open sunny situations grew Juniperus

recurva and a Cotoneaster ; on rocks and boulders Gaultheria trichophylla

and Stellaria sikkimensis formed a thick cover ; Gaultheria was in fruit.

Cynanthus hookerii was a rare plant and a thorough search yielded not

many specimens. Similarly Meconopsis nepalensis with its blue flowers

was extremely rare and only one specimen was in flower, all the others

were in fruit. On the eastern face of Lamjura Rosa sericea and Berberis

spp. were abundant. This day also ended by drenching us. Junbesa

is a sherpa village on the banks of Beni khola, that rises from the foot of

Nambur. All around the slopes are densely clothed with Pinus

wallichiana, and higher up by Tsuga dumosa. To the north of the hamlet

stands Nambur 7,045 m., and a little to the east Karyolung 6,720 m.

Below Junbesa begin wide grazing fields. The surroundings of Junbesa

are simply magnificent and under the full moon they are gorgeous ; but

it was an unauspicious time when we stepped into the village. We could

get no shelter, and it was raining ; the lodging that we finally managed to

get had much to be desired. After a warm meal we crept into our beds,

but were soon up again ; as I flashed my torch I was amazed to find vermin

of all sizes and sorts around us. An entomologist would have had a very

busy time and made a marvellously fine collection by daybreak, but

insects in the night soon get on the nerves of a tired botanist.

248. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 55 (2)

JUNBESA TO OKHALDUNGA

From Junbesa the track to Phaplu passed through a fine and extensive

pine forest. Pure formations of Pinus wallichiana covered all the slopes.

Higher up, however, there was Tsuga dumosa. The broad terraces, which

are under potato cultivation, are bordered by Prinsepia utilis. All around

Phaplu there are pine groves. In exposed sunny situations the principal

shrub is Piptanthus nepalensis which at this time of the year was in fruit.

Drosera lunata was found at many places and it seemed as if it was being

cultivated. Along the many streams and springs I collected a number of

liverworts. This hamlet being a sherpa one there are many gomphas

and in the compounds Cryptomeria japonica is planted. For the next

two days we were in the cultivation belt ; on sunny grassy slopes grew

Potentilla fulgens, P. kleiniana, Anaphalis contorta, and A. triplinervis,

occasionally a specimen of Epilobium wallichianum was seen. Berberis

and Prinsepia were in abundance. At Pakernasa I observed a dense

grove of walnut trees, a wild variety var. kumaonica ; its fruits are smaller

with a thick shell. The Tilbung ridge 3,290 m. has very sparse vegetation.

It is only in the ravines that a dense association of Acer, Ilex, Rhododendron,

and higher up Pinus, and Tsuga, occur. Over the vast grassy slopes graze

herds of chumries. Potentilla and Anaphalis dot the slopes all over.

Here I collected fine flowering specimens of Epilobium wallichianum

Along the sides of the track, where the humidity and moisture was high,

Osmunda and Lycopodium were in plenty. On the windswept ridges Ilex

with its lop-sided branching, densely covered with festoons of lichens, was

the only tree species ; of shrubs we noted Rosa, Berberis, and Andromeda ;

Viburnum was but rarely seen. Between 1,220 m. and 1,985 m. Eupatorium

glandulosum is found in great abundance. This species has great

adaptability and grows everywhere ; the weed is encroaching on the

terraces under cultivation and is now a menace to the cultivators. This

weed is locally known as ban mara, for it does not allow any other species

to grow. They also call it Congress lahara because it is said that this weed

appeared after the Congress rose in the country. It is in and around

Okhaldunga that this weed has attained its greatest and most extensive

distribution.

OKHALDUNGA TO KATHMANDU

At Okhaldunga we had a day’s halt. Here the porters fell out amongst

themselves and a day was wasted in getting official help to straighten

out matters. From Okhaldunga to Ramechappe the distance was covered

in six days. We were ina heavily cultivated area. All natural vegetation

has disappeared, and in the hamlets the cultivated trees are Bauhinia,

Psidium, and apple. Schima wallichii, which is a very prominent tree of

Nepal and found everywhere between 1,065 m. to 1,525 m., is the only

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E, NEPAL 249

tree species that is found near hamlets. Far away from hamlets small

groves of Castanopsis are seen ; for fuel requirements the villagers have

to cover long distances. The area is heavily cultivated and equally

heavily eroded. The old discarded cultivation terraces have slid at

innumerable places—one of the landslides was so big that it checked the

course ofastream. At lower altitudes Rhus parviflora, Ostodes paniculata,

Phyllanthus emblica, and Gleichenia were seen. For most of the time

now we were travelling at 1,220 m. Of the herbs Biophytum reinwardtii,

Sonerila stricta, Drymaria cordata, Lindenbergia indica were very com-

mon. In the pine forests Striga euphrasioides, Osbeckia truncata, Echi-

nacanthus attenuatus, and Spermacoce stricta were commonly met with.

Over the ridges and along the slopes Desmodium dioicum was the only

species ; under a strong sun this shrub provided shade at some places.

In this area I noticed Homalium nepalense to be quite frequent. We

descended further and moved at 763 m. for two days. All along Aegle

marmelos, shrubs of Zizyphus mauritiana, Jatropha curcas, and Anona

were seen. The drab appearance of the surroundings was occasionally

changed by Woodfordia with its old leaves that have a rose-pink colour.

We had plenty of Psidium guayava fruits on the way. Near Chaukot a

beautiful Jmpatiens with mauve flowers and a long spur was collected ;

this balsam has been identified as J. prainii. I was back in Banepa on the

6th October 1956, and a day later reached Kathmandu. The total

collection comprised 169 species of flowering plants belonging to 123

genera out of 51 families.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This visit to east Nepal was made possible by a liberal grant made

by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust through the Bombay Natural History

Society, and I am in deep gratitude to them. To Fr. H. Santapau I

express my indebtedness for the guidance and directions for systematic

research. To theauthorities at the Indian Botanic Garden and Herbarium,

Calcutta I am very thankful for helping me in the identifications and for

extending to me all facilities for my work.

ENUMERATION OF PLANTS COLLECTED

Appended is the list of plants collected during the tour. The sequence

of families followed in the following pages is that of Bentham and Hooker

with some modifications.

The vegetation being predominantly east Himalayan, the west

Himalayan elements have been marked as f, and species that form a

continuous line of distribution are marked as t+. The new records for

E, Nepal. have been marked as *,

250 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

RANUNCULACEAE

Aconitum laciniatum Stapf

Roots tuberous, 2 or 3 tubers ; stems robust ; leaves 5-7-lobed nearly

to the base ; flowers blue. Abundant in shade at 2,750 m. (B. 1025).

Anemone vitifolia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Stems robust, white pubescent ; flowers creamy white. Abundant

in shaded and moist places, at 1832 m. (B. 1029, 1117).

Delphinium vestitum Wall. ex Royle

A herb with radical orbicular leaves; flowers dull blue. Common

in the shade at 3,360 m. (B. 1005).

Ranunculus diffusus DC.

Stem decumbent, covered with soft spreading hairs. Flowers bright

yellow. Common in open places, from 1,832 m. to 2,750 m. (B. 1018,

1032).

Thalictrum chelidonii DC. |

Much branched herb. Leaflets orbicular-cordate. Flowers blue.

Abundant at 3,360 m. (B. 1007).

FUMARIACEAE

Corydalis casimiriana Duthie & Prain

Prostrate herb. Leaves pinnately divided, leaflets 3-5, deeply lobed.

Flowers yellow, tip dark purple. Abundant along slopes at 3,360 m.

(B. 1001).

Dicentra thalictrifolia Hk. f. & Th.

Stem slender and angled. Flowers not seen. Capsule fleshy. Rare.

Specimen collected at 2,135 m. (B. 1077).

PAPAVERACEAE

Meconopsis nipalensis DC.

An erect herb about 2 m. tall. Leaves pinnatifid, densely covered with

golden hairs. Flowers 5-6 cm. in diam.; red purple. Ovary densely

covered with hairs. Only one specimen, collected at 3,665 m. (B. 1063).

FLACOURTIACEAE

Homalium nepalense Benth.

Shrub with glabrous leaves, panicles with divaricate branches minutely

tomentose, Flowers pale white, small, Abundant at 1,220 m. (B. 1098).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 251

POLYGALACEAE

Polygala persicariaefolia DC.

Pubescent. Stem erect; leaves sub-sessile. Flowers pink. Rare.

Specimens collected at 1,375 m. (B. 1084).

Polygala triphylla Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Stem weak, nearly erect. Flowers deep pink in erect terminal race-

mes. Very common in grass at 1,065 m. (B. 930).

Salomonia cantoniensis Lour.

Diffuse herb. Stem winged. Spikes rather lax. Flowers blue.

Occasional at 1,375 m. (B. 1088).

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Drymaria cordata Willd. ex Roem. & Schultz.

Diffuse, much branched herb. Flowers white; petals equalling the

sepals. Very common at 1,525 m. (B. 1094, 1110).

Sagina procumbens Linn.

A very small herb. Stem tufted, bright green. Flowers small,

white. Common amongst rocks and crevice at 1,830 m. (B. 1081, 1124),

*Stellaria sikkimensis Hk. f.

Herb forming matted tufts. Flowers white. Rare. Collected at

3,664 m. (B. 1058).

HYPERICACEAE

Hypericum elodeoides Choisy

Stem terete, stoloniferous. Bracts with stalked glands. Flowers

yellow in terminal panicles. Sepals and petals black-dotted. Abundant

at 1,985 m. (B. 964).

Hypericum patulum Thunb.

Branched shrub spreading pyramidally ; branches 2-ridged. Flowers

bright yellow. Common at 1,985 m. (B. 966).

TILIACEAE

Triumfetta pilosa Roth

Herbaceous, bristly, bristles bulbous. Lower leaves 3-lobed, upper

generally ovate, stellate hairs on both surfaces. Flowers yellow. Capsule

covered with long hooked spines. Common at 915m, (B. 973),

252. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

GERANIACEAE

Geranium nepalense Sweet

Stem prostrate, diffuse, softly hairy. Flowers purple ; petals notched.

Common at 1,025 m. (B. 943).

Geranium sp.

Stem prostrate, branches long. Flowers blue, 33 cm. in diam. ;

sepal tips pointed, margin membraneous, hairy. Common. Specimens

collected at 2,750 m. (B. 1021).

OXALIDACEAE

Biophytum reinwardtii Walp.

Stem simple. Leaflets 10-20 pairs. Flowers orange-yellow.

Capsules equalling the sepals. Abundant in the open at 1,525 m.

(B. 1090). ?

BALSAMINACEAE

*Impatiens arguta Hk. f. & Th.

Stem erect. Leaves all alternate. Flowers white, of medium size.

Sepals 4; lip spurred. Occasional at 1,985 m. (B. 965).

I. bicornuta Wall. ex Roxb.

Flowers rose-purple. Sepals minute, orbicular, gland tipped. Lip

sigmoidly incurved. Rare. (No number). |

I. discolor DC.

Leaves all alternate. Inflorescence of spreading peduncled few

flowered racemes. Flowers white with a violet tint. Sepals entire,

margins eglandular. Occasional at 1,985 m. (B. 956).

*T., falcifera Hk. f.

Leaves all alternate, serrate. Inflorescence much shorter than the

leaves. Flowers yellow; basal lobe of wings very small, distal much

broader than long. Common from 1,832 m. to 3,350 m. (B. 1006,

1048, 1056, 1119).

*T, laevigata Wall. ex Hk. f.

Glabrous shrubs. Leaves alternate, also opposite. Flowers large ;

bracts large, herbaceous. Sepals 4. (No number).

I. prainii Hk. f.

Leaves all alternate, linear-lanceolate. Inflorescence of spreading

few-flowered racemes. Flowers rose-pink ; sepals entire. Occasional

at 1,680m. (B. 1107). :

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 255

*J, radiata Hk. f. & Th.

Leaves alternate. Flowers small, yellow ; flower buds globose, plane

of mouth of expanded flower horizontal. Common at 1,985 m.

(B. 955).

I. racemosa DC.

Leaves alternate. Flowers small, yellow. Flower buds exclusive

of spur globose. Abundant at 1,068 m. (B. 984).

I. uncipetala C. B. Clarke (=I. scabrida Wall. p.p.)

Leaves all alternate. Inflorescence much shorter than the leaves.

Flowers bright yellow. Basal lobe of wing spurred in the sinus. Rare.

Specimens collected at 2,440 m. (B. 1113).

I. sulcata Wall.

Leaves opposite or pseudo-verticillate. Flowers of medium size,

rose-purple. Bracts broad. Basal lobe of wings spurred. Lip saccate,

Rare. Specimens collected at 3,055 m. (B. 1014).

MELIACEAE

Cipadessa baccifera (Roth) Miq. (=C. fruticosa BI.)

Small tree. Panicles with long peduncles. Flowers white. Fruits

scarlet. Common at 916m. (B. 971).

AQUIFOLIACEAE

*Tlex fragilis Hk. f.

A small tree with brittle branches. Leaves deep green, membraneous.

Fruits red. Collected in fruit at 3,665 m. (B. 1061).

VITACEAE

Tetrastigma serrulatum Planch. (= Vitis capriolata D. Don)

A large climber with leaves 5-foliate. Very common all over the area

traversed.

SAPINDACEAE

Cardiospermum halicacabum Linn.

Climbing glabrous herb. Flowers small, white in long stalked corymbs

having a pair of coiled tendrils at the base. Capsule globose, 3-cornered.

Common at 1,220 m. (B. 1103).

254 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

ACERACEAE

* Acer campbellii Hk. f. & Th. ex Brandis

A tall tree. Leaves deeply cut, 5-7-lobed, glabrescent; petioles

reddish. Flowers white. Occasional at 3,665 m. (B. 1064).

* A, papilio King

A medium sized tree found above 3,054 m. Leaves palmate, 5-7-

lobed, soft and often hanging downwards. Abundant at 3,665 m.

(B. 1065).

ANACARDIACEAE

Rhus parviflora Roxb.

A shrub covered with red-brown tomentum. Flowers yellow-green

in hairy terminal panicles. Very common, forming a scrub at 916 m.

(B. 937).

R. javanica Linn. ( = R. semialata Murr.)

Tree, common in old cultivations. Leaves pinnate, leaflets tomentose

below. Flowers yellow-green. Occasional. (No number).

PAPILIONACEAE

Atylosia mollis Benth.

Shrub, densely tomentose. Stems long and twining. Flowers yellow.

Occasional at 1,375 m. (B. 1083).

Crotalaria albida Heyne ex DC.

A small prostrate undershrub. Flowers pale yellow ; petals equalling

sepals. Common at 916 m. (B. 938).

Crotalaria evolvuloides Wight ex. Wt. & Arn.

Stem usually 3 m.; much branched, finely silky. Leaves shortly

stalked. Flowers yellow. Common above 1,830 m. (B. 1068). |

Desmodium dioicum (Buch.-Ham.) DC.

A small shrub with blue flowers. Abundant along slopes at 1,220 m.

(B. 1104).

D. floribundum Sweet

Erect shrub, densely pubescent. Flowers blue in densely crowded

racemes ; bracts large. Common at 1,985 m. (B. 951).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 255

D. microphyllum DC. (= D. parvifolium DC.)

A small shrub with stem tufted. Leaflets ovate. Flowers purple ;

calyx densely hairy. Abundant between 916 m. and 3,665 m. (B. 935,

1045, 1054). |

D. oxyphyllum Prain [= D. racemosum (Thunbg.) DC.]

Small scandent shrub. Flowers light violet. Occasional at 1,985 m.

(B. 950).

D. triflorum (Linn.) DC.

A small shrub with prostrate stem. Leaflets obovate. Flowers

bright blue. Common in open grassy situations at 1,985 m. (B. 962).

Eriosema chinense Vogel

Stem generally :4 m.; woody. Leaves 1-3-foliate. Flowers rose-

pink. Rare. Specimens collected at 916 m. (B. 939).

Lespedeza stenocarpa Maxim

Shrubby, densely pubescent. Leaflets obovate, upper surface nearly

glabrous, lower covered with white silky hairs. Flowers pink.

Abundant in shade at 3,054 m. (B. 1055).

Parochetus communis Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

A hairy herb ; stem prostrate, rooting at the nodes. Flowers light

purple. Occasional at 2,748 m. (B. 1020, 1120). :

CAESALPINIACEAE

Cassia dimidiata Baker

Glabrous herb. Leaflets 50-100. Flowers yellow, axillary, solitary.

Stamens4or5. Rareat1,220m. (B.970). This species is distinguished

from Cassia mimosoides L. in having fewer stamens—C. mimosoides has

10 stamens ; besides the flowers are in clusters of 2 or 3.

ROSACEAE

Agrimonia eupatorium Linn. |

A hairy herb. Lower leaves with leaflets very unequal. Flowers

yellow; bracts 3-cleft, bracteoles 3-toothed. Common at 1,832 m.

(B. 1049).

Neillia thyrsiflora D. Don

Shrub with flowers light pink. Calyx with glandular hairs. Rare

at 916m. (B. 977).

256 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Potentilla fulgens Wall. ex Hook.

Herb with robust stem. Leaves with lower surface silvery tomentose.

Flowers yellow. Petals equalling the calyx. Abundant at 3,054 m.

(B. 1071).

P. kleiniana Wt. & Arn.

Stem diffuse, spreading. Leaves with 3 or 5 leaflets. Flowers

yellow. Common at 3,054 m. (B. 1072, 1112).

Prinsepia utilis Royle

Glabrous shrub. Spines often leaf-bearing. Flowers white. Abun-

dant at 2,440 m. (B. 1066).

Rubus fockeanus Kurz

Stem procumbent. Leaflets not shining above. Flowers white.

Abundant at 2,748 m. (B. 1023).

Sorbus foliolosa (Wall.) Spach. ( = Pyrus foliolosa Wall.)

Small tree. Leaves and inflorescence covered with reddish tomentum.

Abundant at 3,664 m. (B. 1062).

SAXIFRAGACEAE

Astilbe rivularis Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Herb erect, hairy. Flowers small, yellowish green in panicles. Rare

at 1,832 m. (B. 1039).

Parnassia nubicola Wall. ex Wight

A glabrous herb with perennial rootstock. Flowers white; petals

entire or slightly jaggy. Rare at 3,522 m. (B. 990).

Saxifraga hookeri Engl. & Irms. ( =: S. corymbosa Hk. f. & Th.)

Stem 7 to 15cm. Cauline leaves sessile, entire and clasping the stem.

Flowers small, yellow. Only one specimen collected at 3,216 m.

(B. 1127).

S. brachypoda D. Don var. fimbriata (Wall.) Engl. & Irms.

= §. fimbriata Wall. ex DC.)

Stem unbranched. Leaves lanceolate, shining. Flowers yellow.

Abundant at 3,522 m. (B. 986, 1115).

*S, nutans Hk. f. & Th.

Stem 12 to 20 cm.; densely glandular. Radical leaves petioled,

cauline sessile. Flowers yellow; sepals with black glands. Common

at 3,522 m. (B. 989).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 2547

S. strigosa Wall. ex Ser.

Stem 10 to 20 cm.; rigid, whole plant strigote. Flowers white ;

sepals slightly united. Abundant at 3,522m. (B. 988, 1116).

MELASTOMACEAE

Osbeckia nepalensis Hk. f.

A small shrub with adpressed hairs. Petals 4. Rarely seen, at 916 m.

(B. 931).

O. truncata D. Don ex Wt. & Arn.

Stem 10 to 30 cm. high ; 4-angled. Leaves elliptic, turning black on

drying. Flowers purple, 1.2 cm. in diam. Abundant in open grassy

situations in pine forests at 1,068 m. (B. 1102).

Oxyspora paniculata DC.

A very handsome shrub with flowers red or pink. Abundant at 916m.

(B. 978).

Sonerila stricta Hk. f.

Stem 15 to 30 cm. ; erect covered with long spreading hairs. Flowers

purple. Abundant at 1,220m. (B. 1093).

CUCURBITACEAE

Edgaria darjeelingensis C. B. Clarke

A large scandent herb; tendrils bifid. Flowers yellow. Occasional

at 2,750 m. (B. 1017).

UMBELLIFERAE

Bupleurum tenue Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Herb 0.5 m.; leaves sessile. Umbels on short lateral branches.

Flowers white. Abundant at 1,068 m. extending up to 3,664 m.

(B. 940, 1052).

Heracleum sublineare C. B. Clarke

Stem about | m. tall. Leaves bipinnate, pinnae lanceolate serrate.

Flowers white, outer large ; petals pinkish at the base. Abundant at

3,360 m. (B. 1003).

*Qenanthe thomsonii C. B. Clarke

Deep-rooted plants with stem weak and diffuse. Leaves 4-5-pinnate,

15 cm. long. Common at 1,527 m. (B. 942).

258 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Pimpinella diversifolia DC.

Pubescent, stem about 1 m. Leaflets variable. Flowers white. Fruits

roughly pubescent. Rare. Specimens collected at 2,440 m. (B. 1129).

*Pleurospermum apiolens C. B. Clarke

Stem 2-50 cm. Leaves pinnate, pinnae pinnatifid with 3-7 lobes,

Flowers white. Plants slightly aromatic. Rare. Specimens collected

at 3,054 m. (B. 1011).

Selinum tenuifolium Wall. ex C. B. Clarke

Stem about 60 cm. tall. Leaves large, finely divided. Very aromatic.

Common at 3,054 m. (B. 1013).

CAPRIFOLIACEAE

Viburnum stellulatum Wall. var. glabrescens C. B. Clarke

A large shrub. Leaves glabrescent except on the nerves beneath.

Corymbs terminal, with a few hairs. Flowers white; fruits reddish.

Very common between 1,375 m. and 1,985 m. (B. 946, 948).

RUBIACEAE

Galium hirtiflorum Req.

Stem weak, shining. Leaves in whorls of 4. Flowers minute, red.

Abundant 1,375 m. (B. 945).

Spermacoce stricta Linn.

Herb 15 to 30cm. ; branched. Inflorescence dense flowered. Flowers

minute. Abundant at 1,375 m. (B. 1087).

VALERIANACEAE

Valeriana hardwickii Wall.

Rootstock slightly thickened, fibrous. Leaves pinnate, leaflets

lanceolate. Flowers in axillary compound corymbs, white. Occasional

at 1,985 m. (B. 957).

DIPSACACEAE

Dipsacus inermis Wall. ex Roxb.

Stout erect herb, prickly. Leaves opposite, pinnatifid. Flower

heads several, flowers yellowish white. Abundant at 3,360m. (B. 1004).

Triplostegia glandulifera Wall. ex DC.

_ Erect herb, glandular. Leaves pinnatifid. Flowers very small,

light pink. Common at 3,054 m. (B. 1009).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 259

COMPOSITEAE

Anaphalis contorta Hk. f.

Stem prostrate, branches woody below. Leaves cottony on both

surfaces. Heads in dense corymbose clusters. Very common at 3,216 m.

(B. 1079).

A. triplinervis C. B. Clarke

A robust plant densely clothed with white wool. Leaves cobwebby

above, amplexicaul. Occasional at 1,985 m. becoming very common at

3,216 m. (B. 958, 1080).

Aster tricephalus C. B. Clarke

Stem erect, puberulous. Leaves obovate-spathulate, amplexicaul.

Heads 1-3; florets blue. Achenes with red pappus. Occasional at 3,360 m.

(B. 1000).

Chrysanthellum indicum DC.

Herb on shingly soil, prostrate. Flowers yellow. Rare at 1,220 m.

(B. 929).

Cremanthodium oblongatum C. B. Clarke

A robust plant. Leaves 5-7 cm. in diam. ; with coarsely reticulated

nerves. Heads yellow. Abundant at 3,522 m. (B. 995).

Erigeron bellidioides Benth. ex C. B. Clarke

Herb, stem slender, grooved. Heads 1 cm. in diam. ; few, purple.

Common at 1,985 m. (B. 952).

Eupatorium glandulosum H. B. & K.

Herb with opposite leaves. Very well established on red soil. It

has become very troublesome to the cultivators, as it encroaches into the

cultivated terraces. Popularly known as ‘ban mara’. Noticed to be

very luxuriant between 1,375 m. to 1,832 m. (B. 1097).

Inula nervosa Wall. ex DC.

Perennial pubescent, stem branched. Leaves sub-sessile. Heads

mostly corymbose, florets light blue. Abundant at 2,135 m. (B. 1044).

*Tactuca macrantha C. B. Clarke

Stem about 50 cm. tall, stout. Leaves pinnatifid. Heads nodding,

florets blue. Abundant in shade at 3,360 m. (B. 996).

Microglossa albescens Benth. ex C. B. Clarke

A stout erect herb. Leaves shortly petioled, hoary beneath. Heads

1 cm. in diam., loosely clustered ; florets blue ; pappus red. Abundant at

3,054 m. (B. 1010).

360 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 58 (3)

Mpyriactis wallichii Less. ex DC.

Erect herb, roughly hairy. Leaves ovate or lanceolate, coarsely

toothed. Heads minute. Ray florets white, disc florets yellow.

Occasional at 2,440 m. (B. 1070).

Senecio alatus Wall. ex DC.

Stem short or long, pubescent. Leaves ovate, petiole winged. Heads

many, forming terminal panicles. Flowers yellow. Common in shade

at 3,054 m. (B. 1015).

S. graciliflorus DC.

Stem about 1 m. tall, grooved. Leaves membranous, pinnately

lobed. Heads numerous, drooping; florets yellow. Gregarious at

3,522 am. GB: 991).

Vernonia teres Wall. ex DC.

Stem rigid, scabrid. Leaves obovate or obovate-lanceolate, scabrid

on both surfaces. Florets alltubular, purple. Occasional in Pine forests

at 1,068 m. (B. 1082).

CAMPANULACEAE

Campanula colorata Wall. (including C. canescens & C. cana)

Stem hairy or tomentose. Leaves lanceolate, sessile. Flowers

many in panicles, pale lilac, or white. Occasional from 1,680 m. to

2,443 m. (B. 963, 1111, 1128).

C. argyrotricha Wall. ex DC.

Stem procumbent, hairy. Leaves sessile, toothed, or nearly entire,

softly silvery hairy. Flowers blue, long stalked ; corolla deeply lobed.

Occasional at 1,832 m. (B. 1041).

* Campanumaea inflata C. B. Clarke

Stem slightly twining. Leaves alternate or opposite, deeply cordate.

Flowers light blue, evil smelling. Rare. Specimens collected at 2,443 m.

(B. 1047).

Cynanthus hookeri C. B. Clarke ,

Stem 8-10 cm. high, many branches from one root. Leaves ovate,

hirsute. Specimens collected in fruit. Rare at 3,664 m. (B. 1057).

tC. linifolius Wall. ex C. B. Clarke

Herb, 8-30. cm. ; sparsely hairy. Leaves sessile, oblong, margins

slightly recurved. Flowers blue. Abundant along slopes at 3,522 m.

(B. 992).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 261

C. lobatus Wall. ex Benth.

Deep-rooted, prostrate stem glabrous below, hairy above. Leaves

with a very short petiole, pilose. Flowers blue, corolla hairy at the

throat. Very common along slopes at 3,522 m. (B. 994).

Lobelia succulenta Bl. ( = L. affinis Wall.)

Stem prostrate, much branched, pubescent. Leaves ovate, pilose on

the nerves. Flowers pink. Common at 1,525 m. (B. 1092, 1109).

L. pyramidalis Wall.

Stem robust, much branched, hollow. Leaves linear-lanceolate,

upper leaves sessile. Flowers pinkish-purple. Rare. Specimens

collected at 2,440 m. (B. 1033).

ERICACEAE

Andromedia formosa Wall. ( = Pieris formosa D. Don) —

A small tree with leaves lanceolate, acuminate. Flowers white,

Common at 2,443 m. (B. 976). |

Gaultheria trichophylla Royle

Small prostrate rigid shrub. Stem hirsute ; leaves sessile, long hairs

on the margins. Flowers red or pink. Abundant at 3,665 m.

(B. 1051).

SYMPLOCACEAE

Symplocos theaefolia D. Don

_ A tall tree about 15 m. tall. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, faintly serru-

late, coriaceous. Flowers yellowish white. Abundant at 2,290 m.

(B. 1026).

GENTIANACEAE

Crawfurdia speciosa Wall.

Twiner ; leaves opposite, base cuneate. Flowers blue. Common at

2,748 m. (B. 1019).

Gentiana ornata Wall. ex Griseb.

Root elongate, branches many and curved. Flowers blue ; corolla

funnel-shaped. Occasional at 3,665 m. (B. 1059, 1126).

Halenia elliptica D. Don

Erect glabrous herb, stem 4-angled, slightly winged. Flowers pale

blue ; corolla lobe produced downwards into a straight spur. Abundant

at 2,443 m. (B. 1037).

262 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. $5 (2)

Swertia angustifolia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Stem $ to 1 m. tall, branched, narrowly winged. Leaves linear-

lanceolate. Flowers yellow. Calyx and corolla 4-lobed, corolla with

one gland on each lobe. Common from 1,374 m. to 1,985 m.

(B. 928, 953).

S. angustifolia var. pulchella Burkill

Plants about 30 cm. tall. Sepals shorter than the petals. Abundant

at 1,965 m. (B. 954, 1121).

S. angustifolia var. wallichiana Burkill

Plants tall. Sepals linear-lanceolate, exceeding the petals or equalling

them, very conspicuous. Common at 1,832 m. (B. 1028).

S. dilatata C. B. Clarke

Stem about 3 m. tall. Leaves lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers blue.

Calyx and corolla 5-lobed ; corolla shorter than calyx. Corolla with a

complete ring at its base, one gland oneach lobe. Abundant at 3,360 m.

(B. 998).

S. nervosa Wall. ex Griseb.

Stem 4 to 1 m. tall, 4-angled, slightly winged. Leaves elliptic-lanceo-

late. Flowers yellowish green. Calyx and corolla 4-lobed ; corolla much

smaller than the calyx. Corolla purple-dotted, one gland on each lobe,

large. Rare at 1,068 m. (B. 980).

S. purpurascens Wall.

Stem 4 to 1 m. tall, branches spreading. Leaves oblong. Flowers

purple ; calyx and corolla 5-lobed ; corolla bigger than calyx ; corolla

with a dark complete ring at its base ; one gland on each lobe. Common

at 2,748 m. (B. 979, 1024). |

CONVOLVULACEAE

Ipomaea eriocarpa R. Br.

Hairy twiner; leaves lanceolate, deeply cordate. Flowers small,

pink. Common at 610 m. (B. 1106).

I, quamoclit Linn. |

A slender glabrous twiner. Leaves pinnate, segments numerous,

linear. Flowers crimson. Abundant at 916 m. (B. 927).

Porana stenoloba Kurz

An extensive pubescent climber. Leaves shallowly cordate, minutely

hairy. Flowers blue. Rare. Specimens collected at 2,137 m.

(B. 1076).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 263

SCROPHULARIACEAE

Melasma arvense (Benth.) Pennell ( i Alectra indica Benth.)

Erect rigid herb, scabrid. Leaves sessile, ovate-lanceolate. Flowers

yellow, bracts longer than the flowers. Rare at 1,070 m. (B. 985).

Lindernia anagallis (Burm.) Pennell ( = B. veronicaefolia Spr.)

Stem creeping, branches long and slender. Leaves oblong-lanceolate.

Flowers light blue. Occasional at 1,220 m. (B. 1125).

L. ruelloides (Colsm.) Mukerjee ( = Bonnaya reptans Spr.)

Prostrate creeping herb. Leaves in distant pairs. Flowers light

purple. Occasional at 1,527 m. (B. 1091).

Lindenbergia grandiflora (Buch.-Ham.) Benth.

A half climbing rambling herb, softly hairy. Leaves pubescent on

both surfaces. Flowers bright yellow. Rare. Specimens collected at

1,975 m. (B. 982).

L. indica (L.) O. Ktz. ( = L. urticaefolia Lehm.)

Stem 10-20 cm. high, branched, hairy. Leaves broadly ovate, crenate-

serrate. Flowers yellow. Occasional at 1,375 m. (B. 1095),

L. ruderalis Voigt

Pubescent herb with aromatic odour. Leaves ovate. Flowers blue.

Occasional at 1,375 m. (B. 1096).

Pedicularis bifida (Buch.-Ham.) Pennell ( = P. carnosa Wall.)

Herbs roughly pubescent. Leaves alternate, oblong, crenate.

Flowers pink-purple. Occasional at 1,832 m. (B. 1036).

P. gracilis Wall. ex Benth.

Stem much branched, with 4 lines of hairs. Leaves whorled, pinnati-

fid. Flowers pink-purple ; calyx irregularly toothed ; corolla tip straight.

Occasional at 2,443 m. and abundant at 3,054 m. (B. 987, 1035, 1114,

22):

P. longiflora Rudolph

Stem 3-20 cm. ; hairless ; radical leaves many, pinnately cut. Flowers

rose-pink ; bracts leafy ; corolla tube 4-5.5 cm. Occasional at 3,360 m.

(B. 1002).

P. regeliana Prain

Small, rhizomatous stem ; leaves pinnatesect, segments 4-7 pairs.

Flowers axillary, long pedicellate, purple. Posterior corolla lobe

3-lobuled, lobes rounded. Rare at 3,665 m. (B. 1053).

264 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Striga euphrasioides (Vahl.) Benth.

Scabrid herb ; leaves linear. Flowers white and distant. Common

at 1,527 m. (B. 1086).

OROBANCHACEAE

Aeginetia indica Linn.

Parasite ; scapes several, 15-30 cm. with a few scales at the base.

Flowers solitary, corolla purple. Abundant on the roots of Agave at

1,068 m. (B. 947).

LENTIBULARIACEAE

Utricularia bifida Linn.

Small herbs, scape 5-10 cm. erect. Flowers solitary, yellow ; lower

lip of corolla 0.5 cm., spur curved. Occasional at 1,220 m. in rice fields.

(B. 969).

GESNERIACEAE

Chirita urticaefolia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Stem 20-40 cm.; upper part hairy. Leaves opposite, unequal.

Flowers purple, corolla funnel-shaped. Rare. Specimens collected

at 13832 m1. (Be 1031):

Rhynchoglossum obliquum BI.

A succulent herb, usually 4 m. tall. Leaves alternate, unequal sided.

Flowers generally blue, rarely white ; corolla tube cylindric, contracted

at the mouth. Occasional at 1,220 m. (B. 986).

ACANTHACEAE

Aechmanthera tomentosa Nees var. wallichii C. B. Clarke

Small shrub, stem and leaves glabrate, sparsely hairy. Flowers blue.

Occasional at 916 m. (B. 983).

Echinacanthus attenuatus Nees

Erect herb, generally 4 m. tall ; pubescent upwards. Leaves broadly

elliptic. Flowers dark purple. Common in pine forests at 1,070m.

(B. 1101, 1108).

Oe ea

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 265

+ Strobilanthes atropurpureus Nees

Stem 15-30 cm. tall ; pubescent ; older parts viscid, 4-angled. Flowers,

blue ; corolla tube light blue or even white, curved, broadly dilated. Rare.

In swampy places at 1,832 m. (B. 1118).

* Tarphochlamys affinis (Griff.) Brem. (= Strobilanthes acrocephala

T. Anders.)

Shrubby ; stem hirsute. Leaves ovate, crenate, hirsute. Flower

light purple. Abundant at 1,832 m. (B. 1043).

VERBENACEAE

Verbena officinalis Linn.

An erect glabrous herb. Leaves pinnatifid, upper leaves sessile,

3-partite. Flowers small, lilac. Occasional at 2,443 m. (B. 1069),

LABIATAE

Calamintha umbrosa Fisch. & Mey.

A small procumbent herb, laxly hairy. Leaves ovate, serrate.

Flowers in axillary whorls, light blue. Common at 2,139 m. (B. 1078).

Coleus forskohlii Brig. ( = Coleus barbatus Benth.)

Herb 30-60 cm. high. Leaves ovate or obovate, densely pubescent on

both surfaces. Flowers blue. Occasional at 916 m. (B. 972).

Colquhounia coccinea Wall. var. vestita Prain

Erect or semi-scandent about 14 m. tall ; densely tomentose. Flowers

orange-yellow. Abundant at 2,440 m. (B. 1022, 1075).

Elsholtzia blanda Benth.

Undershrub, puberulous. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate. Flowers white,

sweet smelling. Abundant at 2,440 m. (B. 1034).

E. polystachya Benth.

Bushy plants, branches hoary tomentose. Leaves lanceolate or elli-

ptic-lanceolate. Flowers light yellow, fragrant. Common at 3,054 m.

(B. 1016). —

K. strobilifera Benth.

Herbs small ; leaves ovate, sparsely hairy on both surfaces. Flowers

pinkish. Occasional at 3,664 m. (B. 1060).

Geniosporum coloratum (D. Don) Briq. ( = G. strobiliferum Wall.)

_ Erect herbs 60-100 cm. high, puberulous. Flowers white ; corolla

with purple veins. (No number, no data).

266 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL UIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Micromeria biflora Benth.

Small herb with tufted stiff branches. Leaves sessile, ovate or oblong.

Flowers purplish, Common on grassy slopes and meadows above

1,985 m. (B. 961).

Plectranthus striatus Benth. var. graciliflora (Hk. f.). Mukerjee

Small herb, pubescent ; leaves scabrid. Flowers purple. Occasional

at 1,525 m. (B. 1036, 1085)..

Scutellaria discolor Coleb:

Creeping rootstock bearing erect branches. Leaves broadly elliptic.

Flowers pale blue. Occasional at 916 m. (B. 932).

Stachya melissaefolia Benth.

Slender erect herb, tomentose. Leaves sessile, ovate or oblong.

Flowers pink. Occasional at 3,054 m. (B. 1012).

POLYGONACEAE

Polygonum paniculatum Bl.

Tall scandent shrub, branches flexuous. Leaves elliptic ovate.

Flowers white in large panicles. Abundant at 2,440 m. becoming oc-

casional at 3,360 m. (B. 1008, 1046).

P. viviparum Linn.

Rootstock woody, stem 8-22 cm. ; slender. Leaves coriaceous. Spikes

erect, solitary ; flowers pink. Abundantin open grassy slopes at 3,522 m.

-(B. 993).

LAURACEAE

*Neolitsea zeylanica (Nees) Merr.

A small tree with leaves elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, lateral nerves

2-4 on either side, nerves impressed. Occasional at 2,440 m. (B. 1067).

THYMELEACEAE

+ Wikstroemia canescens Meissn.

Shrub about # m. tall, silky pubescent. Leaves alternate, oblong-

lanceolate. Flowers yellow in terminal panicles. Very common at

1,985 m. (B. 949).

URTICACEAE

Lecanthus peduncularis (Wall. ) Wedd. (= L. wightii Wedd.)

Succulent herb, stem 30 to 60 cm. tall, robust. Leaves opposite,

unequal. Receptacle 2-4 cm. in diam. ; stalks 22 to 30 cm. long. Com-

mon in moist places at 1,068 m. (B. 974).

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN E. NEPAL 267

Pouzolzia viminea Wedd.

An erect shrub with leaves alternate, toothed. Flowers in small

dense clusters. Male perianth 4-partite. Rare at 1,832 m. (B. 1042).

ULMACEAE

Trema politoria Planch.

Small tree with leaves alternate, hard and very rough. Flowers

unisexual in small axillary cymes. Fruit a globose berry. Occasional

at 916 m. (B. 936). ca)

BETULACEAE

Alnus nepalensis D. Don

Tree with leaves elliptic-lanceolate. Female flowers in axillary

racemes or 4-8. Bracts of the fruiting spike forming a woody cone.

Abundant as a secondary growth on old cultivation terraces at 1,832 m.

(B. 1040). |

ORCHIDACEAE

Anthogonium gracile Lindl.

Terrestrial. Pseudobulbs about 2.5cm. in diam. Scape equalling

the leaves. Bracts small; flowers rose-pink ; limb of lip spotted deep

red. Occasional at 1,525 m. (B. 944).

Habenaria plantaginea Lindl.

Terrestrial. Scapigerous spike 5-7.5 cm. Flowers pale white; lip

flabelliform, 3-lobed ; spur as long as the ovary. Rare at 916 m. (B. 926).

*H. urceolata C. B. Clarke

Terrestrial with only one leaf. Leaf elliptic-lanceolate. Raceme

5-7 cm. long and curved. Flowers white, lip recurved, spur inflated.

Rare at 3,665 m. (B. 1050).

Herminium angustifolium Benth.

Terrestrial. Root of two ovoid tubers. Flowering stem about 4 m.

erect, leafy. Flowers small, greenish, crowded. Rare at 1,068 m.

(B. 981).

+H. gramineum Lindl.

Terrestrial. Plants small—5-15 cm. tall. Spike lax-flowered ; flowers

pink. Occasional in open grassy places at 1,985 m. (B. 959).

268 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY; Vol. $5 (2)

Satyrium nepalense D. Don

Terrestrial. Roots tuberous. Flowering stem about 4m. with usually

two leaves near the base. _ Flowers small, pink, fragrant ; spurs 2, as

long as the ovary. Abundant at 1,985 m. (B. 967). |

Spiranthes australis Lindl.

Terrestrial. Roots tuberous. Flowering stem 15-45 cm. tall. Leaves

linear-lanceolate, sheathing. Flowers very small, pink, crowded in a

spiral ; lip oblong, base saccate. Abundant in open grassy slopes at

1,985 m. (B. 960).

DIOSCOREACEAE

Dioscorea sativa Linn.

Stem slender, purple. Leaves alternate, also opposite, variable in

size, deeply cordate. Male spikes almost capillary, flowers crowded.

Female spike pendulous. Abundant at 916 m. (B. 933). Probably it

is an escape.

LILIACEAE

Allium wallichii Kunth

Bulbs small and clustered. Leaves lanceolate. Scape robust,

3-angled. Flowers purple. Common under shade at 2,440 m. (B. 1027).

Paris polyphylla Sm.

Glabrous herb with thick creeping rootstock. Leaves arranged in a

whorl at the summit of the stem. Flower solitary, outer perianth green,

leaf-like, inner yellowish green. Capsule globose, seeds scarlet. (No

number).

Evolution: the Taxonomer’s Approach

R. B. SEYMOUR SEWELL

ParRT If

[Continued from Vol. 35 (1) : 36]

THE FUNCTION OF THE GENE IN EVOLUTION

The Mendelists of the present day, or at least the majority of them,

- appear to assume that the gene is the sole cause of variation. As Simpson

has pointed out ‘you can establish any rule you like if you start with

the rule and then interpret the evidence accordingly’. Wilmott? (1950,

p. 45) in his lecture on ‘Systematic Botany from Linnaeus to Darwin’,

given at the Linnean Society, remarks: ‘I would remind you that we still

_ have no understanding whatever of the nature of the control by which

one seed becomes a Poppy and another an Antirrhinum. And we discuss

the changes in this control system of which we know nothing, calling

them mutations and saying that they are caused by changes in certain

knots in chromosomes—though in Heaven’s name HOW !!’ In spite

of the great mass of research work that has been carried out by the Muta-

tionists (and at one time in Cambridge one was not considered to be a

zoologist unless one was carrying out experiments on the crossing of

various varieties of rabbits, chickens, mice, or insects) all that they have

succeeded in doing is discovering the mechanism by which certain rela-

tively small characters could be transmitted from parent to offspring ;

but in no instance that I know of did they show that the genes could

produce any fundamental change in an organism. What they did show

very conclusively was that all their experiments on Drosophila, for instance,

can produce only further examples of Drosophila, which vary in small

and relatively unimportant characters, such as pink eye, clubbed hairs,

curled wingtip, etc., many of which changes are either lethal or would

be such a handicap in the struggle for existence that the end result would

be lethal.

As early as 1901 Adami”, whose work seems to have been ignored by

subsequent workers, remarks that ‘the curriculum of the past, as of the

1Wilmott, A. J., 1950. Lectures on the Development of Taxonomy. The

Linnean Society of London, London.

2 Adami, J. G., 1901. On Theories of Inheritance with special reference to the

Inheritance of Acquired Characters in Man. New York Medical Journal, June |.

270 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

present, lays too little stress upon the value of a broad biological training

as an aid in preparing us to discuss those special biological problems

which constitute medical study ... As a consequence the medical world

in general has to depend on the biologists proper—upon the zoologists

and botanists—for its views upon heredity.... The facts which they

have elicited have been of the greatest value. Without these facts we

would be nowhere, but the contending theories elaborated by them

(perhaps I should be last to make any such criticism) have been fearful

and wonderful, have started from morphological rather than physio-

logical conceptions... While they have appeared to collate and

harmonise the facts known at a given moment, new facts have caused them

to need modification’. This is particularly true of the Mendelian

Theory. At its first inception, that all morphological changes in an

organism were due to a change in a gene in the nucleus, one gene

controlling one character, the theory was most attractive ; but as our

knowledge increased it became necessary to change this conception and it

has now been postulated that in order to modify a single character and

render the modification hereditary it is necessary to invoke the action of

a number of genes and further to assume that a mutating gene may

produce effects in several different organs of the body and finally that the

effect of a gene may be modified by the action of other genes.

Theoretically, the simplest case of the action of a gene is stated to be

exhibited by the agglutination action of the anti-bodies produced ina

rabbit by the injection of human blood corpuscles. According to

Haldane’ (1954, p. 19) the agglutinogens are determined by two allelo-

morphic genes L™ and LN and he states that ‘no treatment has ever

led to the appearance or disappearance of either of these substances.

They appear to depend wholly on nature and not on nurture. No

nurtural difference will as yet abolish either of them without killing the

person concerned... We can say with great confidence that only one

gene is concerned’. He further states that ‘no fowl has corpuscular

antigens not found on the corpuscles of one of its parents’, and yet a

little later he also states that ‘Irwin (1947) found that hybrids between

several species of dove and pigeon had corpuscular antigens which were

not present in either parental species along with all the antigens of both

parents. Of course the genes were in a very abnormal environment.

This observation is a conclusive disproof of the hypothesis that a particular

type of gene always makes a particular antigen and that no antigens are

made otherwise’.

Sinnott and Dunn? (1935, p. 44) claim that “genes cannot act alone in

development. This conclusion is now embodied in the familiar concept of

"2 #Haldane, J. B. S., 1954. THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF GENETICS, George Allen and

Unwin, London.

2 Sinnott, E. W., and Dunn, L. C., 1935. Toei of genes on the development

of size and form. Biological Reviews Vol. 10, No. 2,

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 271

Genic Balance, which assumes that the final characters are the results of

interaction among all the genes’ and they add that ‘this idea clearly is

the opposite of that which obtained during the period when genetics

consisted chiefly of Mendelian analysis, for then segregation in transmis-

sion so impressed geneticists that they tended to carry this idea of the

separateness and independence of genes over into development, neglect-

ing the obvious fact that after the organism had been dissolved into such

mosaic it must somehow be put together into an integrated whole.’

Huxley (1942, p. 60) has stated that “genes may have their expression

altered by modifiers so as entirely to change their selective value as a

result of a change in the internal environment of the cell and these modi-

fiers are supposed to be themselves genes’.

Waddington? (1940, p. 85) in order to account for the production of

warped or bent bristles in Drosophila postulates the following

mechanism : “The first group of genes tends to shunt development into

some particular path either towards or away from bristle formation ;

the second group affects the quantity of material which is shunted ;

while the genes of the third group are part of the system which defines

the bristle development path’. So we are now asked to believe that

‘big genes have little genes upon their backs to bite em, and these again

have lesser genes and so ad infinitum. _

The final modification in the theory appears to be that the gene may

be affected by change in its environment. Not only does a gene by no

means always produce the same result, but it seems that its effect can be

modified and changed by external conditions. Fisher? (1935, p. 73)

wrote that ‘a large number of observations showed that the effects of

Mendelian factors can be largely modified by other heritable factors’. . .

(though so far as I understand the belief of the Mendelists, the only

heritable factors are the genes themselves). ‘Another way of putting

this is, that what we call the effect of a mutation should be regarded as

the reaction of the organism as a whole to that particular gene-

substitution, a reaction which naturally depends as much on the nature

of the organism as on that of the substitution concerned. Another way

of putting it is that the effects of a gene depend on the internal environ-

ment which the organism provides and in which it exerts its developmental

effects. In any case it is abundantly proved that the same gene-substitu-

tion produces very different effects in different organisms, and that the

effect of a Mendelian factor has frequently been much modified by inten-

tional or unintentional selection’.

1 Huxley, J. S., 1942. EVOLUTION. THE MODERN SYNTHESIS. George Allen and

Unwin.

2 Waddington, C. H., 1940. ORGANISERS AND GENES. Camb. University Press.

° Fisher, R. A., 1935.- Some results of an experiment on dominance in poultry,

with special reference to polydactyly. Proc. Linn. Soc. London 147th Session.

972 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

The Soviet School, according to Haldane (loc. cit., 1954, p. 105) appear

to think that mutation is often adaptive... ‘The evidence seems to be

against the view that such adaptive changes are at all common. This

may be simply because genes do not generally play a very direct part

in metabolic processes, and we do not know how to influence them’.

Because we do not know how to influence the gene, it does not by any

means follow that a change in the chemical composition of the external

surroundings, especially if this is of long duration, may not finally induce

a corresponding change in the chemical character of the gene, or perhaps

it would be more accurate to say of the enzyme which the gene represents.

Haldane (1954, p. 117) has pointed out that ‘the nucleus, which is the

part of the cell most shielded from the environment, contains those

biochemical ‘mechanisms’ in which change is least needed in response to

environmental changes, and this fact gives the cell a stability in the face

of external changes which it might otherwise lack’ ; and (loc. cit., p. 111)

he remarks: ‘To what extent genes are altered as a result of changed

metabolic processes is a question of fact and not of principle. . My own

opinion is that they are surprisingly stable.’

On the other hand, Dr A. E. Mourant, President of the Section H,

Anthropology, at the Meeting of the British Association for the Advance-

ment of Science in Sheffield, (The Advancement of Science Vol. 13,

No. 50, 1956) remarked that ‘We are on the one hand, using gene frequen-

cies as indices of relationship between populations and, on the other,

seeing them modified by the environment. Some genes, including

probably most of the blood-group genes, are influenced only very

slowly by the environment and are stable indications of relationship.

Others are more sensitive to the environment and so while easier to in-

vestigate physiologically and medically are less reliable as evidence of

distinct ancestry... It is likely that every gene is ultimately subject to

environmental control’. This conclusion would seem to be the exact

opposite of that reached by Haldane, as quoted above.

In certain instances it seems that a change in the external environment

may at once cause a corresponding change in the form and structure of

an organism; Hile’ (1936) has pointed out that ‘allometric growth

together with its alteration owing to seasonal differences in the food-

supply, etc., may induce form differences as great as some of those found

in named subspecies.’

But in other instances it may take an appreciable time and perhaps

even a series of generations before the effect becomes obvious. This

latter process would thus resemble what Haldane terms ‘training’ and

+ Hile, R., 1936. Summary of Investigations on the. Morphometry of the Cisco,

Leucichthys artediy etc. Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. 21 : 619.

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER'S APPROACH 273

which is now recognised as occurring in bacteria and protozoa. Haldane

(1954, p. 89) remarks, regarding bacteria, that ‘to my mind it has been

demonstrated quite conclusively that training occurs in some cases, that

is to say that an organism acquires a bio-chemical aptitude which it did

not formerly possess or that if it possessed it the rate at which the process

is performed is increased several thousand times’. He points out that,

even if this character were continued for several generations the geneticist

would not consider that he was dealing specifically with a genetical

phenomenon, since the modification might be handed on by the

persistence in the offspring of the enzyme that produced the change but

its amount being on the average halved at each generation and he points

out that the important question for a geneticist is not ‘Can a cell acquire a

new function and how long does it take to “‘train’’ it ?’ but ‘How quickly

is the training lost or “‘forgotten’’’ or ‘How quickly does the reversion

occur ?? What would seem to be far more important for the taxonomist

is the question “Does the change persist ?’

Bawden? (1956) states that ‘many examples could be quoted of

bacteria that acquired new properties such as the ability to produce

capsules and resistance to bacteriophages or antibodies, when they are

grown in an appropriate medium together with other bacteria that possess

these properties. There seems no a priori reason for such a phenomenon

to be unique to bacteria and comparable exchanges of cellular constituents

might also be expected in other systems of mixed cells when the cell walls

are incompletely developed’.

Thus, while agreeing with Huxley (loc. cit., p. 178, footnote) that we

can be certain that some, perhaps the majority, of described forms may

have a genic basis, it seems possible if we go no further that the differences

may at least in certain instances be due primarily to a change in

the chemical composition of the protoplasm of the cell itself, i.e. the

cytoplasm, and not vice versa. As Graham Cannon? (1956, p. 15)

has pointed out ‘a complicated protozoan with half a dozen different

types of cilia dividing asexually into two perfectly formed and identical

individuals, manufactures these elaborate structures and this can only

be by virtue of its chemical constitution. How it comes about we do

not know, but there is the fact that specific protoplasm in these protozoa

produces specific structures’. Moreover since these specific structures

are situated in perfectly definite parts of the organism the chemical

composition of these various parts must be specifically different.

1 Bawden, F. C., 1956, in the Discussion following Koprowski, H., Gail Theis,

and Lowe R., on Immunological tolerance in Tumour Studies. Proc. Roy. Soc.,

London, Vol. 146. p. 37.

2 Cannon, H. Graham, 1956. An Essay on Evolution and Modern Genetics.

Journ, Linn. Soc. London, Zoology, Vol. 43.

574. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

BIOCHEMISTRY AND THE MENDELIAN THEORY

At about the same time as the discovery of the Mendelian theory,

some scientists began to study the possibility that the inheritance of

characters from parent to offspring might be due to a chemical change in

the body.

Weismann? (1904, Vol. 2, p. 111) argued that if there were any inheri-

tance of functional modifications in the body ‘something, and that some-

thing material must be modified in the germ-plasm, if the vigorous use

of a group of muscles, or of a gland, or of a nerve cell, is to be communi-

cated to the germ, and not to the whole germ plasm, but only to so much

of it as is necessary to cause variation in the corresponding group of cells

in the child... One might, with Herbert Spencer, conceive of the germ-

plasm as consisting of homogeneous units which vary in the development

in accordance with the diverse regularly alternating influences to which

it is exposed from step to step and that therefore in each of these units of

very complex structure only a single molecule, or perhaps only a single

atom, would need to vary in order that in the course of development, the

resulting cell-group should appear in the rudiment in somewhat altered

strength’. Herbert Spencer seems to have got nearer to the present line

of thought than those Mendelists who regard a gene as a particle rather

than as a chemical molecule. Weismann, however, dismissed the view

that a chemical change could be the explanation of the different effects

of a gene: he remarks, ‘I do not believe that a chemical molecule, still

less an atom, is sufficient for this... It follows that the ‘“‘unit” is made

up of numerous ‘‘molecules or atoms” of which each, by dint of changes

it has undergone, causes particular parts of the body to vary in a definite

manner.’ On the other hand he writes of these ‘determinants’ as being

‘vital units of such a kind that they communicate to the cells and lineage

of cells into whose bodies they migrate from within the nucleus, a definite

vital power, that is an organisation which regulates the size, form, number

of divisions, and so on, of these cells’; he considers that ‘always how-

ever, they act in co-operation with the cell body into which they have

penetrated’ but he adds ‘I should object to the assumption that the ‘‘deter-

minants’’ of the germ are ready-made histological substances’. Since

he rejects both the chemical and the histological character of his deter-

minants it seems extremely difficult, if not impossible, to decide as to what

he actually thought these determinants were; he did, however, envisage

that external influences might modify the effect of the determinants and

that they would give rise under normal external influences to normal

parts, while under unusual influences, if these were not such as to prohibit

2 Weismann, A., 1904. THE EVOLUTION THEORY. Translated by J. Arthur

Thomson and Margaret Thomson. Edward Arnold, London.

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 215

development altogether, they may give rise to an abnormally formed part.

He (Vol. I, p. 349) refers to the work of Nageli and his use of the term

‘idioplasm’ to describe the hereditary substance of a cell, and he points

out that he (Nageli) sought it in the cell-substance not in the nucleus and

had a different theoretical conception of its mode of action. ‘It was he

however who conceived and established the idioplasm as the bearer of the

primary constituents or Anlagensubstanz, determining the whole structure

of the organism in contrast to the general nutritive protoplasm’.

Adami was primarily a pathologist and much of his argument is based

on a study of bacteria. He calls attention to the fact that chemists had

shown that in certain relatively simple chemical compounds more than

one form of construction of the molecule is known to exist and that this

difference confers certain different properties on the molecule: as an

example he cites malic acid, which is known to exist in laevogyrous and

dextrogyrous forms, as well as an inactive form, showing different proper-

ties both as regards their effect on polarised light and in their physiology ;

and he argues that, if these differences are due to an alteration of the

position of certain atoms in the molecule, a similar difference may be

caused in the much more complex protoplasmic chemical by an alteration

in the character or in the position in the molecule of a side chain. This

he terms his ‘Side-Chain Theory’, and in a later paper? gives the following

illustration of the composition of the proteid molecule or a part of it:

—NH—CH—CO—NH—CH—CO—NH—CH—CO—NH—CH—CO—NH—CH—Co

| | | |

H (CH;)s CH, (CH,) (CH.)5

GLYCOCOLL |

GH. C,H, OH COOH CH, NH,

LEUCIN TYROSINE ASPARTIC ACID LYSIN

According to Haldane (1954, p. 137) the correct formulae for the

above molecules are as follows

Glycine NH,—CH,—COOH

Leucine (CH3)2 CH—CH,—CH—COOH

NH,

Tyrosine HO—CH,—CH—COOH

NH.

Aspartic Acid HCOOH—CH,—CH—COOH

NH,

Lysine H.N (CH2)4—CH—COOH

NH,

1Adami, J. G., 1905 and 1909. A Lecture on Life. Delivered before the

McGill Medical Students’ Society in 1905 and redelivered with additions before the

Ottawa Valley McGill Graduates’ Association in 1909. MEDICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO

THE STUDY OF EVOLUTION. Duckworth and Co. London, 1918.

376 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

In his discussion on the Side Chain Theory Adami (1918, p. 146)

remarks that ‘if the circumstances affecting the filial idioplasm vary from

those affecting the parental, then these more unstable and loosely

connected side-chains will be the first to be influenced. The very act

of assimilation (the surrounding medium varying in its composition) may

lead to the substitution of other side-chains, to slight variation in the com-

position of the idioplasm. And the cell or individual developed or

controlled by the idioplasm will therefore vary from the parent form, while

the products of division of the second generation, containing as they do

this modified idioplasm, will exhibit the structural modification’.

Throughout Adami uses the term idioplasm to refer to the chromosomes,

but the same argument will apply equally well to the cytoplasm and it is

the cytoplasm that is the agency by which any abnormal constituents of

the external environment must be imbibed and assimilated for it is only

through the cytoplasm that any substance can reach the nucleoplasm of

the chromosomes.

Adami, writing in 1901, stated that ‘to the worker in bacteriology the

hesitancy on the part of biologists to accept environment as a most

important factor in originating variations is almost incomprehensible...

The argument that phenomena observed in unicellular organisms cannot

be applied to multicellular oganisms is, to say the least, a severely strained

argument. The extent to which environment acts as a factor may, it is

true, be diminished in the latter, but surely it cannot be regarded as eli-

minated and rendered negligible’. In 1912 (loc. cit., p. 28) he claims that

the bacteria are extraordinarily conservative in their form and that,

given the same environment, they will produce exactly similar progeny,

while on the other hand they are very susceptible to alteration in their

environment and will exhibit considerable alteration in their form.

‘Nothing’, he states, ‘in fact, is more easy to demonstrate than this capacity

on the part of bacteria as a class to vary according to alterations in

environment’ and, moreover, that “we can so arrange our experiment as

to obtain, not evidence of variation in many directions, the favourable

variant alone surviving, but evidence that organisms placed ina given

environment all vary in one identical direction with clock-work regularity’.

This is the exact opposite of the claim made by Simpson (vide supra, p. 25)

that organisms do not respond in a uniform way to a change in environ-

ment, unless he intended to imply that different organisms experiencing

identical changes in their environment do not exhibit identical modifica-

tions : but why should they and why should we expect them to do so?

Different organisms are composed of differing protoplasm and after a

small change in the chemical composition will still remain different,

except in such relatively rare instances in which a change in the protoplasm

of one organism causes its chemical composition to approximate to that

of some other organism, in which case we might well expect to find

EVOLUTION: THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH Ti

evidence of convergence. This hesitation in accepting the results of the

study of inheritance in bacteria as throwing any light on what goes on

in multi-cellular organisms still persists and Haldane’ (1954, p. 52)

remarks that ‘there is no reason to expect a priori that the general

principles of genetics should hold good for bacteria. If some of them

do so, that is very statisfactory, but it seems equally unwise to argue,

except in the most tentative way, from bacterial mutations to mutations

in other organisms, or from non-Mendelian behaviour in bacteria against

Mendelian behaviour in other organisms’. This warning seems to me

to be a sound one only so long as we adopt the view of the Mendelists,

who insist that the whole process of evolution is due solely to changes in

the genes, and ignore the possibility that the cytoplasm may be responsible

for the inheritance of some at least of the characters of the general body-

form.

DOES THE CYTOPLASM PLAY ANY PART IN EVOLUTION

It would appear that there was and still is a considerable amount of

evidence that Adami was fully justified in his criticism of the Mendelian

Theory. At the present day the view that the genes of the chromosomes

of the zygote may be the agents whereby modifications can be made in

small structural features but that the general shape of the body and its

more obvious characters may be inherent in the chemical composition

of the cytoplasm seems to be gaining ground. Huxley (1942, p. 60),

as I have already mentioned, has remarked that genes may have their

expression altered by modifiers so as entirely to change their selective

value ‘as a result of changes in the internal environment and this internal

environment must presumably depend on the chemical composition of

the protoplasm of the cell that contains the nucleus, i.e. the cytoplasm’

and a little later he claims that ‘a character-difference may be said to be

inherited in Mendelian fashion, while a character cannot : but even so

the differential effect of a particular gene on the character need not by

any means be always the same. It may alter according to differences in

the environment and also according to differences in the remainder of

the gene-complex’. If this statement really means what it says, then it

raises the question: How and by what means are characters inherited ?

And, is there any mechanism by which characters are inherited other than

by the action of the genes ?

At the present time there seems to be growing a gradual recognition

that the cytoplasm must play at least some part in the inheritance of bodily

characters and that there is considerable justification for the view put

> Haldane, J. B. S., 1954. THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF GENETICS, George Allen and

Unwin, London.

278 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

forward by Russell? (1930) that the genes are concerned solely with

differences in certain minor characters, and have nothing whatever to do

with cellular differentiation, which in fact affects solely the cytoplasm.

He appears to sum up his view of the function of the nucleus in the follow-

ing words : ‘If the nucleus represents essentially the conservative element

in the cell, as the bearer of certain fundamental metabolic rhythms and

the producer of certain essential enzymes and hormones, the fact that

its continuing identity is accurately conserved by its exact division in

mitosis indicates one means by which precise repetition of type is

favoured’ (loc. cit. p. 290).

Haldane? (1954, p. 11) states that “we sometimes, particularly in plants,

find a character which is cytoplasmically determined, but such characters

are not very common’ and (loc. cit., p. 87) ‘quite recently Mitchell and

Mitchell (1952) have obtained the first cytoplasmically determined mutant

in Neurospora crassa. This is ‘‘poky’’, a slow grower for reasons at

present unknown’, and again (loc. cit., p. 88) ‘a number of self-propagating

cytoplasmic properties are known in higher plants. Some are transmitted

purely maternally’. Waddington? (1939, p. 137) remarks that ‘the

simplest hypothesis to account for the general control of development

might seem to be that the genes were gradually sorted out by unequal

division of the zygote nucleus, so that each part of the embryo received

a different collection of genes, which would then determine the particular

way in which that part would develop. Actually this hypothesis is not

so simple as it seems ; it would be difficult to imagine a mechanism for

the differential division without assuming that the kind of genes which

went into a particular nucleus were determined by the kind of cytoplasm

surrounding the nucleus’... . He goes on to remark that ‘there is evidence

from many different groups of animals that all the first cleavage nuclei,

at any rate, are equivalent and can be substituted for one another’ and he

states that the only example of differential division in the early stages of

development is in Ascaris, where it is probably caused by, and not the

cause of, cytoplasmic differences. But is this actually the case? Ina

number of instances the two cells of the Ist division of the zygote can be

separated and each will develop into a complete normal individual but

in some cases and possibly in many the two individuals thus formed, as

in true twins, are not similar but are looking-glass reflections of _

each other—one has undergone the process known as situs inversus.

Waddington (loc. cit., p. 239) goes on to suggest that ‘during a certain

period a process takes place which fixes the future course of development

1 Russell, E. S., 1930. THE INTERPRETATION OF DEVELOPMENT AND HEREDITY.

Clarendon Press, Oxford.

2 Haldane, J. B. S., 1954. THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF GENETICS. George Allen and

Unwin, London,

* Waddington, C. H., 1939. AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN GENETICS.

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 219

of the various regions ; this process is ‘determination’. If this be the

case, then surely we must admit that in those cases in which the

one individual is the looking-glass reflection of the other and invariably

in those animals that are bilaterally symmetrical we must have two deter-

minants one for each of the paired organs, for we do not possess merely

two arms or two legs or two eyes but a right and a left one and these are

looking-glass reflections of each other ; one determinant must be dextroro-

tatory and the other laevorotatory as Adami suggested (vide supra,

p. 275). In some Gastropoda, e.g. Limnaea, coiling is stated to be caused

by two genes, the one dextral and the other sinistral, the dextral being

dominant, ‘but the direction in which a snail coils is determined not by

the genes it contains but those its mother contained’ and the way in which

any given snail coils is determined by the cytoplasm of the egg from which

it developed and this cytoplasm is said to be dependent on the genetic

constitution of the mother, right-handedness being dominant.

Waddington (loc. cit., p. 192) claims that ‘morphological patterns,

such as we find in living organisms, are arrangements of different sub-

stances or tissues in definite positions in space.... However far we can

analyse the development of a pattern we shall therefore be left with an

initial heterogeneity to account for’ ; and he suggests that among bases

for such heterogeneity are ‘local differences in the cytoplasm as the

immediate source of the whole pattern of the animal. The formation of

the pattern within the organisation centre seems to be connected with the

localisation of the organiser within the egg and the process... is mainly

cytoplasmic or at least independent of the zygote nucleus’. Medawar?

(1947) sums up the various theories that have been put forward in the

following words : ‘ Since the majority of the objects called ‘ cells’... have

already been credited with the possession of nuclear genes, many gene-

ticists and embryologists are rightly disinclined to admit the existence of

other self-reproducing particles in the cell. The evidence of cellular

transformation nevertheless demands it. Work on the transformation

of yeast cells has made it clear that ‘ cells with identical genomes need

not possess identical enzymatic constitutions (Spiegelman, 1945). More-

over, such attempts as have been made to determine whether or not the

cells of the same adult individual have or have not the same complement

of nuclear genes shows quite clearly that they have’. In his summary 7,

he says that ‘ the inherited character differences between cells are parti-

culate and combinatorial in nature, and there is ground for supposing

that they are mediated by cytoplasmic (the italics are mine, R.B.S.S.)

entities that behave as discrete self-reproducing particles’. Dalcq (1956)?

1 Medawar, P. B., 1947. Cellular inheritance and transformation. Biol. Re-

views Vol. 22, No. 4.

2 Dalcq, Albert, M., 1956. Form and Modern Embryology: in ASPECTS OF

FORM. Edited by Lancelot Law White. Published by Lund Humphries,

280 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

writes : ‘ Embryologists ... observe that a definite and constant spatial

organisation has so far not been detected in the germinal vesicle, while it

can often be observed in the cytoplasm... In my opinion, hereditary

patterns of form are not satisfactorily explained by the sole continuity of

gene units. In their transmission they are never wholly independent of

cytoplasm,’ and a little later he writes : ‘ I personally feel justified in believ-

ing that the fundamental and probably primary state of germinal orga-

nization in Metazoa is the co-existence of an internal polarisation (a

simple gradient) of the cytoplasm’. But when he states that ‘ The en-

vironment only affords the general basic conditions for life, moisture,

oxygen, a convenient equilibrium of ions, a favourable level of osmotic

pressure ’, etc., he fails to mention other forces that lie completely outside

the developing egg, such as gravitation, for how otherwise can one

account for the condition found in the egg-capsules of the common cock-

roach, Periplaneta australis. As It wrote (Sewell, 1931, p. 7): ‘In this

animal the female lays a capsule containing 16 eggs arranged in two rows

and as development proceeds these eggs all develop in exactly the same

way ; the embryo is always situated from the very first with the head to-

wards the crenated ridge that runs along the top of the capsule and the

ventral aspect of the larva is turned inwards towards that of the corres-

ponding larva on the opposite side of the capsule. It seems clear that

this fixed position is due to forces acting on the egg, for one can hardly

suppose that the mother cockroach invariably places all the separate eggs

in exactly the right position’. A similar orientation is found to be pres-

ent in the very young aggregated zooids of pelagic Tunicates such as

Tasis zonaria (Pallas) and Pegea confoederata (Forskal), which are situa-

ted along the stolon in pairs with their ventral surfaces closely approxi-

mated. (vide Sewell?, 1953, p. 23 and Text fig. 6, A and B).

HEREDITY AND THE INFLUENCE OF BIOCHEMISTRY

The present trend of thought seems to be that, so far as the chemical

composition of the body is concerned, it is the cytoplasm that is the active

agent. Haurowitz? (1952) in a review of the mechanism of the immuno-

logical response, points out that each animal synthesises its own parti-

cular protein and that the chemical composition of the proteid is a specific

character ; and he [loc. cit. (1952), p. 269] envisages the protein molecule

as a chain, not a ring as Adami figured it, and its species-specificity as

due to the number and sequence of amino-acids in the two-dimensional

1 Sewell, R. B. S., 1931. Experimental Modification of Bodily Structure, Presi-

dential Address, Indian Science Congress, Nagpur. :

2 Sewell, R. B. S., 1953. The Pelagic Tunicata, Sci. Rep. John Murray Expedi-

tion. Vol. 10, No. 1. he

° Haurowitz, P., 1952. The Mechanism of immunological response. Biological

Reviews, Vol, 27, No. 3.

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 281

peptide film, and he suggests that the haemoglobins of different species

have different terminal amino-acids at the end of the proteid chain.

Haldane and Priestley’? (1935) even went so far as to suggest that the com-

position of the haemoglobin of the blood might even be individualistic,

but Haldane (J.B.S.) thinks that this is going too far. For our present

purpose it is sufficient to assume that the chemical composition of an

animal is a true specific character. As Haurowitz points out, ‘ Human

beings will always form a human proteid, whether they eat meat, cheese,

or plant proteid ’, though the composition of this proteid can be modified

and altered by the injection of an antigen and this is followed by the for-

mation of a specific antibody that is a modified protein. Clearly then

the cytoplasm of the cell must be a synthesising agent, for after digesting

the various and varied food-stuffs into their ingredients, such as peptones,

etc., it must then build these up again into its own specific proteid.

Haurowitz (loc. cit., p. 269) points out that ‘ when we try to explain

the formation of the species-specific peptide chain we depend mostly on

speculation. Obviously the formation of a peptide chain from amino-

acids or from other peptides requires the presence of enzymes which

catalyse the formation of peptide bonds or transpeptidation. However

the specificity of the peptide is formed, the specific arrangement of its

amino-acids cannot be attributed to enzyme action... We cannot

imagine a catalyst which catalyses different reactions at different times

and ‘spins’? a pattern of amino-acids. The factor responsible for the

formation of species-specific peptide chains in the first phase of protein

synthesis is most probably a species-specific template’. Here we seem

to come very close to the side-chain theory put forward by Adami in 1917

in his Croonian Lecture (Adami? 1918, pp. 74 et seq). Pantin? (1932,

p. 706) has pointed out that ‘the living organism comprises material

structures of different orders of complexity varying from tissues and cells

to particular kinds of molecules which compose them. A variety of

active processes takes place in these structures and their existence de-

pends on them... Conversely, the structures themselves have been

brought into existence by such processes... These structures, processes,

and states endow an organism with certain properties, so that when sub-

jected to a particular experimental treatment it reacts in certain definite

ways’. He goes on to point out that the morphological features are

composed of physiological features and these in turn are composed of

chemical molecules and that it is in the structure of the molecule that

specific differentiation first becomes apparent, and it would seem that a

1 Haldane, J. S., and Priestley, J.G., 1935. RESPIRATION. Oxford.

‘2 Adami, J. G., 1918. MEDICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF EVOLUTION.

Duckworth and Co., London.

3 Pantin, C. F. A., 1932. Physiological Adaptation. Journ. Linn. Soc. London.

Zoology, Vol. 38,

282 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

change in the chemical structure of the molecule can only be brought

about by a change in a definite unit within the molecule. Thus, as he

points out (loc. cit., p. 710), ‘ it seems that adaptation of these structures

can only be evolved by the natural selection of abrupt variations—a con-

dition precisely satisfied by Mendelian mutation’. If now there is a

possibility that the shape of an organism is a result of a specific composi-

tion of the cytoplasm and that the gene, as postulated by Haldane (1954,

p. 111) ‘as a chemically definable object existing in a given cell at a given

moment, is a product of metabolism like any other chemical constituent ’,

then it would seem to follow that the gene, which is a chemical mole-

cule, possibly a nucleo-proteid, becomes merely the ‘ outward and visible

sign of an inward and chemical difference’ and it becomes clear that, as

Haldane (loc. cit., p. 103) remarks, ‘ mutagenesis is a biochemical rather

than a biophysical process ’ and (loc. cit., p. 82) he has gone so far as to

admit that ‘clearly there are biochemical differences between individ-

uals of a species and some of these are genetically determined ’.

At the present time much attention is being paid to the functions of

ribonucleic acid and desoxyribonucleic acid in the cytoplasm and in the

chromosomes of the nucleus of a cell; and an anonymous author?! (1955)

in a study of nucleic acid and disease, states that ‘the principal types of

nucleic acid are found in living cells, desoxyribonucleic (DNA) restricted

to the chromosomes of the nucleus and ribonucleic acid (RNA) present

in the nucleolus and the cytoplasm’. He goes on to state that ‘up to

quite recently it has been assumed that the DNA of the chromosomes

was the only genetic substance in the cell. There are now indications

that RNA may also have genetic activity. Firstly, this is implied by the

similarity of structure of the two nucleic acids. Secondly, the eggs of

the echinoderms, Asterias forbesii and Arbacia punctulata, have been

found to contain no DNA as determined by the Feulgen staining and C-

labelled thymine studies. Thirdly, some organisms show cytoplasm in-

heritance by plasmogenesis, and, fourthly, the smallest (less than 42 m-

diameter) viruses have so far been shown only to contain RNA’. Haldane

(1954, p. 98) admits that ‘ it is at least plausible that the genes are desoxyri-

bonucleoproteins, the self-reproducing cytoplasmic units being more

usually ribonucleoproteins ’. |

I have already (vide supra, p. 30) quoted Lowndes and Fisher, both of

whom have expressed the view that any change in the environment must

be to the disadvantage of the organism that is adapted to live in it:

if this view be correct, as I think is probable so far as some changes are

concerned, and the organism is incapable of adaptation, then it would be

true to say that, if the genes, either individually or collectively, are the

sole agents by which changes are brought about in the morphology and

1 Anonymous, 1955. Nucleic Acids and Disease. St. Bartholomew’s Hospital

Journal. Vol. 59, No. 1, 1955.

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 283

physiology of an organism, too high a degree of stability would be a

grave disadvantage to the organism. Huxley (1942, p. 122) accepts the

view that the nature of an organism thus influences the mode of its evolu-

tion, and he points out (loc. cit. p. 131 et seq..) that ‘ the genetic system

‘must have had a long evolution behind it before it reached what we may

call the meiotic stage, with its elaborate mechanism. Two prior main

stages may be distinguished, the pre-mitotic and the mitotic, and

organisms still survive which are equipped with genetic systems of these

earlier patterns ’. He goes on to state that ‘ we must, in fact, expect that

the processes of variation, heredity and evolution in bacteria are quite

different from the corresponding processes in multicellular organisms. . .

Purely mitotic organisms may have enjoyed a more elaborate genetic

constitution, with its parts more accurately adjusted, than the pre-mitotic

ones.... They are compelled to forgo most of the advantages of their

genetic complexity for lack of the meiotic process which permits the

recombination of the genetic units’. It seems to me that Huxley begs

the whole question when he supposes that the unicellular organisms, such

as the Protozoa and the early multicellular organisms, before sex came

into existence, were ‘ compelled to forgo the advantages of the meiotic

sexual process’. As Simpson (1941, p. 19) has pointed out, ‘ a protozoan,

because ancient and relatively simple, is not therefore an imperfect type

destined for replacement within its own sphere. Other phyla represent,

not advances over the protozoa for life as protozoa live it, but the develop-

ment of other possibilities, other ways of life and filling of other spheres

in the economy of nature’. One of the outstanding trends throughout

the whole process of evolution has been the increasing complexity of the

organism, a process that necessitated a change in the whole physiology,

definite physiological processes being connected with definite organs

within the body of the organism and it seems probable that at about this

phase in evolution there was not a change in but an addition to the method

by which the organism adapted itself to its ever changing environment.

Graham Cannon? (1956, p. 15), in his admirable review of evolution

and modern genetics, put forward the view that ‘ since the reactions of

the earliest living matter can only have been changed in response to a

changing environment to maintain equilibrium with that environment, it

follows that the first evolution of individuals with definite body form

from formless granules of protoplasm must have represented simply one

of those changes ’, i.e. to adjust themselves both structurally and physio-

logically to their changing environment, and this property of the pro-

toplasm of the cell must surely still persist, but has been modified in

higher animals by the development of a new and different method of

control.

2Cannon, H. Graham, 1956. An Essay on Evolution and Modern Genetics.

Jour. Linn, Soc. London, Zoology, Vol. 43.

284 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

At about the same time in the process of evolution from non-cellular

to multi-cellular organisation there must have been a great flowering of

forms. Simpson (1951, p. 18) has pointed out that ‘ all the phyla are of

great antiquity. All date from the Cambrian or Ordovician’... and

‘ since sometime in the Ordovician, around 400,000,000 years ago, no new

type of animal has appeared on earth. It would appear that the funda-

mental possibilities of animal structure had then all been developed’.

In the early stages it would seem that animal organisms were very sus-

ceptible to change in their environment. As I pointed out’ (1931, pp. 10,

11) ‘ in the very early stages of life on the earth, the animal adapted itself

to the environment’ and ‘ owing to the permeability of the outer wall or

ectoderm any changes in the surrounding medium (which in all prob-

ability was the sea) were rapidly compensated by similar changes in the

animal itself. But as evolution progressed we find that this adaptability

was given up and the animal began to react against environmental

changes’. Attention to this type of evolutionary process was drawn by

Wardlaw? (1930). This reaction against the environment is seen in the

manner in which the organism has steadily evolved means of protecting

the zygote from external changes. ‘In the lowest organism eggs were

and are laid in water and possess only a thin and delicate membrane

around them, so that they are directly affected by changes in the external

surroundings. Exposure to air would cause their drying up and the con-

sequent death of the embryo, while changes in temperature would alter

the rate and character of development. Then came the stage when the

eggs were surrounded by a thicker covering, chitinous in some cases or

with a lime shell in others. Such a shell prevents evaporation, so that the

eggs can now be laid on land... Finally animals tend to become vivi-

parous and development occurs in utero where the embryo is maintained

in equable surroundings, completely protected from changes in tempera-

ture, salinity or other changes in the external conditions, since those of

the parent remain constant ’ (Sewell, 1931, p. 12).

As Haldane has pointed out (1954, p. 117), * The nucleus, which is the

part of a cell most shielded from the environment, contains those bio-

chemical ‘‘ mechanisms ”’ in which change is least needed in response to

environmental changes, and this fact gives the cell a stability in the face

of external changes which it might otherwise lack’. But there is no proof

that the nucleus and still less the chromosomes contain al// the mecha-

nisms that are needed for adaptive changes in response to environmental

changes. Haldane (1954, p. 84) writes : * If the central thesis of this book

1 Sewell, R. B.S., 1931. The Problem of Evolution I]. The Trend of Evolution

under Natural Conditions. Presidential Address, Asiatic Society of Bengal.

2 Wardlaw, H. S. H., 1930. Some Aspects of the Adaptation of living Organisms

to their Environment. Presidential Address, Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. Wales, Vol. 55,

Pt. I, p. viii,

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH 285

is correct, all genetically determined variation has a biochemical basis.

This basis will only be known when the biochemistry of morphogenesis

is understood’. Billingham and Brent? (1956, p. 87) remark that * Nut-

tall’s (1904) early work and more refined studies by Boyden (1943) have

shown that the capacity of animals of different species to react immuno-

logically against each others’ proteins may be made the basis of a test of

their zoological affinities’, and Sir Macfarlane Burnet? in his summing

up of the discussion on Immunological Tolerance claims that ‘ At the

chemical level the central problem of biology is the replication of organic

pattern as typified in the synthesis of functional protein.’

If the gradual development of the body is controlled by the chemical

composition of the protoplasm of the cells or of the body fluids, the bio-

chemist should be able to detect differences between the blood or body-

fluid of a larval stage and of the corresponding adult.

Russell (loc. cit., 1930, p. 9) clearly believes in the recapitulation theory

of development, that ontogeny in the main must follow phylogeny and

he claims that ‘a complete theory of development would have to take

into account also the life cycle as a whole, with its successive phases of

youth, maturity and old age, and not limit itself merely to the pheno-

mena of embryonic development’.

Haurowitz (1917) states that there is an important difference between

the plasma protein content of the blood of newly-born and of adult

animals and he gives the following changes in the horse :

Albumen x — globulin 8B-—globulin’ Y—globulin Age

65 BZ 3 0 1 day

33 14 25 28 8 months

30 11 12 47 10 years

and one may ask whether such ontogenetic changes could throw any

light on the phylogenetic origin of a species? That there must be such

differences at different stages of development seems to be indicated clearly

by the chemical alteration of the blood during the metamorphosis of

Amphibians, regarding which Allen? (1938), after considering the changes

that take place in the body, states that ‘If metamorphosis is controlled

by a gene, then the gene has had first to activate the anterior part of the

hypophysis to produce a hormone that stimulates the thyroid and then

this starts the metamorphosis’. This reminds one of the old nursery

_thyme ‘ The House that Jack built ’.

* Billingham, R. E. and Brent, L., 1956. Acquired tolerance of foreign cells in

newborn animals. Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Vol. 146, Series B., p. 78.

2 Burnet, Sir M., 1956. Ibid., Proc. Roy. Soc. Vol. 146, Concluding remarks.

$ Allen, B. M., 1938. The Endocrine Control of Amphibian Metamorphosis. Biol.

Reviews. Vol. 13.

286 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

CONCLUSION

Throughout the whole course of evolution there has been a steady

urge towards bodily complexity and simultaneously with this has been a

drive towards biochemical complexity ; and the full extent of this is only

now beginning to be understood, but it seems clear that the ultimate

character upon which the final decision as to what is a ‘ species’ will be

based may eventually prove to be bio-chemical. Already this search

for a chemical proof of relationship has gone some way and is being

utilised in the attempt to trace the past history of races and nations and

even to check the possibility or impossibility of the supposed parentage

of an infant by the biochemical properties of its and of its parents’ blood.

But, if we should ever reach this stage, it seems somewhat doubtful

whether it will be as conclusive as one might hope, for it has been sugges-

ted that there is some evidence to show that the character of the haemo-

globin of the blood and, presumably, of the protoplasm of the cells may

even be individualistic and not specific, in a manner similar to that found

in the finer details of structure. In such circumstances the Taxonomer

will be no better off than he is now. Haldane has been reported to have

said in an interview with a press-reporter that he is not interested in the

problem of why a cat has kittens, but in the problem why a white cat

has white kittens. But to the taxonomer and systematist it is all impor-

tant to know whether a kitten had a cat for its mother and the assurance

that the kitten will eventually, barring the accident of death, grow into a

cat and itself produce kittens, though one must equally face the fact that

if this goes on for a sufficiently long time through successive generations

and in different surroundings it will ultimately produce something that

is not a member of the species Felis domesticus but has gradually changed

into a different species to which some future zoologist will give a new

name, followed by the letters sp. noy.

To sum up, I cannot do better than quote the following passage from

Smart! (1950, p. 82) : “ What the morpho-systematist must now do is to

make himself fully acquainted with all available information about the

‘species that have been intensively studied and correlate the phenomena

exhibited by these species with comparable phenomena seen in the popu-

lations of organisms that he is investigating. The systematist can then

give an opinion as to which segregates in his materials would constitute

‘species, etc., if the population of the organism were submitted to gene-

tical and other laboratory techniques. Curiously enough, when work of

really competent morpho-systematists is re-examined in the light of é

findings of genetics, etc., it is often found to be extraordinarily accurate’.

1 Smart, J., 1950. Post-Darwinian Development of Taxonomy (Zoology). Lec-

tures on the Development of Taxonomy, The Linnean Society of London,

Indian Marsileas: their Morphology

and Systematics

3. On THE EXAMINATION OF SOME FURTHER COLLECTIONS OF

MARSILEA FROM SOUTH INDIA AND RAJASTHAN

K. M. GupTA AND T. N. BHARDWAJA

Jaswant College, Jodhpur

[Continued from Vol. 54(3) : 567]

(With 12 figures)

Since the publication of our paper on the examination of some collec-

tions of Marsilea in India (6) some friends from south India have very

kindly sent us their material for examination and identification. We

are not only grateful to these botanists but wish to record that our hopes

of discovering interesting material from south India have been fully

justified. The following collections have now been examined :

: No. of sheets | No. of spp. | No. of sheets

Name of Herbarium | examined present redetermined

1. Madras Museum, Coimbatore .. 26 | 2 7

2. Botanical Survey of India,

Western Circle, Poona ay 13 1 6

3. Central College, Bangalore ss DS 5) 16

4. Jaswant College, Jodhpur - 5 | 4 —

The Bangalore and Coimbatore collections have been found to con-

tain material of two foreign species namely M. brachycarpa A. Br. origi-

nally collected from Pegu, Burma, and described by Braun in 1863 (2 & 3)

and M. tenuifolia Engelm. first described by Engelmann ex Kunze (4)

from the United States of America in the year 1848. Later Braun (2, 3)

and Baker (1) studied this material further. Figures 1 and 6 representing

M. brachycarpa and M. tenuifolia are drawn from the Bangalore collec-

tion and figures 4 and 5 representing M. brachycarpa from the Coimbatore

collection. The occurrence of these two types in the Indian flora is

being reported in a separate communication by the present authors.

Not only this, but the collection from the Central College, Bangalore,

and the Madras Museum, Coimbatore, contain herbarium sheets having

588 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

material which in some cases is fairly clearly comparable to the original

types of Braun such as M. brachypus and M. gracilenta (Nos. 175 and

180). It is very encouraging to note that further fresh collections from

the Bangalore-Mysore region as well as the Nilgiris will surely mean

collecting types of those rare species of Marsilea which were only briefly

described by Braun nearly a century before. It is necessary to point

out that the original material of Braun’s species is available only at the

Botanischer Garten und Museum, Berlin Dahlem, and its duplicates, as

far as we know, are not available anywhere else in the world. We are

grateful to Dr. D. Meyer of Berlin for photographs and small quantities

of material from the original herbarium sheets for our comparison and

study.

Further collections in Rajasthan have yielded very good results. The

present examination has confirmed the occurrence of M. aegyptiaca in

Ajmer. This was doubtful so far ; but recently one of us has actually

collected this species from the Anasagar Lake in Ajmer. This makes

M. aegyptiaca a fairly widespread species in arid Rajasthan. On the

border of Rajasthan and Sind (Pakistan) at the village Nimla, Barmer

district in the Jodhpur Division, material almost identical with M. con-

densata has been discovered during a recent botanical excursion by the

junior author. The original material of the latter was first collected by

Dalzell in Sind and deposited in the Kew Herbarium. It was described

by Baker as a new species in 1887(1).

Besides recording the above, three distinct new forms have been

recognised in the aquatic flora of Rajasthan from Jaipur, Alwar, and

Udaipur. These latter will be described as new varieties of M. minuta

and M. ballardii by one of us in a separate paper after the presentation

of a Ph.D. thesis on the morphology and systematics of Marsilea in

Rajasthan. The material constituting these new forms has already been

listed in our previous paper (Nos. 93, 105, 113, 125, and 114). The real

M. ballardii with normal sporocarps found at the famous historical

place Amer near Jaipur is listed as No. 196 inthe present paper with the

diagram of its sporocarp in fig. 11. It may be noted that the original

material from Ajmer on which the species was earlier founded contains

only abnormal sporocarps and is to be now regarded as a distinct variety

of true M. ballardii. It has been collected from Kota recently, thus in-

creasing the range of distribution of this sterile variety in Rajasthan.

(Nos. 86 and 198).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In conclusion, the authors express their gratitude to Professor T. R.

Narayanan of Coimbatore, Dr. G. S. Puri of the Botanical Survey of

India, Western Circle, Poona, and the Professor of Botany, Central

INDIAN MARSILEAS: THEIR MORPHOLOGY & SYSTEMATICS 289

College, Bangalore for kindly sending their material to us for examina-

tion, and hope that further collections will be forthcoming for study and

research.

REFERENCES

1. Baker, J. G. (1887): Fern Allies,

London.

2. Braun, A. (1863): Vortrag tiber

die Marsiliaceen—Gattungen Marsilia

und Pilularia. Monats. Kon. Akad.

Wiss. Berl. 413-438.

3, — — — — (1870): Neuere Unter-

suchungen uber die Gattungen Marsilia

und Pilularia. Mit. Monats. K6n. Akad.

Wiss. Berl. 653-753.

4, Engelmann ex Kunze, G. (1848):

Notes on some Ferns of the United

States. Amer. Journ. Sci. Il 6: 89.

>. Gupta, K. M. (1955): A new

species Of Marsilea, M. ballardii, sp.

nov. Gupta from Ajmer, India. JBNHS

53: 289-292.

6. Gupta, K. M. and Bhardwaja, T.N.

(1957) : Indian Marsileas: their Mor-

phology and Systematics—2. On the

Examination of some collections of

Marsilea in India. JBNHS 54: 550-567.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

290

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DETAILS OF THE COLLECTIONS OF MARSILEA IN SOME INDIAN HERBARIA—(Contd.)

1 2 3 4

S.N. Name of species | Herbarium details Characters of the sporocarps

154-55 | M. minuta .|Sheet nos. 80711 ; Ponnankani, Medu, District S. absent.

Arcot ; 6 February 1931; V- Narayanswami.

156-57 | M. minuta .|Sheet nos. 81326 ; Hassanur, District Coimbatore ; absent.

10 March 1931 ; K. C. Jacob.

F. Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Western Circle, Poona-4

T*158-59 | M. minuta .|Sheet nos. 38; Near Pond, Khandala; 21 March | Pedicels free or slightly connate and basal; horns

1956; S. K. Jain. two, almost similar ; soral no. 8-10 ; normal.

+*160-61 | M. minuta .|Sheet nos. 46 ; Khandala ; 21 March 1956; S. K. Pedicels free or slightly connate and basal; horns

| Tain. two, almost similar ; soral no. 8-10 ; normal.

162 M. quadrifolia .|Sheet no. 7235; Vithalwadi; 28 September 1956 ; absent.

S. D. Mahajan.

163 M. quadrifolia .|Sheet no. 8208; Pond, Poona ; 18 October 1956; | absent.

S. K. Jain.

164 M. quadrifolia .| Sheet no. 8310 ; Talegaon ; 12 October 1956; S. D.

Mahajan. absent.

165 M. quadrifolia ./ Sheet no. 8329 ; Bhosari Lake, Poona-Nasik Road ; absent.

16 October 1956 ; S. D. Mahajan.

$166 M. quadrifolia .| Sheet no. 9714 ; Madh Island, Bombay ; 16 Decem- absent.

ber 1956; S. K. Jain.

167-68 Marsilea sp.

¢*169-70 | M. minuta

171 Marsilea sp.

*172 M. minuta

173 M. minuta

*174 M. minuta

AUB) Marsilea cf. brachypus

176 | M. vestita (2)

..| Sheet no. 13265; Raver, Khandesh ;

.| Sheet no. nil;

.|(1) Sheet no. 30; Bangalore ;

-|(©) Sheet no. 43;

13 March 1957;

| S. D. Mahajan.

Forebay, Khandala ; 18 April 1956 ;

S. K. Jain.

absent.

| Pedicels free or slightly connate and basal; horns

two, almost similar ; soral no. 8-10 ; normal.

G. Herbarium, Botany Department, Central College, Bangalore

14 December 1954;

B. Phalaksa

.| (2) Sheet no. 37 ; Bangalore ; 1955 ; N. K. Sukanya.

-| 3) Sheet ang 8 ; Lal Bagh, Bangalore ; 10 February

195

; R. G. Mannada Rani.

.| (4) Sheet no. 68 ; Kempambudi, Bangalore ; 1955 ;

K. M. Khudaija.

.| (5) Bangalore ; January 1952; M. Gopalaswami.

Kemppamudikere, Bangalore ;

M. Nazir Ahmed.

absent.

‘Pedicels slightly connate or free; sporocarps bor-

dered but not ribbed ; horns two almost similar ;

soral no. 13-15 ; normal.

Pedicels free and basal; sporocarps not bordered

and not ribbed ; horns two, upper slightly longer

and pointed ; lower blunt ; soral no. 13 ; abnor-

mal.

Pedicels free and basal; sporocarps bordered but

not ribbed ; horns two, similar ; soral no. 12-15 ;

normal.

Pedicels slightly connate or free and basal; sporo-

carps bordered and slightly ribbed ; horns two,

| upper pointed and longer ; normal.

absent.

ee a

*Species redetermined by the present authors.

{Similar to nos. 20, 21, 22 of Blatter Herbarium, Bombay.

{Similar to no, 123 of Jaswant College Herbarium, Jodhpur.

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DETAILS OF THE COLLECTIONS OF MARSILEA IN SOME INDIAN HERBARIA

| Name of species

Herbarium details

Characters of the sporocarps

*178

*179

*180

*181

*182

*183

184

*185

186

187

*188

*189

M. minuta (2)

M. minuta

Marsilea cf. gracilenta

Marsilea cf. brachycarpa

M. minuta

M. quadrifolia

| Marsilea cf. brachycarpa

Marsilea sp.

| Marsilea cf. brachypus

Marsilea cf. tenuifolia

Marsilea cf. gracilenta

Marsilea cf. brachypus

Marsilea sp.

Vasantappa.

(8) Sheet no. 28 ; Kempambudi Tank, Bangalore ;

Suraiya Jabeen.

(9) Sheet no. 114; Lal Bagh, Bangalore ; 9 March

1950 ; T. R. Balachandra Naidu.

(10) Visveshpuram, Bangalore ; 2 February 1932;

Jayamma Anandiah.

(11) Near Yedan, Bangalore ; 12 August 1946 ;

Padma Bai, P.

(12) Kempambudi Tank, Bangalore ; January 1952;

K. G. Basavanna,

(13) Peenya Forest, Bangalore ; G. Giriappa.

(14) Chennamne te Bangalore 1954-55 ;

R. Leelavathi.

(15) Kankanhalli, Bangalore District, Mysore State;

5 October 1946 ; A. Nagaraja Rao.

(16) Sheet no. 29; Nanjangud; 3 January 1954;

N. S. Rangaswamy.

(17) Sheet no. 30; Nanjangud; 7 January 1954;

N. S. Rangaswamy.

(18) Hesarghatta, Bangalore District ;

1946 ; M. D. Mahadev.

January

(19) Kemmannugundi, Western Ghats, Mysore

State ; 23 December 1943 ; N. Ranzanua.

(20) Kemmannugundi, Western Ghats, Mysore

State, December 1943 ; Shanta, V.

(21) Bannerughatta, Bangalore District; A. V.

Narasimataswamy.

(22) Lakkavalli, Mysore State; 13 October 1953 ;

C. V. Venkata Ramu.

(23) Savanadurga, Bangalore District; February

1950 ; J. Sharada Bias.

(7) Sheet no. 31; Bangalore; 8 January 1956; D.

Pedicels attached in a linear sequence on the petiole

at a little distance from each other ; sporocarps

bordered but not ribbed; horns two, obscure,

similar ; soral no. 12 ; abnormal?

Pedicels free and basal; sporocarps bordered but

not ribbed ; horns two, similar ; soral no. 11-12 ;

normal.

Pedicels free and basal; sporocarps not bordered

and not ribbed ; horns two, upper slightly longer

and pointed, lower blunt ; soral no, 13 ; abnormal.

Pedicels basal and free; sporocarps not bordered

and not ribbed ; horns two, blunt and weaker.

Pedicels free or slightly connate and basal ; sporo-

carps bordered and indistinctly ribbed; horns

two, upper slightly longer ; soral no. 8-10; nor-

mal.

Pedicels free and basal; sporocarps slightly bor-

dered but not ribbed ; horns two, similar ; soral

no. 12-14 ; abnormal ? :

Pedicels connate and basal; sporocarps not bor-

dered and not ribbed ; horns two, similar, weaker ;

soral no. 16 ; abnormal (?)

Absent.

Pedicels connate and basal; sporocarps not bor-

dered and indistinctly ribbed ; horns two, upper

pointed and slightly longer; soral no. 9-10;

normal.

Absent.

Pedicels basal and solitary (?); sporocarps not

bordered and not ribbed; horns two, similar,

upper longer and pointed, lower blunt.

Pedicels connate and basal; sporocarps distinctly

bordered and ribbed ; horns two, upper pointed,

lower blunt; soral no. 7-9; normal; leaflets

oblanceolate, entire.

Pedicels connate and basal; sporocarps not bor-

dered and not ribbed; horns obscure; soral

no. 11-13; abnormal.

Pedicels attached in a linear sequence on the petiole

at a little distance from each other ; sporocarps

indistinctly bordered and not ribbed ; horns two,

upper longer and pointed, lower blunt.

Absent.

cuO——™oooOaaaa

*Species redetermined by the present authors.

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((piv0))—VIAVANAH NVIGNI AWOS NI PATISYVW AO SNOILOATIOO AHL AO STIVLAG

Notes on a Visit to certain Islands of

the Laccadive Archipelago,

with special reference to Fisheries’

V. BALAN

Central Marine Fisheries Research Sub-station, Kozhikode-5

(With a map)

INTRODUCTION

A Visit to the Laccadives was undertaken by the author in March

1954 at the suggestion of Dr. S. Jones to get a first-hand knowledge of the

fishery conditions there and to ascertain if pelagic fishes of economic

importance found along the Malabar Coast occur also in this area in

appreciable numbers during the different seasons. It was felt that this

information might be of value in any expanded programme of fisheries

investigations taken up for the west coast of India. I was able to spend

about a month in the Laccadives visiting the islands Agathi, Kavarathi,

Ameni, and Kadamat.

The information we have on the Laccadive fisheries is based on the

observations of Alcock (1902), Hornell (1908), Ayyangar (1922), and on

the notes given by Ellis (1924), Burton (1940), and Mathew and Rama-

chandran (1956).

The Laccadives consist of a group of coral islands lying between

Long. 71° 40’ and 74°E., and Lat. 8° and 12°N. in the Arabian Sea

(see map). There are ten inhabited islands in all, of which the southern

five, namely Minicoy, Agathi, Kavarathi, Kalpeni, and Androth are known

as the Malabar Islands, and the northern five, namely Ameni, Kadamat,

Chetlat, Kiltan, and Bitra are called the Amindivi or S. Kanara Islands.

The inhabitants of all the islands are Muslims. Except for the people

of Minicoy who speak Mahl dialect, the others are settlers from Malabar

and speak Malayalam. Besides these islands, there are a few uninhabited

ones which are frequented by the islanders for fishing operations.

JOURNEY TO THE ISLANDS AND BACK

There is no regular transport facility between the islands and the

mainland of India. The journey was, therefore, undertaken in a country

craft or odam named ‘ Hydrose’. On the morning of 21st March our

1Published with the kind permission of the Chief Research Officer, Central Marine

Fisheries Research Station, Mandapam Camp.

298 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

vessel set sail to Agathi Island, about 223 miles from Mangalore. The

voyage was uneventful except that the major sail rope snapped against a

heavy wind during the midnight of 23rd-24th and the odam went out of

control and rolled violently in the choppy sea for about an hour till the

defect was rectified. On the evening of 24th March we landed in Agathi.

During my five days’ stay at Agathi, I collected some fish specimens

and information relating to methods of fishing, commercially important

fishes, and the fishing industry in general. We left in a sailing vessel on

the night of 29th March for Kavarathi, about 33 miles from Agathi,

which we reached the next day afternoon. After the completion of my

work there, I proceeded to Ameni Island, about 36 miles from Kavarathi

on the night of 5th April. We could land at Ameni only at about sun-

rise on the 7th April. On the morning of 11th April I went to Kadamat

Island, about 8 miles north of Ameni. From Kadamat I returned to

Ameni on the 17th noon from where I started on my return trip in the

odam named ‘ Mandum Kuthira’ proceeding to the mainland on the

18th, and reached Mangalore on 22nd April.

FISH AND FISHERIES ON THE ISLANDS

The fishes occurring in the coralline niches of the lagoon* exhibit the

characteristic variety of colours and they consist of perches, gar-fishes,

half-beaks, scarids, goat-fishes, carangids, grey mullets, atherinids,

sphyraenids, polynemids, balistids, blennids, and globe-fishes.

The offshore fishery is constituted by fishes such as seer-fish, sharks,

sail fish, tunnies, flying-fish, carangids, and ribbon fish. Besides these,

rays and skates are obtained frequently.

The period extending from September to the end of December is

considered very favourable both for the offshore and lagoon fisheries of

these islands. The flying-fishes are reported to occur throughout the

year, but in decreasing numbers from December to February. Their

fishery is lucrative during March, April, and May.

Moderate numbers of tunnies are said to occur from October to

January off these islands and it is reported by the island fishermen that

the fish are commonly caught from the 20-fathom area and beyond.

Only small boats, manned by four each, are used for fishing tunnies by

hook and line. They do not use live bait, except in Minicoy.

Agathi Island: Situated Long. 78° 28’E. and Lat. 10°51’ 30’N.,

the island is 34 miles long and about 1,000 yards broad at its broadest

point, having an area of 688 acres and a population of 2,038f. Coral

reefs which encircle the island afford protection from heavy breakers.

About 200 people are engaged in fishing as an occupation here.

*The term lagoon is used in the broad sense to denote the shallow and smooth sea

water situated between the sea-shore and the outer reefs.

{Figures taken from S. Y. Krishnaswami’s Report. of 1952.

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NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO 299

12 species of fishes belonging to 7 families as listed elsewhere (see

table) were collected from here.

Kavarathi Island: The island (Long. 72° 57’E. and Lat.10°

34’N.), about 33 miles long and about # mile broad, has an area of 865

acres and a population of 2,500". Ayyangar (1922) is reported to have

observed living pearl oysters here. There are about 400 men engaged in

fishing here according to the report of the islanders.

From this island, I collected on the whole 23 species of fishes belong-

ing to 15 families (see table).

Ameni Island: The island (Long. 72° 45’E. and Lat. 11° 5’N.)

is about 2 miles long and over a mile wide. It has an area of 622 acres

and a population of 4,000. The lagoon adjoining this island is com-

paratively richer in its fish wealth than the three islands already mentioned.

Here there are about 200 fishermen. |

I was able to collect 54 species of fishes belonging to 27 families (see

table) from here.

Kadamat Island: The island, situated Long. 72° 6’E. and

the Lat. 11° 33’N., is about 5 miles long and 600 yards wide. It has an

area of 748 acres and a population of 2,000. There are about 500 fisher-

men here. Ayyangar (1922) observed dead young pearl oysters in the

southern region of the island.

10 species of fishes belonging to 7 families were collected from here

(see table).

LIsT OF FISHES

COLLECTED FROM THE LACCADIVES +

TABLE |

Name | Agathi Kavarathi] Ameni | Kadamat

Family Sphyrnidae | |

1. Sphyrna blochii (Cuvier) — | = as | al

Family Synodontidae |

2. Synodus indicus (Day) — | = ate | ane

Family Belonidae | |

oy Belone (Eurycaulus) |

persimilis Gunther — | — te | ran

4, Tylosurus leiurus (Bleeker) | + — — | a

*Figures taken from S. Y. Krishnaswami’s Report of 1952.

{The classification is after Jordan (1923) : A CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES.

Stanford University, California.

300 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

TABLE I—(contd.)

Agathi | Kavarathi; Ameni

Name Kadamat

Family Hemirhamphidae

oy Hemirhamphus dussumieri — — zIe al.

Cuvier & Valenciennes

Family Exocoetidae

Cypselurus atrisignis Jen- - afl. a me

kins

yf Cypselurus comatus** + + ae alts

(Mitchill)

Family Bothidae

8. Bothus (Platophrys) pan- — sae ae eal

therinus (Rtippell)

Family Pegasidae

9, Pegasus draconis Linnaeus _ + = a

Family Fistularidae

10. Fistularia petimba (Lacépéd) — — at AS

Family Atherinidae

TH: Allanetta forskali (Ruippell) — — a Gi

Family Musgilidae

12: Crenimugil crenilabis — — = ais

(Forskal)

Family Sphyraenidae — — alls aos

13. Sphyraena obtusata :

Cuvier

Family Polynemidae

14. Polynemus sexfilis Valen- — a a i

ciennes

Family Carangidae

15. Caranx (Caranx) sexfas- + — fe ae

ciatus Quoy & Gaimard

16. Selar crumenophthalmus + — fate role

(Bloch)

Me Caranx oblongus ? — — ale te

(Cuvier)

18. Trachinotus bailloni (Lacé- — —— ae an

pede)

Family Apogonidae

19: Apogon frenatus Valen- — + = | fee

ciennes

Family Serranidae

20. Epinephelus merra Bloch — 2 ahs oe

21 Kuhlia taeniurus (Cuvier) — — aie an

ssi ie i ee cea

**Same as Cypselurus bahiensis (Ranzani) of Weber & Beaufort (1922) according

to Bruun (1935)

NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO 301

TABLE I—(contd.)

‘Name | Agathi | Kavarathi} Ameni | Kadamat

Family Lutianidae

22. Lutianus kasmira (Forskal) — a + a

23. ~~ ~Lutianus gibbus (Forskal) — a - =

24. Lutianus johni (Bloch) -b — — fe

Family Lethrinidae

25. Lethrinus rhodopterus a — + =

Bleeker

26; Lethrinus ornatus Valen-| . — = + —

ciennes

27. Lethrinus frenatus Valen- — — +|- =

ciennes

28. Lethrinus nebulosus — — + a

(Forskal)

29. Lethrinus hypselopterus ? — _ = —

Bleeker

30. Lethrinus ramak (Forskal) — + = —

Se Monotaxis grandoculis — — - —

(Forskal)

Family Gerridae

32: Gerres oblongus Cuvier — — a -++

Family Miullidae

33: Mulloidichthys samoensis a = a a

(Gunther)

34. Pseudupeneus pleurospilos — — -+ —

(Bleeker)

35): Pseudupeneus macronema a0 —= ae —

(Lacépéde)

36. Parupeneus _ trifasciatus — — ot a

(Lacépéde)

Family Chaetodontidae

37: Anisochaetodon _ (Lino- = + —

Phora) auriga (Forskal)

38. Chaetodon (Rhabdophorus) — — + =

trifasciatus Mungo

Park

39, Chaetodon xanthocephalus -- — oe =

Bennett

Family Zanclidae

40. Zanclus_ cornutus (Lin- | _- = 4 as

naeus) |

SAS iP REE RSE SS AS TI SE EP 2 SD IEEE TELE ESE ELI DOLE DELETE OI AE IGS AB ES

302 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

TABLE I—(contd.)

—wE

Name Agathi | Kavarathi | Ameni | Kadamat

41. Zanclus canescens (Linnaeus) = — le ae

Family Acanthuridae

42. Acanthurus _ triostegus at _ aa” sels

(Linnaeus)

43. Acanthurus _ leucosternon ae — ae grr

Bennett

44. Acanthurus lineatus (Lin- + _ ot =

naeus)

45, Acanthurus __ tennentii — — + ua

(Giinther)

46. Naso tuberosus Lacépéde — | + — abet

47. Naso unicornis (Forskal) —_ +- — yi

Family Siganidae

48. Siganus oramin _ — + a

(Schneider)

* Family Scorpaenidae

49. Scorpaenopsis _ cirrhosa? — = ai em

Day (nec. Thunberg)

50. Pterois volitans (Linnaeus) a a: = —

Family Pomacentridae

51. Abudefduf septemfasciatus — _ + —

(Cuvier)

32% Chromis xanthurus ? SS =~ — —

(Bleeker)

Family Coridae

53. Gomphosus varius Lacé- = = aR =

pede

54. Cheilio inermis (Forskal) ras — Ste a

55: Novaculichthys taeniourus = = Ar a

(Lacépéde)

56. Cymolutes lecluse (Quoy aan alr = a

. & Gaimard)

STs Thalassoma janseni

(Bleeker) — — aie ar

58. Thalassoma lunare = am ats an

(Linnaeus)

59. Thalassoma hardwickii

(Bennett) | = =e ate ae

60. Iniistius pavo (Cuvier &

Valenciennes)

NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO 303

TABLE I—(contd.)

Name | Agathi |Kavarathi} Ameni | Kadamat

61. Cheilinus trilobatus Lacé- — | — | au =

péde

62. Macropharyngodon meleagris? — — + =

(Cuvier & Valenciennes) te

63. Anampses diadematus — - a om

Ruppell

64. Stethojulis sp. = ae ae atk

65. Halichoeres centiquadrus — — a aL

(Lacépéde)

Family Sparisomidae

66. Cryptotomus spinidens | == a ae ay

(Quoy & Gaimard) |

Family Scaridae

67.

Callyodon ghobban — ae Sas ph

(Forskal)

68. Callyodon sp. I — - ae wee

69. Callyodon sp. I _ —— = a

70. Callyodon sp. III | — + — 4+

(Ae Leptoscarus coeruleopunc- | -— - = ss

tatus (Ruppell)

Family Blennidae

72.

Salarias fasciatus | — — a poe

(Bloch)

73% Salarias sp. — + = as

Family Eleotridae |

74. Eleotris sp. — | — As a

Family Balistidae

15% Rhinecanthus aculeatus | —~ = Zs ee

(Linnaeus)

76. Melichthys ringens — — — =

(Osbeck)

ide Balistes sp. oo + te, =

Family Monacanthidae

78. Amanses sandwichiensis _ — +.

(Quoy & Gaimard) |

Family Tetraodontidae

79. Arothron —nigropunctatus - — + 2

(Bloch)

80. Arothron hispidus — — a ELD

(Laceépéde)

304 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

FISHING CRAFT AND GEAR

Boats: The fishing boats of the islands are of the keeled type and

are made of wooden planks sewn together with coir ropes. The timber

commonly used is of the locally available Callophyllum inophyllum (the

Indian Laurel) though other varieties brought from the mainland are

used sometimes. The boat is manned by one to three men and is pro-

vided with a sail. The oars used are made of coco-nut stem. These

boats are described by Hornell (1908), Ayyangar (1922), and Mathew

and Ramachandran (1956). .

*Therappam’: This is a wooden raft composed of an aggre-

gate of fifteen to twenty-five light logs of wood tied together and is

operated in the lagoon area. It is usually manned by one man. It has

been described by Hornell (1946), and Mathew and Ramachandran

(1956).

Nets: The following nets are common in all the four islands visited

by me. They have been described in detail except (c) by Hornell (1908),

Ayyangar (1922), Burton (1940), and Mathew and Ramachandran (1956).

So little more is done beyond enumerating them as observed during my

Visit :

(a) Kandali vala: This is a shore-seine used for fishing in lagoon waters.

(b) Adi vala or vidunna vala : This is similar to kandali vala but of

smaller mesh. A smaller meshed shore-seine, called mulu vala, of Chetlat

Island is described by Burton (1940) and is referred to as moodu vala by

Mathew and Ramachandran (1956).

sinkers. It consists of three or four rectangular pieces of net laced from

end to end, and the whole net combination is left anchored in the sea

throughout the night. The net is common at Agathi but appears to be-

not so in the other islands visited by me. :

(d) Veechu vala or kotti vala : This is a cast net operated from shore

for catching fishes from the reefs and lagoons. It is not of the closing

type. Mudu vala is a similar cast net of Chetlat (described by Burton

1940).

Harpoons: (a) Chattuli or uli (single harpoon): This is used

for spearing fishes, dolphins, turtles, etc. The harpoon is one of the

most common fishing implements used in the islands. This has been

described by Hornell (1908), Ayyangar (1922), Burton (1940), and Mathew

and Ramachandran (op. cit.).

(b) Kooduli (three-pronged harpoon): This three-pronged iron

harpoon is used for spearing soft-bodied fishes such as seer fish, sail-

fish, tunny, etc. It has been described by Burton (1940), and Mathew

and Ramachandran (op. cit.)..|

NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO 305

poon locally called ‘ chilla’ is also used for catching flying-fishes, half-

beaks, etc. at night. Fishing with this implement is done very successfully

during new-moon nights. It has been described by Hornell (op. cit.),

Ayyangar (op. cit.), Burton (op. cit.), and Mathew and Ramachandran

(op. cit.).

Hook and Line: Line-fishing is practised in all the islands.

Small types of hooks are used for fishing in the lagoon area. Fishing in

the offshore areas is done with larger hooks. Different sizes of hooks

used are described by Hornell (op. cit.), Ayyangar (op. cit.), and Mathew

and Ramachandran (op. cit.).

Traps: Trap-fishing is also commonin these islands. Traps com-

monly used there have been described by Hornell (op. cit.), Ayyangar

(op. cit.), Burton (op. cit.), and Mathew and Ramachandran (op. cit.).

The catches obtained in them are generally small.

Torches: After sunset, during dark nights, flaring bundles of

coco-nut leaves are employed to lure the young of certain fishes (Upeneoids

and Polynemids largely) towards the boat, and these are caught with

the aid of rectangular pieces of cloth (measuring about 5ft. x 4ft.). This

method of fishing is more common in Agathi during summer months

than in the other islands visited.

GENERAL REMARKS

Fishes, such as sardines, mackerel, soles, silver-bellies, sciaenids,

pomfrets, and cat-fishes, which occur in large quantities on the west coast,

do not enter the commercial fisheries of the Laccadive Archipelago.

Flying-fishes, tuna, sharks, skates, rays, perches, seer-fish, red mullets,

gar-fishes, sphyraenids, parrot-fishes, polynemids, balistids, and acan-

thurids are the economically important fishes occurring in appreciable

numbers there. The flying-fishes yield one of the most important fisheries

of the islands. Fishes, such as Crenimugil crenilabis, Polynemus sexfilis,

Naso tuberosus, Naso unicornis, Gomphousus varius, Novaculichthys

taeniurus, Halichoeres centiquadrus, and Anampses diadematus, though

rare on the west Coast are often encountered in the island catches.

Besides fishes dolphins, turtles, edible bivalves, squids, and lobsters

are fished in small numbers from the Laccadive sea.

Fishes are cured if there is any surplus catch. Salt-curing is not

usually done mainly on account of the scarcity of salt for this purpose.

Kacha-meen, a kind of cured fish prepared by the islanders, is considered

a delicacy there. Curing by sun-drying (i.e. without the application of

salt) is also occasionally done. Small fishes are generally dried whole in

306

the sun.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Salted octopi and dolphins are considered delicacies and are

sometimes eaten raw by the local population.

A kind of crude oil prepared from the liver of sharks and rays is ex-

tensively used for smearing over the boats.

The fins of sharks are cut

out and frequently transported to the mainland where they fetch a good

price.

In the light of the above observations it seems clear that the fishery

resources around these islands, at present unexploited, will provide an

ample yield in future with the introduction of improved fishing crafts and

gear.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My grateful thanks are due to Dr. N. K. Panikkar and Dr. S. Jones

for their valuable suggestions and encouragement given in the course of

the preparation of this paper.

I am indebted to Mr. R. V. Nair for going

through the typescript and offering helpful criticism.

REFERENCES

Alcock, A. (1902): A naturalist in

Indian seas. London.

Ayyangar, S. R. (1922): Notes on

the fauna and fishing industries of the

Laccadives. Madras Fish. Bull. 15:

45-69.

Beaufort, L. F. de (1940) : The Fishes

of the Indo-Australian Archipelago,

Vols. 8 & 9. Leiden.

Bruun, Anton Fr. (1935) : Flying-fishes

(Exocoetidae) of the Atlantic. Systema-

tic and Biological studies. Dana Rept.

No. 6. if

1940): A visit to the

Burton, R. W. (

Laccadive Islands. JBNHS 41 (3) : 489-

513.

Day, F. (1865): The fauna of British

India. Fishes including Ceylon and

Burma. 2 vols. London.

Ellis, R. H. (1924): A short account

of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy.

Madras Govt. Press.

Gardiner, S. (1903 & 1906): The

Fauna and Geography of the Maldive

and Laccadive Archipelagos. Cam-

bridge University Press.

Hornell, J. (1910): Report on the

results of a fishery cruise along the

Malabar Coast and the Laccadive Islands

in 1908. Madras Fish. Bull. 4: 71-126.

— — (1937): The fishing methods of

the Madras Presidency. Part II. The

Malabar Coast. Madras Fish. Bull, 27:

1-69.

— — (1946):

Origins & early Evolution.

University Press.

Water ‘Transport —

Cambridge

Hornell, J. (1950): Fishing in many

waters. Cambridge University Press.

Mathew, M. J. & Ramachandran,

T. B. (1956) : Notes on a survey of the

fishing industry of the Laccadive Islands.

Fisheries Station Report and Year Book

(April 1954—March 1955) pp. 125-137.

Govt. Press, Madras.

Munro, I. S. R. (1955) : The Marine

and fresh water fishes of Ceylon.

Halstead Press, Sydney.

Norman, J. R. (1933-34): Fishes.

‘John Murray’ Exped. Sci. Repts. 7

(1): 1-116.

Smith, J. L. B. (1949) : The Sea Fishes

of Southern Africa. Cape Town.

— — (1954): Apogonid fishes of the

subfamily Pseudamiinae from south-east

Africa. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 12, 7:

775-795.

— — (1956): The parrot fishes of the

Family Callyodontidae of the Western

Indian Ocean. Ichth. Bull. No. 1,

January 1956.

— — (1957): The fishes of the family

Scorpaenidae in the Western Indian

Ocean. Part I. Ichth. Bull. No. 4, July

1957.

— — (1957): es Part II.

Ichth. Bull. No. 5, August 1957.

— — (1957) List of the fishes of the

family Labridae in the Western Indian

Ocean with new records and five new

species. Ichth. Bull. No. 7, October 1957.

Weber, M. & Beaufort, L. F. de

(1913-1940) : The Fishes of the Indo-

Australian Archipelago, Vols. 2-7.

Leiden.

Notes on the Eggs, Tadpoles,

_ Metamorphosis, and Ecology of the

Ceylonese Narrow-mouthed Frog

Ramanella obscura (Gunther)

A. M. MorGAn-DAVIES, F.Z.S.

(With two plates and four text-figures)

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge of the. eggs, tadpoles, life-history, and general ecology

of the majority of the Amphibia peculiar to Ceylon is very incomplete,

and of the fourteen such species the tadpoles of eight and the eggs

and life-histories of all fourteen still await complete investigation. The

genus Ramanella Rao is represented in Ceylon by three species two

of which, R. palmata and R. obscura, are peculiar to the island; the

third, R. variegata, occurs also in south India (Parker, 1934;

Kirtisinghe, 1957). —

This paper describes for the first time the eggs, tadpoles, and

metamorphosis of the Narrow-mouthed Frog Ramanella obscura

(Giinther). Also added are a few notes on its ecology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS —

Examination of the eres) onl freshly-deposited spawn was under-

taken with a microscope fitted with an ocular micrometer. The

account of the larval stages is taken from a batch of ova deposited

in the field. The tadpoles of a second batch of ova deposited in

the laboratory were bred at a temperature of 70°-80° F. (24°-27° C.)

and fed on mashed spinach. At intervals of five days total length

measurements were taken from both batches with a dial caliper and

the results recorded (Table 1).

~. °: BREEDING ACTIVITY

On 12 October 1957 the north-east monsoon broke over Kandy

District and by the 15th a considerable amount of calling was heard:

from some roadside silt pits at Hantane, about two miles south of

308 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Kandy town (2,600 ft.). On investigation, each flooded silt pit was

found to contain up to fifteen loudly-calling Ramanella obscura.

The call is very similar to that of its related species R. variegata which

has been described as ‘qhauy, qghauy, gqhauy’ (Rao, 1918), though

possibly not so loud. With the exception of two females, all were

males that had just arrived at their breeding sites and were floating

on the water with their limbs partly extended in an attitude similar to

that adopted by Rana c. cyanophlyctis, or else clutching floating debris

with just their heads and forelegs showing above the water. During

the following week females became more numerous and spawn

was to be found in most pits. By the 26th, ten days after breeding|

commenced, there was not a frog to be found but eggs and young

tadpoles were left in abundance.

The position during amplexus was semi-pectoral with the arms

of the male passing just behind and beneath those of the female, the

palms and fingers turned out and digging into the pectoral area.

During amplexus the pair never left the water for more than a minute

or two, and during these short periods the hindlegs of the male were

brought up so that the thighs, shanks, and feet were well together

above the waist or thighs of the female (Plate I, fig. 1). When in the

LO es ae

1.4mm.

Fig. 1. Diagram of egg. (Broken line indicates loose envelope)

water the pair remained afloat, with or without the female clutching

some form of support, and with their feet flexed and pointing dorso-

laterally at an angle of approximately 45° to the long axis of the

JourN. BomBAy Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE [|

1. Position during amplexus on land

2. Position during amplexus in water

Photos : A. M. Morgan-Davies

Journ. BompBay Nat. Hist. Soc. RvAgE sit

1. Larval stages

9. Adult male and female Ramanella obscura

Photos : A. M. Morgan-Davies

THE CEYLONESE FROG RAMANELLA OBSCURA 309

body (Plate I, fig. 2). From the lateral view the pair float with their

nostrils and eyes just clear of the water and their bodies at an angle

of approximately 30° to the surface. Unfortunately the act of ova

deposition was not observed, though it was noted that in three cases,

in captivity ova deposition took place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT

The egg mass is deposited as a surface film, either in a single

mass Or more often in small batches, independent of any form of

anchorage or support. Should the water be disturbed the eggs are

easily separated into smaller batches or single eggs, and throughout

the ova stage do not sink below the surface unless compelled. They

are truncated spheres, flat above with a loose outer envelope. A

count of the ova deposited by three females in captivity revealed

514, 530, and 626 ova, or a mean of 557. Examination with a micro-

scope disclosed the presence of three gelatinous envelopes, the inner

envelope being .80 mm., the middle .27 mm., and the outer 1.08 mm.,

(Fig. 1). The vitellus is dark brown and light tan, about 1.35 mm.,

in diameter. Embryonic development from fertilisation to hatching

takes approximately seventy-two hours at a temperature maintained

De eb Sy (2500 C.).

LARVAL DEVELOPMENT

On hatching the tadpoles are a uniform pale brown in colour with

the exception of the ventral surface and fin membranes which are

translucent. Within forty hours of hatching the external giils, which

are small and only clearly visible from the ventral view with the aid

of a lens, are absorbed and the spiracle can be seen as an opening

just forward of the anus in the mid-ventral line.

By the twenty-fifth day of development the tadpoles are approxi-

mately 21 mm. in length, pigmentation has become more intense and

changed from a pale brown to a dark grey-black throughout the dorsal

surface of the body and tail musculature and lightly spread across the

tail crests except for a narrow translucent border which is compara-

tively free from melanophores. The heart and intestines can be seen

through the abdominal wall.

Within the following ten days the hindlimbs and toes are well

developed in the majority of tadpoles, the measurements being as

follows: Body length 10 mm., tail length 20.5 mm., total length

30.5 mm., tail width 5 mm. The head and body is oval, one and

a half times as long as broad. The mouth is dorso-terminal without

310 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

horny mandibles and the lips without horny teeth or papillae (Fig. 2).

The nostrils are slightly nearer to the tip of the snout than to the

eyes and the internarial width is equal to about one quarter the inter-

Fig. 2. Mouth parts of tadpole

orbital. The spiracle is a translucent tube extending backwards

beyond the anus on the mid-ventral line (Fig. 3). The tail is

lanceolate, with the crests of equal depth, the dorsal crest starting

slightly aft of the ventral. |

Fig. 3. Diagram of spiracle

Within the next ten days the forelimbs emerge and the coloration

and markings on the body and limbs approximate very closely to

those of the adult frog. The measurements of the tadpoles at this

stage are: body length 9.5 mm., tail length 16 mm., total length

25.5 mm., tail width 2.5 mm., femur length 4 mm., and tibia length ~

3.75 mm. |

In the majority of tadpoles metamorphosis is reached within the

50th to 60th day of development and the measurements of the

young frogs at this stage are: length of head and body 9.5 mm.,

Jength of femur 4.25 mm., and length of tibia 4 mm.

THE CEYLONESE FROG RAMANELLA OBSCURA 311

DISCUSSION ON LARVAL DEVELOPMENT

A very obvious observation recorded during this period was the

considerable difference in sizes between larvae living under different

conditions of food supply during corresponding stages of develop-

ment. Under laboratory conditions, where food is unlimited, the

tadpoles reach a length of as much as six millimetres in excess of their

age counterparts living under more stringent conditions in the field.

A comparison between the rate of growth of two batches of ova

deposited on the same day, but one living under natural and the

other under laboratory conditions, is given in Table I. Unfortunately

all the tadpoles bred under laboratory conditions died before reaching

metamorphosis. Apart from the increase in length of these tadpoles,

their weight ratio was approximately 1.75:1 compared with their

respective counterparts living in the field.

TABLE I

RATE OF GROWTH OF TADPOLES

Total length in mm. of tadpoles bred under

Number of days.

GQ Oe

Natural conditions. Laboratory conditions

}

Foe , ayn

5 5.0 eS

10 10.0 12.0

15 14.0 l 16.5

20 17.5 20.0

25 21.0 23.5

30 25.0 215

35 28.0 32.0

40 30.0 35.0

45 25 31.5

50 20.0 Dead

55 9:54 —

60 10.0 —

65 11.0 —_

1 Metamorphosis

COLORATION

Unlike the highly variable colour schemes of many frogs and

toads the pattern and colours of Ramanella obscura would appear to

be very constant. The only noticeable colour-change recorded during

two months of observation was a uniform darkening of the red-brown

to blend with the black median markings and limb cross-bars. This

change was more common and more pronounced in males than in

females. The young frogs immediately after metamorphosis are a

grey-black in colour. The characteristic red-brown coloration on the

312. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

dorsal surface of the adult frog is not clearly present on juvenile

specimens but the black and white patches and limb cross-bars are

clearly noticeable. The blotched ventral surface of adult specimens

is also clearly noticeable in juveniles.

Fig. 4. Diagram of tadpole of Ramanella obscura

DERMAL SECRETION

The use of nauseous or poisonous dermal secretions as a means

of protection from certain enemies is well known in the Anura. The

first indication I had that Ramanella obscura possessed such an

attribute was the excretion of a pale amber, highly adhesive, dermal

secretion when the animal was being chloroformed. After a few

seconds this secretion became so viscous that it became extremely hard

to take it off one’s fingers. Unfortunately I had no opportunity to

test if this secretion is used as a means of defence. It may not be out

of place to mention here that a similar dermal secretion, though

somewhat of a slightly darker amber, is also found in Uperodon

systoma.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am most grateful to Mr. P. Kirtisinghe, Reader in Zoology in the

University of Ceylon, for his identification of this species and his

valuable criticism and encouragement.

REFERENCES

Rao, C. R. N. (1918): Notes on the Parker, H.W. (1934): A Monograph of the

Tadpoles of Indian Engystomatidae. Frogs of the Family Microhylidae,

Rec. Ind. Mus. xv: 41. London. it

Kirtisinghe, P. (1957) : The Amphibia of

Ceylon.

Endemism and Outside Influence on

the Flora of Manipur

D. B. DEB

Dept. of Botany, M.B.B. College, Agartala, Tripura

INTRODUCTION

‘The Sikkim type becomes established with the occurrence on the

heights above the Irong of Aucuba himalaica a bush everywhere from the

Laimatol range at 4,000 ft. to Saramati at 1,000 ft.’ Thus observed Sir

George Watt (1890) while writing about the forests of Manipur. Probably

his remark was influenced by that of Clarke (1885) who considered that

there is a striking dissimilarity between the floras of the Naga Hills and

the Khasi Hills. Bor (1938) showed that the vegetations of the Khasi

and the Naga Hills are not so dissimilar as considered by Clarke when

comparable altitudes are studied, and any dissimilarity can be rationally

explained as due to ecological factors. In this paper, the author analyses

the floristic elements of Manipur with a view to examine the observation

_of Watt cited above.

SITUATION

The State of Manipur is situated between Assam and Burma. It

lies between 23’ 47° & 25’ 41° E. and 93’ 6° & 94’ 48° N. Strategically

the State is very important, constituting the eastern frontier of India

and serving as a gateway to Burma. It is bounded on the north by the

Naga Hills, on the south by the Chin Hills, Burma, and the Mizo (Lushai)

Hills, on the east by the Somra tract and Upper Chindwin Districts

(Kubbo Valley), and on the west by Cachar and the North Cachar Hills.

The area of the State is 8638 sq. miles, about 700 sq. miles of which form

the central valley of Manipur.

EXPLORATIONS OF MANIPUR

The first botanical exploration of Manipur was made by Watt who

was deputed as botanist member to the Boundary Commission of 1881-

82 set up by the Indian Government. He made some observations on

the distribution of the flora and the influence of different elements on it.

314. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Clarke traversed the same route as Watt and published in 1890 a list of

1050 species from Kohima and Manipur, of which only 422 were Manipur

plants.

The next exploration of Manipur was undertaken by A. Meebold in

1906-7. He did not publish any account of his collections, nor did he

keep any tabulation of them. Later, Anandale (1921), Biswas (1930),

Bor (1938, 1945), Kingdon-Ward (1946-48), and Mukherjee (1946-48)

explored the flora of Manipur from time to time, but none of them

attempted to make any systematic study. ae See ae (1955)

explored the flora during the years 1951-55.

NOTEWORTHY FEATURES OF MANIPUR FLORA

The floristic studies of Manipur by Deb (1955) reveal that the State

contains 2191 species of higher plants ranging from Pteridophyta to

Angiosperms, including 2 species new to science, 8 spp. new to India,

more than 200 new records for the Assam region, and about 1500 new

records for Manipur.

The new species are (1) Hoya manipurensis Deb (1955), and (2)

Gleadovia banerjiana Deb (1957).

Of the eight species found to occur in Manipur as new records for

India, one (Viscum ovalifolium DC.) has already been recorded by R. S.

Rao of the Botanical Survey of India. Others are named below with

the original home mentioned in parentheses. (Detailed descriptions

with illustrations will be published elsewhere.) :

(1) Arundinaria kurzii Gamble (South Burma), (2) Bambusa kingii

Gamble (Upper Burma), (3) Cycas siamensis Mig. (Siam), (4) Craibioden-

dron shanicum W. W. Smith (Burma), (5) Dicliptera riparia Nees (Burma),

(6) Leucomeris decora Kurz (Pegu), and (7) Helicteres glabriuscula

Wall. (Burma).

SPECIES ENDEMIC TO MANIPUR

Of 2191 species found in Manipur, the following 27 species are endemic

to this State ; with few exceptions, most of the other species occur also

in the Assam region:

(1) Arisaema wattii Hook. f., (2) Aster wattii Clarke, (6) Baliospermum

meeboldii Pax & Hoffm., (4) Baliospermum suffruticosum Pax & Hoffm.,

(5) Begonia obversa Clarke, (6) Beaumontia longituba Craib, (7) Carex

manipurensis Clarke, (8) Corylopsis manipurensis Hemsl., (9) Elatostema

‘ciliatum Clarke, (10) Hedychium greenii W. W. Smith, (11) Ilicium mani-

purensis Watt, (12) Iris bakeri Wall., (13) Iris wattii Baker, (14) Justicia

-anfractuosa Clarke, (15) Lilium mackliniae Sealy, (16) Passiflora assamica

“Chakravarty, (17) Pimpinella flaccida Clarke; (18) | Phacellaria wattii

ENDEMISM & OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON FLORA OF MANIPUR © 315

Hook. f., (19) Pilea minuta Clarke, (20) Piper gamblei Clarke, (21)

Potentilla manipurensis Watt, (22) Rhododendron elliottii Watt, (23)

Rhododendron johnstoneanum Watt, (24) Rhododendron manipurense

Balf., (25) Rhododendron wattii Cowan, (26) Vernonia cylindriceps Clarke,

and (27) Kalanchoe rosea Clarke.

Only about 1.3% of the species are endemic to Manipur. These

endemic species are mostly temperate and subalpine plants growing on

hill tops. They are not generally found below 5,000 ft. in altitude.

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO THE KHASI HILLS AND MANIPUR

30 species hitherto thought to be endemic to the Khasi Hills are now

recorded from Manipur, and this reduces the Khasi Hills endemics by

that number.

They areas follows: (1) Polygonum paleaceum Wall., (2) Polygonum

rude Meissn., (3) Desmodium racemosum DC., (4) Desmodium griffi-

thianum Benth., (5) Desmodium debile Baker, (6) Hydrobryum griffithii

ul., (7) Rubus opulifolium Benth., (8) Adina griffithii Hasiland, (9)

Pavetta subspicata Hook. f. (Jaintia Hills also), (10) Psychotria symplici-

folia Kurz, (11) Dipsacus asper Wall., (12). Begonia thomsonii A.DC.,

(13) Phyllanthus griffithii Muell., (14) Aeschynanthus superba Clarke, (15)

Chirita brevipes Clarke, (16) Trichodesma khasianum Clarke, (17) Calli-

carpa psilocalyx Clarke, (18) Ligustrum myrsinites Decne., (19) Gelsimum

elegans Benth., (20) Gentiana campanulacea Wall., (21) Trachelospermum

articulatum Schm., (22) Gongronema ventricosum Hook. f., (23) Aechman-

thera leiosperma Clarke, (24) Ebermaiera staurogyne Nees, (25) Justicia

khasiana Clarke, (26) Strobilanthes maculatus Nees, (27) Ainslea angusti-

folia Hook. f. & T., (28) Senecio linifolius Clarke, (29) Arisaema

petiolulatum Hook. f., and (30) Pogonantherum rufobarbatum Griff.

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO ASSAM DISTRICTS INCLUDING MANIPUR

There are 21 species which are of restricted distribution to different

districts of Assam but their range of distribution extends to Manipur

also :

(1) Indigofera anil Linn., (2) Bauhinia tenuiflora Watt ex Clarke, (3)

Prunus jenkinsii Hook. f. & T., (4) Rubus assamensis Focke, (5) Rubus

burkillii Rolfe (Abor Hills), (6) Rubus lucens Focke, (7) Piper muney-

porence DC., (8) Cinnamomum pauciflorum Nees, (9) Polysolenia walli-

chii Hook. f., (10) Elaeagnus pyriformis Hook. f., (11) Aralia thomsonii

Seem., (12) Anplectrum assamicum Clarke, (13) Eryngium foetidum Linn.,

(14) Ardisia khasiana Clarke, (15) Ardisia virens Kurz, (16) Rhyncotechum

alternifolium Clarke, (17) Solanum kurzii Br., (18) Stichoneuron membra-

naceum Hook. f., (19) Lepistemon wallichii whois (20) Scutellaria khasiona

Clarke, and (21) Hyparrhenia griffithii Bor.

316 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO MANIPUR AND THE NAGA HILLS

(1) Uraria clarkei Gagnep., (2) Helwingia lanceolata Watt, (3)

Jasminum dumicolum W. W. Smith, (4) Senecio nagensium Clarke, and

(5) Senecio rhabdos Clarke.

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO THE KHASI HILLS, THE NAGA HILLS, AND

MANIPUR

(1) Ardisia polycephala Wall., (2) Strobilanthes acrocephalus TT.

Anders., (3) Pollinia pentasperma Clarke, (4) Smilax myrtillus A. DC.,

(5) Cymbopogon khasianus Stapf, (6) Brachiaria villosa A. Camus, and

(7) Hierochloe clarkei Hook. f.

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO THE MISHMI HILLS AND MANIPUR

(1) Oxyspora cernua Triana (Chittagong also), (2) Callicarpa lasio-

carpus Clarke, (3) Viburnum atrocyaneum Clarke (Sikkim and the Naga

Hills also), and (4) Sapria himalayana Griff. (The Aka Hills & the

Khasi Hills also).

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO CACHAR AND MANIPUR

(1) Ardisia keenanii Clarke, and (2) Parameria pedunculosa Benth.

SPECIES RESTRICTED TO THE SIKKIM HIMALAYAS AND MANIPUR

(1) Pimpinella sikkimensis Clarke, (2) Maesa rugosa Clarke, (3)

Primula listeri King, (4) Ophiopogon clarkei Hook. f., (5) Globba hookeri

Clarke (the Naga Hills also), (6) Tupistra wattii Hook. f., and (7) Cepha-

lostachyum latifolium Munro.

FINDINGS

From the above mentioned restricted influences of different categories

the following points are elucidated :

(1) Only seven species endemic to the Sikkim Himalayas are found to

occur in Manipur, a place outside their home. Other Sikkim plants

recorded from Manipur are found in different parts of Assam as well.

(2) About 69 species endemic to Assam in general are recorded from

Manipur.

(3) About 30 species, long regarded as endemic to the Khasi Hills,

are found to occur commonly in Manipur only, outside their natural

home.

ENDEMISM & OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON FLORA OF MANIPUR — 317

(4) With these discoveries from Manipur, the number of endemic

plants of Assam is reduced by about 69 species, and that of the Sikkim

Himalayas by seven; these discoveries on the other hand indicate a greater

phytogeographical affinity of Manipur with the Khasi Hills than with

the Sikkim Himalayas.

(5) Only about 27 species are truly endemic in Manipur. Such a

low percentage (1.3%) of endemics in this State may be accounted for,

when we consider the geological history and geographical position of

this area. Kingdon-Ward (1949) explains it lucidly thus : ‘In fact the

position of Manipur in the middle of glaciated mountains and astride

one of the glacial escape routes was peculiarly favourable for receiving

contributions of flora from all directions.’

CONCLUSIONS

In the light of the above findings, the observation of Watt may be

left alone and we may safely conclude that Manipur forms a phyto-

geographical part of Assam, with a very high percentage of Indo-Malayan

species and an admixture of some Sikkim Himalayan, Burmese, Siamese,

and Chinese species.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The materials and data are taken from the D. Phil. thesis ‘ Floristic

Study of Manipur’ worked out by the author under the guidance of Dr,

I. Banerjee, Head of the Dept. of Botany, Calcutta University.

REFERENCES

Annandale, N. (1921): Records of Deb, D. B. (1955) : A New Species of

the Indian Museum 22.

Biswas, K. (1930): Contributions to

the knowledge of the fresh water algae

oe era Assam. JBNHS 34: 189-

Bor, N. L. (1939): Some remarks

upon the geology and flora of the Naga

and Khasi Hills. 150th Anniv. Vol.

Royal Bot. Gard. Calcutta: 129-137.

Chatterjee, D. (1939) : Studies on the

Endemic Flora of India & Burma.

Jour. Roy. As. Soc. Beng. 5 (3): 19-67.

Clarke, C. B. (1885): A letter to Sir

J.D. Hooker, Jour. Linn. Soc. 22: 185.

— —, (1889) : On the plants of Kohima

and Munneypore. Jour. Linn. Soc. 25:

Hoya from Manipur Hova manipuren-

sis Deb. sp. nov. Jour. Ind. Bot. Soc. 34:

50-52.

— —, (1956): Floristic Study of Mani-

pur, I & II.D.Phil. Thesis, Calcutta

University, 1956.

——, (1957): A New Species of

Gleadovia Gamble et Prain from Mani-

pur Gleadovia banerjiana Deb. sp. nov.,

JBNHS 54: 799-800.

Hooker, J. D. (1862-1883) : Flora of

British India. I-VII.

Ward, F. Kingdon- (1949):

Hunter in Manipur. London.

Watt, G. (1890): Manipur Forest.

Indian For. 14: 219, 339, & 387.

Plant

Observations on some Myxophyceae

from High Altitudes

G. S. VENKATARAMAN, M.SC.

Botany Division, I.A.R.I., New Delhi-12

(With five figures)

INTRODUCTION

The present communication deals with 12 forms of Blue-green Algae,

collected by Dr. M.S. Randhawa from Binsar and Gananath at an altitude

of 6,000-7,000 feet above sea-level and from Dhakuri on the Pindari

Glacier route in Almora District in Himalayas at an altitude of 8,500

feet above sea-level during 1938. In general, it is observed that the sheath

in most of the members is very thick, probably a necessary consequence of

the cold climate in these places, and the heterocysts are also very scanty

in occurrence, as compared with the same forms occurring in the plains.

SYSTEMATIC LIST

1. Aphanocapsa pulchra (Kiitz) Rabh. Geitler und Pascher, Siiss-

wasserflora Deutschlands, Heft. 12, p. 65, 1925.

Colonies ovate or globose ; cells spherical ; loosely distributed within

a copious mucilage ; contents blue-green.

Diameter of the cells, 3.8-5.7 yu.

Habitat : Among other algae on dripping rocks, Almora, June 1938.

2. Chaemosiphon subglobosus (Rostaf.) Lemm. . Geitler, Rabenhorsts

Kryptogammenflora, Bd. XIV, p. 428, fig. 247, 1930.

Cells globose to elliptical; sporangium single-celled ; spherical or

slightly elliptical (Fig. 4).

_- Diameter of the cells, 3.8 -.

Length of the sporangium, 5.7 wu.

Habitat ; Epiphytic on Scytonema Sen Dhakuri on Pindari

Glacier route. Almora District, July 1938.

3. Chaemosiphon curvatus Geitler. Geitler, Rabenhorsts Krypto-

gammenflora, Bd. XIV, p. 426, figs. 244-6, 1930. e.)

Solitary or gregarious ; cylindrical, curved ; sometimes club-shaped

(Fig. 5)..

Diameter of the cells 3.8 jw.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

HIGH ALTITUDE MyYXOPHYCEAE

1. Spirulina nordstedtii Gom. 2. Spirulina laxa Smith. 3. Spirulina subsalsa Oersted .

4. Chaemosiphon subglobosus (Rostaf.) Lemm. 5. Chaemosiphon curvatus Geitler. x680.

SOME HIGH ALTITUDE MYXOPHYCEAE 319

Length of the cells, 22.8-64 yu.

Habitat : Epiphytic on Scytonema ocellatum along with Chaemosi-

phon subglobosus, Dhakuri on Pindari Glacier route, Almora District,

July 1938.

4, Spirulina nordstedtii Gom. Geitler, Rabenhorsts Kryptogam-

menflora, Bd. XIV, p. 930, 1930.

Trichomes closely and regularly spiralled ; cell contents blue-green

(Fig..1). |

Breadth of the trichome, 1.9 wu.

Distance between the spirals, 5.7 ».

Habitat: Along with Scytonema sp., Spirulina laxa, and Spirulina

subsalsa on cowdung, Lokarkhet, Almora District, June 1938.

5. Spirulina laxa G. M. Smith. Geitler und Pascher, Siisswasserflora

Deutschlands, Heft 12, p. 347, 1925.

Trichomes loosely spiralled ; cell contents blue-green (Fig. 2).

Breadth of the trichome, 1.9-2.8 j.

Breadth of the spiral, 3.8-7.6 uw.

Distance between the spirals, 12.3 yu.

Habitat : On cowdung with Spirulina nordstedtii, Lokarkhet, Almora’

~ District, June 1938.

6. Spirulina subsalsa Oersted. Geitler, Rabenhorsts Kryptogam-

_ menflora, Bd. XIV, p. 927, fig. 593, 1930.

_ Trichomes loosely spiralled, sometimes closely spiralled. In closely

spiralled portions the spirals are so close that there is no space between

the turns ; cells blue-green (Fig. 3).

Breadth of the trichome, 1.9-2.8 ju.

Breadth of the spiral, 3.8-5.7 pw.

Habitat : On cowdung, along with Spirulina nordstedtii and Spirulina

laxa, Lokarkhet, Almora District, June 1938.

7. Oscillatoria ornata Kitz. Geitler, Rabenhorsts Kryptogam-

menflora, Bd. XIV, p. 945, 1930.

Trichomes straight ; not attenuated towards the apices; end cell

rounded ; contents blue-green with fine granulations.

Breadth of the trichome, 4.7-5.7 wu.

Habitat : On stones from the bed of Kosi River, Almora, July 1938.

_ 8. Oscillatoria proboscida Gom. Geitler, Rabenhorsts Kryptogam-

menflora, Bd. XIV, p. 943, fig. 598b, 1930.

_ Breadth of the trichomes, 12.3-14.4 ju.

320. JOURNAL,. BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Length of the cells, 3.8-4.7 w.

Habitat : On stones in the bed of Kosi River, Almora, July 1938.

9. Oscillatoria quadripunctulata Briihl et Biswas var. unigranulata

Singh. Singh, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Vol. 9, p. 68, fig. 1F, 1939.

Trichomes straight, with a single granule on either side of the cross-

wall.

Breadth of the trichome, 1.9 ju.

Habitat : On the boulders, along with O. ornata in the bed of the Kosi

River, Almora, June 1938.

10. Lyngbya epiphytica Hieron. Geitler und Pascher, Stisswasserflora

Deutschlands, Heft 12, p. 397, 1935.

Breadth of the filaments, 1.9-2.8 ju.

Length of the cell, 1.9-2.8 w.

Habitat : Epiphytic on larger algae, Almora, July 1938.

11. Scytonema ocellatum Lyng. Geitler und Pascher, Siisswasserflora

Deutschlands, Heft 12, p. 272, 1925.

Sheath thick ; yellowish brown; contents olive-green ; heterocysts

squarish and rare.

Breadth of the filaments, 11.4-19 pw

Breadth of the cells, 7.6-9.5 w.

Length of the cells, 3.8-7.6 yw.

Habitat : On moist rocks, Dhakuri on Pindari Glacier route, Almora

District, July 1938.

12. Nostoc sp.

Tough brownish balls ; trichomes highly contorted inside a confluent

sheath ; cells blue-green ; spherical ; heterocysts intercalary ; bigger than

the cells. Since no akinetes were observed, the identification of the species

has been rendered impossible.

Breadth of the cells, 3.8 wu.

Breadth of the heterocysts, 5.7 yu.

Habitat : On dripping rocks, Almora, June 1938.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am highly thankful to Dr. M. S. Randhawa, D.Sc., I.C.S., for so

kindly placing his valuable collections at my disposal and for his keen

interest throughout the investigation. My sincere thanks are also due to

SOME HIGH ALTITUDE MYXOPHYCEAE 321

Dr. B. P. Pal and Dr. S. M. Sikka for their interest in the work and for

kindly providing all facilities to carry it out.

REFERENCES

Geitler, L. und Pascher, A. (1925):

Cyanophyceae in A. Pascher’s Die Stiss-

wasserflora Deutschlands, Osterreichs

und der Schweiz 12: 1-450, Jena.

Geitler, L. (1930): Cyanophyceae in

Rabenhorsts Kryptogammenflora von

Europa 14, Leipzig.

Singh, R. N. (1939): The Myxo-

phyceae of the United Provinces, India-

IV. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 9B; 63-68.

Reviews

1. THE MONKEY BOOK. By Ernest P. Walker. Pp. 153

(264 cm.X18 cm.). 51 black-and-white plates. New York, 1954.

The Macmillan Company. Price ?.

This small book serves a useful purpose in giving expert advice

and guidance in keeping monkeys both in the home as pets and in

zoos. The author was for many years the Assistant Director of the

National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, and

seems eminently fitted for this work. Genuine love and a sensitive.

understanding of animals is evident throughout the book and is typified

by a paragraph on page 4 which deserves to be quoted for its wisdom: |

‘The extent to which a pet may be enjoyed probably depends

more upon the person than upon the pet. If the person is very

kind, gentle, and considerate, the pet will almost invariably respond

and be a highly enjoyable companion. On the other hand, if one

is determined to subjugate the animal and make it conform to human

standards and become a poor copy of a person, the animal will lose

its peculiarly fascinating personality for which it is charming, and

is likely to be sullen, morose, antagonistic, and in general unsatis-

factory.’

Keeping a monkey in the home, specially the less common or larger

breeds, we learn is an exacting hobby entailing a great. deal of

sacrifice in money, time, living space, and home comforts. Feeding

is not a simple business. Our knowledge of the dietary needs of

the various species is still very sketchy and suitable menus have to

be ascertained by intelligent trial. If the monkey in the wild eats

a great variety of food, the elements thus obtained have to be made

up by offering it a wide choice depending on its age and habits in

the wild. The relish with which the animal accepts the various

items indicates its dietary needs. In order to avoid deficiencies a

remarkably wide range of foods, both cooked and uncooked, are

recommended, some that most humans would consider unobtainable

luxuries and many that no monkey in the wild has ever heard of.

Thus we have items like ice cream, baked custard, cottage cheese,

peaches, pears, and apricots at one end of the range. descending

through boiled and raw vegetables, nuts, roast meat, eggs, various

cereals, and bread to meal worms, grasshoppers, crickets, and spiders.

This diet in judicious quantities has to be fortified with assorted!

vitamins and, for the young, the latest in baby feeds. Incidentally

REVIEWS 323

a human foster mother is recommended for newly captured baby

Gorillas while in the jungle and then the care and advice of a child

specialist. The recommendation at first sight is startling but on con-

siderations of biological kinship quite obvious.

The author is firmly convinced that for keeping primates in

captivity the ‘solution of the psychological problem of keeping them

happy is of even more importance than that of supplying them with

‘food. If they become very unhappy they will not eat no matter what

food you give them.’ Consequently the book emphasises the need for

giving the monkey, which is a gregarious animal, constant com-

panionship either human or of other animals. Its need of participation

in activity must be satisfied and the cage should be situated so that

the monkey at least will have the benefit of the mental stimulus

excited by seeing activity about it.

Practical directions are given for rigging up cages and living space

suitably furnished for different species, with recommendations for

optimum heating, lighting, and recreational arrangements. Provisions

for the health, comfort, and well-being both physical and mental of

the animal are thought out in meticulous detail with the loving fore-

sight of a devoted and doting spinster aunt. Nothing seems to be

too good for the pet. “Yhe pet is always right’ (p. 24) is the motto

adopted by the master.

It is interesting to learn from the chapter on Health (p. 20) that

monkeys are also similar to humans in their ailments. They have

internal parasites and diseases that do not seem to do much harm in

the wild but in captivity they become serious enough to endanger the

health of humans. Precautionary treatment is therefore advised, for

instance against amoebic dysentery which is about one hundred per

cent prevalent in rhesus and some of the other macaques (p. 21).

- Part II of the book is given over to a catalogue of over 50 genera

of both Old and New World primates. Two pages are devoted to each

genus, one page illustrating a representative species and a descriptive

page giving physical characteristics, range, and habits both in the

wild and in captivity. The illustrations which are well chosen and

beautifully reproduced add to the value of the book.

D. J. PANDAY

2. ‘I NAME THIS PARROT... . By Arthur A. Prestwich.

Pp. 86 (214 cm.xX14 cm.). London, 1958. Arthur A. Prestwich.

61 Chase Road, Oakwood. 5s. 6d.

This is rather an extraordinary book and its interest must be

somewhat circumscribed in that it consists only of a list of Psittaci-

324 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

formes which have been named after people, each followed by a

short biography of the person concerned. If, therefore, you see the

name Neopsittacus musschenbroekii and wish to know something

about M. Musschenbroek, all you have to do is to look up the

alphabetical list and you will find a neatly presented précis of his

biography.

About the parrots so named there is little or no information to

be discovered, but the list of people so honoured is amazing. They

range from obscure politicians in the Seychelles to crowned heads

of Europe, Alexander the Great, and a nephew of Napoleon

Bonaparte. Many of them are of course rightly named after their

discoverers or other distinguished naturalists. The book lists one

Nicolas Thomas Marion du Fresne (1729-?) who was not a naturalist.

His sole claim to fame is that he was given charge of an expedition

to discover whether or not a continent existed in the Southern Ocean.

Almost immediately after leaving his port of embarkation, his two

ships collided with each other causing him to abandon the search!

Another, Psittacula calthorpae, was named by Layard after his first

wife.

As stated in the Preface, the compilation of this work must have

entailed ‘endless trouble in tracing innumerable obscure references’.

{t will no doubt be of assistance to anybody requiring such informa-

tion.

N. J. NORTHOVER

3. SEAL MORNING. By Rowena Farre. Pp. 178 (21.5 cm.xX

13.5 cm.). Hutchinson, London, 1957. 15s. net.

At the age of ten Rowena Farre was taken by her aunt Miriam

to live in a lonely croft in the county of Sutherland in the extreme

north of Scotland. Here they spent seven years in a waste of moor,

bog, and water where trees were a rarity. Their nearest neighbour,

a shepherd, lived four miles away, and for medical help and stores

they had to walk or drive by trap to the clachan (village) about nine.

miles away. During the winter they were completely cut off from

the outside world from mid-September to April or May, and their

only companions were their animals, a really heterogeneous collection.

Arriving with Rodney, a Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus), and two

grey squirrels, Cuthbert and Sara, they quickly acquired a reputation

as animal lovers which brought them the gift of two otter cubs. The

otters Hansel and Gretel flourished and soon learnt to forage for

themselves. In the following June Rowena returned from a holiday

in the Outer Hebrides bringing a young Common Seal, Lora, who

REVIEWS 32D

quickly established herself as a prominent member of the family.

Other members were a pony, two milch goats, and a yellow mongrel

dog Ben. This leaves out of account several pets which spent a

comparatively short time at the croft.

With the opportunities which this life placed in her way Miss

Farre, who combines her love for animals and genuine knack for

handling them with a gift for observation and a light discursive style

for recounting her observations, tells us much to interest lovers of

nature.

The hero is undoubtedly Lora who has given the book its name.

Her accomplishments are too many to be mentioned in a short review.

One of them was music. At an early age she responded to the piano

and learnt to sing to the accompaniment of a mouth organ. Later she

persuaded the young Rowena to surrender the mouth organ to her

and soon was playing simple tunes on it. Admiring visitors presented

her with other musical instruments. In due course she attended a

ceilidh (musical evening) and readers will enjoy Miss Farre’s account

of how she took possession of the platform to the exclusion of the

other performers. Lora accepted with compiacency all the other pets

but at once showed signs of jealousy when Miss Farre came back

from another holiday with Bernie, a baby Atlantic Seal. Seizing an

early opportunity of attacking him, she inflicted injuries which caused

his death.

Miss Farre gives particulars of an interesting test of the intelligence

of her pets. The criterion was the number of words to which each

was able to attach a definite meaning. The figures were Lora 35,

the female otter 18, the male otter 16, Ben the dog 12, Rodney the

rat 6, and the squirrels 5.

I cite Miss Farre’s description of the relations between Rodney

and the two. squirrels: ‘Presumably Rodney, as there was no female

rat around, looked to Sara for companionship. ... It was interesting

to note the various moves and sounds which this male rat made in

order to lure the female squirrel into his box. Perhaps Cuthbert

would be in the basket, Rodney in his box, and Sara on the

carpet or perched on a ledge of the dresser. A soft chitter from

Cuthbert would inform her that her presence was required in the

basket. She would start towards it and then, to her bewilderment,

would come a low, drawn-out squeak from the box by the dresser;

a very different sort of squeak from the kind Cuthbert was treated

to. Sara would turn, undecided. Another low, come-hither squeak,

and the sight of Rodney sitting up in his box would have her

hurrying to him. Then there would come a more commanding chitter

from the basket and perhaps Cuthbert would emerge, his tail

326 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

flickering. if Sara should happen to enter the box he would leap

from the basket on to a chair, spring down and streak across the

carpet. In order to avoid quite an unpleasant little set-to 1 would

pick Sara up and put her in the basket. Ultimately Cuthbert was

carried away by a peregrine falcon, and Sara adopted Rodney’s

box as her home. 7

These are samples of much that the reader will enjoy in this

j thoroughly readable book, which deals with other subjects besides

animals and their doings.

The book is neatly got up and is illustrated with attractive

drawings by Raymond Sheppard.

D- E.R.

4. LES CHAMPIGNONS D’EUROPE. Par Roger Heim.

Tome I, Pp. 327 (19 cm.X14 cm.). 56 plates in colour, 20 plates

in black-and-white photos, and numerous text figures. Tome II, Pp.

572 (19 cm.x14 cm.). 52 plates in colour and 625 drawings. Paris

1957, Editions N. Boubée and Cie. Price ?.

Mycologists, both professional and amateur, will be grateful to

M. Roger Heim and his publishers for this superbly produced and

excellently illustrated work on the European mushrooms and

toadstools. In a fluid and pleasing French, the first volume discusses

many aspects of the biology of the Fungi. The range of this vast

group is considered and the introductory chapters are devoted to

biological problems peculiar tc the group. Here the simpler and

more primitive Fungi are briefly described and related to those more

advanced forms that hold the central place in the later discussions.

In Chapter one M. Heim differentiates the Fungi from both the

plant and the animal kingdoms, and the evolution of the group is

considered with some especial attention to the occurrence of regression.

The second chapter is devoted to the general ecology of the higher

Fungi, Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes, the influence of climate, soil

character, and biotic factors being discussed in turn. In Chapter

three the anatomical form of the vegetative and reproductive bodies

is described, while in Chapter four precise details of microscopic

anatomy and the techniques useful in examining specimens may be

found. Coloration and pigment composition and the value of

characteristic pigments in determining taxonomic relationships is

discussed in Chapter five. M. Heim then turns to a most exciting

field, poisonous toadstools. Various types of illness are described

and the mechanism whereby each malady is brought about made as

clear as present knowledge permits. The volume ends with diverting

REVIEWS S24

contributions to mushroom culture and the delightful properties of

Fungi when prepared for the table. M. Heim suggests recipés

that will make any reader’s mouth water—-“Pochouse aux petits

rosés de Hautecombe’, “Lactaires delicieux grillés a la Lucefer’, and

‘Poulet aux delices des poétes’ are surely dishes at which any enterprising

amateur chef will want to try his hand. The concluding parts of

Volume I and the whole of Volume II are devoted to a description

of the European mushoom and toadstool flora. A number of novel

features are introduced here so that complex keys, so often the

‘curse of all except the very expert, are avoided and even the most

amateur of dining table collectors need have no fear in attempting

to identify a specimen. The careful and painstaking layout of this

descriptive section, together with the many admirable text figures,

will make this study a standard reference book in Europe for many

years. An _ excellent series of black and white photographs,

documented with clear and concise legends, and a large number of

beautiful colour plates complete a work that botanists, ‘mycogastro-

nomists,’ and naturalists will find a constant source of interest and

attraction upon their shelves.

: JOHN H. CROOK

5. WILDFOWL OF THE BRITISH ISLES. By Peter Scott and

Hugh Boyd. Pp. 64 (24.5X15.5 cm.). With 16 coloured plates.

London, 1957. Country Life Limited. Price 21s. net.

This book is one of sheer enjoyment to any ornithologist or

wildfowler for many of the birds are common migrants to India and

the descriptions of what occurs as it were at the other end of the

world cannot fail to arouse interest.

Combine a first class ornithologist and descriptive writer and

broadcaster with a world famous painter of wildfowl and you have

Peter Scott, one of the authors of this book. The other author is

Hugh Boyd, an eminent biologist. Consequently, it is not only an-

informative book but it is also, because of its illustrations, a beautiful

book.

The tone is set by the frontispiece which is the only illustration

not directly connected with the text—it is a reproduction of a nostalgic

Scott painting, ‘Mallards Dropping in’.

Turning away from the illustrations over which I Hie perhaps

lingered too long, the text is divided into three main parts, Swans,

Geese, and Ducks. At the end there are some short notes on un-

identifiable wildfowl and an appeal to readers to report ringed birds,

together with a guide to connected literature and a selected biblio-

graphy.

328 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

There is not much point in my commenting here on the descrip-

tions of any of the individual birds given in the work, for to do

justice to them one would have to quote an example verbatim—better,

read the book! However, some of the difficulties of identifying

wildfowl should perhaps be mentioned for, as the authors point out,

jn Britain this is not only complicated by the normal impediments of

dull lighting, birds too far off or too brief a glimpse, compounded by

Over-optimistic and unerudite observers, but in addition the. birds

themselves deceive. The birds do this by escaping unfairly far afield

from their normal habitats from zoos and other private collections,

wherein to make matters worse they may hybridize with other species

of not normally contiguous habitat in the wild.

For this nuisance the authors particularly condemn the Muscovy

Duck about whom they say: ‘Nearly all large black or white or

black and white ducks with knobbly looking reddish bills fall into

this class—especially when seen sitting on roof tops’.

Frequently it is impossible to determine whether a specimen is a

bona fide foreign visitor or an unmarked escapee from a near-by local

collection. This has for instance extended the breeding range of

certain species such as the Gadwall.

N. J. NORTHOVER

6. THE PET-KEEPER’S MANUAL. By Eric Fitch Daglish.

Pp. xi+178 (21.514 cm.). With 16 pages of photographs and many

drawings. London, 1958. J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd. Price 18s.

net.

This book is written for the pet-keepers of Britain but will be of

interest to pet-keepers and naturalists anywhere for it is an extremely

comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, well written and well produced

treatise on the subject. |

The primary object, of course, is to tell how any given pet should

be maintained in captivity. However, the book does very much.

more than that, for it includes very good descriptions of the animals’

habits in the wild.

The Indian fauna is well represented including the Malabar and

the Striped or Palm Squirrels, the Mongoose, the Indian Fruit Bat,

the Chameleon and the Rock Python, and Turtles, Tortoises, Bulbuls,

and Mynas.

Of these last the author says that the Greater Hill Myna is the

easiest to teach to talk, being a better mimic and more intelligent

than its relations. }

REVIEWS 329

On the subject of snakes he says that the main difficulty en-

countered in their keeping is getting them to feed, particularly those

that insist on live prey which may be unobtainable. His method of

overcoming this seeming impasse is force-feeding, which has ‘to be

carefully done to avoid damaging the snake’s lips or mouth. He

advocates filling with food a glass tube of suitable size, or in the case

of larger snakes a rubber tube, and then with the aid of an assistant

or two, depending on the size of snake, sliding the tube down the

throat to a length of several inches. When in the required position,

the food is gently ram-rodded from the tube into the snake. When

empty the tube is slowly withdrawn and the snake massaged to ease

the food toward its stomach. The whole operation if carefully and

efficiently done does not harm the snake and takes very little time.

Where the content of the tube cannot be dead natural prey, then for

all snakes he recommends minced raw lean beef with a few drops of

Cod liver or Halibut oil and an odd lump of fur or feathers to provide

the necessary roughage. I imagine that in India, where the snake

could be provided with sufficient sunshine, the Cod liver oil would not

be necessary.

Snakes about to slough should not be fed at all but merely pro-

vided with some stones or twigs to assist them in scraping off their

old skin.

All the hints on snakes are only for the non-venomous ones and

I think it a pity that reference to the poisonous varieties is omitted.

The only other group of pets likewise omitted is dogs about which

he rightly says plenty has already been written elsewhere.

Information about all types of pets ranging from mice and parrots

to baboons and Kinkajous can be found in this work which covers

hundreds of the most diverse species.

N. J. NORTHOVER

7. NO TEARS FOR THE CROCODILE. By Paul L. Potous,

Pp. 188 (21.5 cm.X14.5 cm.). With 30 photographs and 1 map.

London, Hutchinson, 1956. Price ?.

With several years’ experience as a professional crocodile hunter

in Africa in the Lake Nyasa region the author has much of interest

to tell his readers.

The book begins with a life-history of the crocodile. The mother

buries her eggs in the sand at a spot where the sun can warm them.

Throughout the period of incubation, more than 70 days, she stands

guard over the eggs. Enemies are numerous, particularly monitor

lizards who enjoy indifferently a diet of crocodile eggs or young, and

2330 «JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

even a temporary absence may mean the loss of many precious eggs.

Once the young ones hatch out and the mother has helped them to

emerge from their shelter in the sand her responsibility towards her

babies is ended and she departs. After this her children, each about

5 inches in length, have to look after themselves. Enemies abound

and the little ones have to move with the greatest caution, feeding on

small insects and their larvae and gradually, as they increase in size,

going on to larger prey. At the end of five years a crocodile is about

five feet long. After this growth is at the rate of an inch a year, so

that a 14-foot crocodile is little over 100 years old. The sizes of

crocodiles where Mr. Potous did his shooting do not run very high,

the longest crocodile in his experience measuring only 16 feet 4 inches.

In spite of its dull and heavy appearance the crocodile, according

to Mr. Potous, is a wary and intelligent opponent. It suns itself on

sandbanks where it cannot be approached from behind and where it

has a clear and uninterrupted view in front, and its senses of smell,

hearing, and eye-sight which are ‘exceptionally keen’ make approach

within certain shooting distance very difficult. They quickly become

conscious of new dangers, and the hunter has continually to devise

new methods of getting at them.

As a rule the crocodile does not attack unless it is at an advantage,

and Mr. Potous speaks of it in consequence as a coward. In my

opinion the epithet is not justified: creatures living in the wild in

circumstances where perfect fitness is necessary for survival cannot

afford to take avoidable risks. That crocodiles are not lacking in

courage will appear from Mr. Potous’s description of a charging’

crocodile: “There were five crocodiles on the sandbar, and I was

able to bag one of them. Three minutes later, as we were standing

near the edge of the water, we noticed a large crocodile in the middle

of the river a hundred yards upstream. It was acting in a most

unusual manner, for normally they swim with only the tops of their

heads and backs showing. This one was coming diagonally across the

river at a great pace, with its head and upper part of its body well

out of the water. The remarkable thing was that it had obviously

seen us and was coming straight for the island. The boy immediately

became excited, saying that it was the man-eater of which we had

been warned. He was all for making a dash through the water back

to the mainland, but I stopped him, for if the crocodile was actually

coming for us it would be safer on land than in thigh-deep water. I

still could not believe the crocodile meant business and I was

interested to know how close it would approach. It was still coming

towards us and we moved back from the water’s edge. We could not

go far as the island was very narrow and the highest point was not

REVIEWS 351

more than three feet above the water. When the crocodile was a

few yards from the sand, it. slowed down its pace, sinking lower into

the water. By now the boy was thoroughly frightened and begged

me to shoot. I was very tempted to do so, for it was an unpleasant

situation as the crocodile seemed determined to attack us. As it

reached the sand it crawled a few feet out of the water and stood

looking at us with its mouth partly open. I was astounded that it

should have left the water and as it was now no more than seven

paces away, I shot it through the mouth, for a crocodile can move

exceptionally fast over a short distance on land, and they are difficult,

to stop. I still regret having fired, for now I shall never know if

the crocodile would have actually charged us on land. I can only

think that this particular crocodile had on previous occasions put to

flight so many unarmed natives that it had lost its fear of man. This

experience leads me to believe that some of the astounding stories

told by the natives of crocodiles chasing them on land are not

entirely untrue’. Another such charge is described by Mr. Potous on

a later page.

Mr. Potous does not believe the oft-repeated story about birds that

obligingly clean the teeth of the crocodile. It is true that the move-

ments of the Whitewinged Plovers that, haunt the sandbanks and feed

off the numerous blood-sucking leeches which cling to the skins of

the reptiles warn the crocodiles of approaching danger, but in many

years of stalking and watching Mr. Potous has never seen a bird

enter the mouth of a crocodile. He adds: ‘A further reason for dis-

proving this long-standing fallacy is that the crocodile does not have

scraps of food sticking between its teeth, for each tooth is widely

separated from its neighbour both in the upper and lower jaws.’

Among tales which are not within his direct knowledge is one

about which we would have liked some authentic details. It relates

to an African villager who was carried away by a crocodile to its

burrow in the river bank. Apparently the crocodile had recently

feasted and did not immediately want a meal, and therefore the man

managed to escape and get back to his village.

Mr. Potous does not confine himself to crocodiles. Among other

animals he tells us about the monitor lizard Varanus niloticus. When

in search of a crocodile’s nest the monitor moves slowly forward

tapping the sand with its forked tongue. The author tells us that it

proceeds by echo sounding, and rarely makes the mistake of digging

where there is no nest. Its tail affords it protection in two ways,

firstly as a defensive weapon, and secondly as something to wave

like a snake thus frightening away the observer. One monitor lizard

332. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

within Mr. Potous’s experience leaped down a sheer distance of 20 feet

and landed with no apparent hurt to itself.

These are samples of the varied fare that awaits the reader.

D-E:R.

8. BIRD HYBRIDS: A Check-List with Bibliography. By

Annie P. Gray. Pp. viiit390 (24.5X15.5 cm.). Commonwealth

Agricultural Bureaux, Bucks, England. 1958. Price 50s. net.

Birds as a class are perhaps better known and studied than any

other animals. Many species have been domesticated by man since

ancient times, and play an important part in his food economy. Others

are kept as pets for aesthetic reasons and selectively cross-bred to

produce special strains for song or beauty, and birds are subjected to

all kinds of scientific experimentation besides. The breeding of wild

birds in captivity has furnished invaluable scientific data for genetical

and evolutionary studies. Hybrids have been produced intentionally

or through a fortuitous bringing together of different species from

widely separated parts of the world in avicultural collections. But

hybridization also occurs on a large scale under natural conditions

between sympatric species as is shown by the fact that many Humming

Birds and Birds of Paradise formerly recognized as distinct species,

have been shown, on closer study, to be nothing but natural hybrids.

The superficial morphology of hybrids is often quite confusing.

The confusion is increased by the fact that in many birds the young

differ so markedly from their parents in appearance, and in others the

sexual dimorphism is so great, that in the past young and old or male

and female have sometimes been ascribed to different species, or to

the result of hybridization. On the other hand natural hybrids have

often been attributed to new species. Descriptions of known hybrids were

widely scattered in the literature of many countries and languages,

and references were difficult to find. Thus, to the serious aviculturist

no less than to the taxonomer, the systematist, and the scientific field

ornithologist the present compilation in a single volume of all the widely

scattered, published as well as unpublished, reports of bird hybrids

should prove invaluable. It gives a concise history of most of the

crosses recorded and furnishes useful suggestive data which have an

indirect bearing also on genetics, courtship patterns, and isolating

mechanisms. The hybrids are grouped within Families and are

arranged alphabetically under the scientific names of species involved.

Under each species is given a full list of those with which it is said to

have hybridized, or with which hybridization has been attempted.

REVIEWS 333

Thus, under Anas platyrhyncha (the Wild Duck or Mallard)—the

progenitor of our domestic duck—hybridization with no less than 50

species is recorded, some belonging to widely distinct genera, e.g.

Anser, Branta, Mergus. ‘The strangest report of all is of the hybridiza-

tion of this duck with a Guineafowl; the authenticity of this seemingly

impossible cross is, however, mentioned as ‘extremely doubtful’.

Natural hybrids among the Anseridae, particularly the ducks, are

well-known, and a number of such have been shot in India by

sportsmen from amongst the migratory species. Other groups of birds

in which hybridization is common are the Pheasants (Phasianidae),

Parrots (Psittacidae), Humming Birds (Trochilidae), Birds of Paradise

(Paradisaeidae) and Finches (Fringillidae). This may doubtless be

due, in part, to the fact that these groups constitute popular aviary

birds which readily acclimatize themselves to captive or semi-feral ~

conditions.

The comprehensive nature of BIRD HYBRIDS and the magnitude of

the task of compiling it may be gauged from the voluminous

bibliography which covers 78 pages and includes over 1900 titles. An

index of scientific and vernacular names facilitates ready reference.

S. A.

Miscellaneous Notes

1. HABITS OF THE ASIATIC BLACK BEAR SELENARCTOS

THIBETANUS G. CUVIER

In JBNHS 52 (2 and 3): 586, I contributed a short note on the

above subject. In NO PASSPORT TO TIBET by Lt.Col. F. M. Bailey,

Butler and Tanner Ltd., second edition, 1957 I find that Lt.-Col.

Bailey also came across a bear nest in August 1913 at Shu, altitude

10,400 ft. (10 miles from Mipi). Below is an extract from page 166:

‘At Shu we halted because Morshead wanted to take the latitude

and an azimuth to set the compass. He wasn’t fully successful,

because in the afternoon the sky clouded over and then it came on

to rain. I had gone up the ravine to look for specimens and by the

time I returned I was drenched through. I was told that in summer

there was no game but in winter there were serow, bharal, snow

cock, eared pheasants, and another they called “kuling”, which sounded

from their description like some kind of jungle fowl.

“They were keen that I should shoot bears for them. The bears

came down every night and ruined their crops. I saw many of their

tracks and in a tree beside a field the bears had made two “nests” or

lairs by bringing together the leafy branches to form platforms about

three feet by two, so dense that I could not see through them. But

the bears themselves were not to be seen, though I sat up in a tree

for some time, hoping they would come.’

25 INyA MYAING ROAD,

UNIVERSITY P.O., TUN YIN,

RANGOON, BURMA, B.C.S. (S.G.), Retd.

March 31, 1958.

2. A NOTE ON THE FLYING FOX (PTEROPUS

HYPOMELANUS MARIS) OF ADDU ATOLL,

MALDIVE ISLANDS

Two species of the large fruit-bat commonly called the Flying Fox

occur in the Maldive Islands, the commoner form Pteropus giganteus

ariel in all the more northerly atolls, and Pteropus hypomelanus maris

in the south (Hill, 1958). They appear to be the only members of

the order Chiroptera that inhabit this archipelago; no smaller fruit-

bats or insectivorous forms (Microchiroptera) have been observed in |

any of the islands.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 335

Pt. giganteus ariel is common in North Malé and throughout the

majority of the atolls; Pr. hypomelanus maris is plentiful in the

islands of the Addu Atoll in the extreme south of the archipelago,

but how far north its range extends, where it meets giganteus, and

whether the ranges of the two species tend to overlap are questions that

have not yet been settled definitely. It is reported, nevertheless, that

there are no flying foxes on Fua Mulaku Island, 30 miles or so to

the north of Addu Atoll, but they are common again in Suvadiva

Atoll, a further 30 miles or more to the northward of Fua Mulaku

Island. It may well be that maris is confined to Addu Atoil and that

the Equator is the dividing line between the ranges of the two species.

Having had the opportunity of studying the habits of giganteus ariel

during a visit to Malé towards the end of 1956 and in early 1957 and

those of Aypomelanus maris while stationed in Gan, Addu Atoll, in

1958, the object of this paper is to give a short account of the habits

of the latter species to show in what way it differs from those of

giganteus ariel.

Before going any further, however, it should be noted that,

although both species are exceptionally large bats and have the

appearance of being of much the same size and colour on the wing,

hypomelanus maris can readily be distinguished from giganteus

ariel by the distinctive outline of the head when seen side-face; in

maris, the muzzle appears much thicker and the face does not have

the sharp-pointed look of giganteus but is rather blunt and gross.

This distinguishing feature is readily noticeable even at a distance.

General habits: ‘Contrary to the habits of the great

majority of bats, maris is as much diurnal as nocturnal. At any

time of the day, even at noon when the sun is overhead and at its

hottest and brightest or when rain is beating down, these bats may

be seen flying about and feeding on the villagers’ pawpaws. On the

other hand, others may be seen hanging from the underside of a

coconut palm leaf or a shady branch, sleeping or fanning themselves

lazily with their wings. It would seem, therefore, that they partake

of food whenever they feel so inclined, without reference to the time

of the day or the night, to the brightness of the sun or the darkness

of the night. Presumably, as they appear to have no enemies (other

than man to a very minor degree) there has been no necessity for

them to maintain their nocturnal habits, but that they do still fly and

feed by night as well as by day is proved by the fact that it is of

frequent occurrence for one to collide at night with overhead electric

cables and be electrocuted. They have not been observed to drink,

uniess they are doing so when they crawl into the crown of a coconut

palm.

336 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Although viganteus prefers to spend the day in communal roosts,

no tendency to do so has been observed in maris. Whether flying

from place to place, raiding the villagers’ fruit trees, or resting and

sleeping, maris is always solitary. Occasionally, two will meet while

preparing to feed, whereupon a wrangling, screeching interlude ensues

until one or the other takes its departure, but it is most exceptional

to see more than one in the same tree. On the rare occasions when

two have been observed hanging at rest within a few feet of one

another, it has been thought that they were probably a paired

and Q.

Food: Although pawpaw is the most sought after fruit food,

mangoes in their season, jambu and jamburaulu are all eaten avidly;

plantains or bananas are consumed occasionally but are not in general

favour, while wild figs from the few banyan trees (Ficus spp.) are

readily devoured when ripening, and the berries of the wild damba

trees are also taken. Generally speaking, however, these fruit bats

rely upon the villagers’ gardens for their sustenance and undoubtedly

do a great deal of damage to the fruit crops. Curiously enough, the

villagers find them helpful in connection with the tapping of the

coconut palms for toddy; they state that the bats do no harm to the

palms (they may indeed assist in the fertilisation of the flowers); on

the contrary, when they visit the fiowerstalks that have been tapped,

they stimulate the flow of the juice by licking up the congealing drops

and allowing a freer flow of sap.

Flight: The flight is typically deliberate and flapping, as in

giganteus, but it is unusual to see maris flying high up; generally it

flies about 100 ft. or less from the ground and often, when it has to

cross open country or the sea, it will fly within a few feet of the

surface, sometimes even taking advantage of the troughs of waves to

shelter itself from the wind. On alighting in a palm or other tree, the

head is held upwards and it grasps the objective with both feet and

wing-claws; it then proceeds to clamber into position using its wing-

claws and feet in a rather clumsy and awkward gait, encumbered by .

its membranes, until it can resume its accustomed head-down hanging’

attitude in its chosen place. When arriving to feed upon a pawpaw,

the bat will hang up in the typical position if a suitable twig be

handy; otherwise, head up and wings half extended, it will clasp the

fruit to it and bite into it until it is satisfied or the fruit consumed,

Then it will flap off to a nearby palm and hang from the underside

of a midrib in a shady and airy spot until hunger urges it to raid

another fruit tree. When in flight, the wing-claw is always held

rigidly out in front of the wing. fit

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 337

Although an interesting animal from the naturalist’s standpoint,

there can be no question that Pteropus hypomelanus maris is a sore

trial to the villagers of Addu Atoll.

c/o R. A. F. Gan,

B.F.P.O. 180, W. W. A. PHILLIPS

MALDIVE ISLANDS,

June 22, 1958.

REFERENCES

Hill, J. E. (1958): Some Observations on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands.

Part II—Mammals. JBNHS'55 (1): 3.

3. WILD ELEPHANTS IN THE UNION OF BURMA

(Supplementary Note)

KHEDDAH OPERATIONS

In December 1956 [JBNHS 54 (1): 177] I gave a statement of wild

elephants captured in Burma from 1945-46 to 1951-52. Below is a

statement of elephants captured from 1952-53 to 1956-57:

Number died,

Number captured released, or Balance

escaped

1952-53 82

1953-54 78

1954-55 59 4 55

1955-56 98 15 85

1956-57 161 23 138

DESTRUCTION OF WILD ELEPHANTS

The insurgents are reported to have shot a large number of tuskers

for the ivory in the Arakan Yomas. ‘The same thing has happened

in the Kachin State, where a number of wild elephants were illicitly

shot for the ivory by the hill tribes. The ivory is taken across to

China for disposal.

25 Inya MyainGc Roap,

UNIVERSITY P.O., TUN YIN,

RANGOON, BURMA, B.C.S. (S.G.), Retd.

March 31, 1958.

338 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

4. BHARATPUR ‘WILD’ CATTLE

(With a plate)

In September 1957 I had the good fortune to be at Bharatpur

for a few days, where Salim Ali and I were visiting the Keoladeo

Ghana. In conversation one evening the Maharaja mentioned the

existence of some ‘wild’ cattle in the neighbourhood, and when I

showed great interest in these he very kindly offered to help me locate

them. Two days later a jeep was taking Salim Ali and me with

a guide in search of these ‘wild’ or ‘semi-wild’ cattle.

We travelled some twelve miles along a pucca road and eventually

reached a village called Hirak. A few miles further by rough

village track, and thence another mile or two on foot through fairly

thick scrub jungle flooded by the recent rain, and we crept silently

up to a herd of these ‘wild’ oxen. As soon as they saw us they

stared intently at us and then rushed away as a herd in semi-circular

course, just as I have seen the Chillingham wild cattle do in Britain.

We followed them up and again came across the herd, some of

which can be seen in the accompanying photograph. Again they

galloped away, and once again we caught a fleeting glimpse of them

before we returned to the jeep and Bharatpur.

I was informed that these cattle are presumed to be ones

which have long ago left the villages, and they now never return

to human habitation. Totally feral, they cannot be approached closely,

and lead an entirely wild life in the forest and open scrub country.

How long this particular herd had been running wild I could not

ascertain, but the animals certainly appeared to be living entirely

aloof from human habitation and apart from domestic herds. They

seemed to have developed the social and behavioural characteristics

usually found in herds of gaur and other truly wild oxen. They

have to fend for themselves against diseases and predators—wolves

and hyenas.

I was particularly struck by their resemblance in behaviour, if

not in appearance, to the Chillingham wild cattle which I had

observed and photographed in Britain in 1950. I have been informed,

- however, that these ‘wild’ cattle of India are never aggressive to

humans as are sometimes the Chillingham ones. It occurred to me

that here was an excellent opportunity for local field naturalists and

zoologists to study the habits and behaviour of these animals, to

discover to what extent they resemble the gaur of Asia, the Chillingham

wild cattle of Britain, or any other such bovines.

Almost certainly each herd of these ‘wild’ cattle would have a

master bull, which would occasionally be challenged by a rival, and

Journ. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Cow and calf of the Chillingham Wild Cattle in a remote part of Britain

Photos: E. P. Gee

- MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 339

sometimes be defeated in battle. A vanquished bull would either

live apart, or else play a subservient role in the herd. Whether

there are look-out bulls in a herd, to warn the others against any

danger confronting them, is not known. Whether cows go away

to calve in secret, returning to the herd later on with the young calf,

is not known. Whether the strain is becoming purer and purer either

by inbreeding true or else by elimination by killing of impure offspring,

this and many other things need to be learnt by close observation

and study.

Since seeing the Bharatpur ‘wild’ cattle, I have been informed

that there are several other such ‘wild’ herds in Rajasthan,

Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Here, then, is an interesting

field of study in several parts of India. Possibly some members

of the Society or their friends may be able to throw more light on

this subject. In the not too far distant future a decision may have

to be made as to whether or not these ‘wild’ cattle of India are to

receive some measure of protection (in addition to that derived from

local religious sentiment) as part of the wild life heritage of the country.

DoyanG T. E.,

OATING P.O., EP. GEE

ASSAM,

March 3, 1958.

5. NOTES ON THE FOURHORNED ANTELOPE

TETRACERUS QUADRICORNIS (BLAINVILLE)

For the past four years I have kept a pair of Fourhorned Antelope

Tetracerus quadricornis (Blainville) as pets. On several occasions

they mated but had no young. Now I am happy to report that they

mated on 10 July 1957 and that one fawn was born to the female on

13 March 1958. This means a gestation period of slightly over eight

months, a rather long period for such a small animal. I thought this

definite information concerning the gestation period of the Fourhorned

Antelope might be of some scientific value; therefore, I am reporting

it. Mr. S. H. Prater’s THE BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS simply states:

‘The rutting season is in the rains and the young are generally born

about January or February.’

Prior to mating, the male and female usually go through a period

of play, kneeling on their front knees facing each other, interlocking

their necks and pushing each other with all their strength. Then the

male struts about the female, lifting his legs in a curious drill-like

340 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

fashion as if taking some formal exercise. After these preliminaries

mating takes place. % |

At birth the fawn weighed 23 pounds. It was 10 inches high at

the shoulder and 15 inches in length (nose to tip of tail). The mother

antelope spends several hours daily washing the fawn with her

tongue.

In the Surat Dangs most of the antelope fawns are apparently born

about Deepavali time (October and November). I know of eight

actual records to substantiate this conclusion.

The male antelope is a very vicious pet. During the rains he

ran one of his long horns through my knee-high rubber boots, pants,

and flesh, penetrating clear to the bone. I was badly crippled for

more than one month. It is very difficult to enter his compound.

In captivity the Fourhorned Antelopes eat wheat or other grains,

grass, leaves, figs, etc. Fresh water and salt are also kept for them.

In the Surat Dangs the Fourhorned Antelope is very common, but

the Muntjac or Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak (Zimmerman) 1s

very rare. The Dangis do not distinguish between the _ two,

erroneously calling the Antelope by the Marathi name Dhekar.

These two magnificent little animals should be carefully protected.

AHWaA, VIA BILIMORA,

DanGs DistrRIcT, B.S., EK. M. SHULL

March 17, 1958. :

[As regards the period of gestation it is relevant to note that,

though the pair of antelopes were separated, immediately after mating

on 10 July 1957, they were together for a short time two months

later. Our correspondent writes that on this occasion the female

showed ‘absolutely no interest’ in mating, but it would be wise to wait.

for confirmation of the period by further observation.

In The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London,

Vol. xiv (iii): 522 (1825), Major-General Thomas Hardwicke describes

the rutting behaviour of the ourhorned Antelope (Antilope

chickara) thus: ‘The male in the rutting season becomes exceedingly

wild and mischievous, and, although partly domesticated, continues

dangerously so, running at every animal within its reach, whether

deer, goat, or man. Even the feeder could only approach him on

ihe verge of the circle to which the rope he was tied with allowed

him to reach.’ The General’s observations were made on a pair about

four years in his possession, ‘within which period they bred: two

young ones were produced at the same birth, one male and the other

female.’—Eps. ] Me Pay

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 341

6 EASTERN LIMIT OF THE HIMALAYAN IBEX

CAPRA IBEX SIBIRICA PALLAS

There seems to be some difference of opinion among naturalists

and sportsmen as to the eastern limit of the Himalayan Ibex Capra

sibirica. Some say. that it is found up to Garhwal and Kumaon, while

others say that its eastern limit is the Sutlej] River. In this respect I

quote the two authorities on the subject, R. Lydekker and Major

G. Burrard. The former in his book THE GAME ANIMALS OF INDIA

etc. says: ‘The Sakin or Asiatic Ibex, Capra sibirica, inhabits the

mountains of central Asia, the Tien Shan, and the Altai to the

Himalaya (exclusive of the Pir Panjal), and from the neighbourhood

of Herat to the River Sutlej. The species is not found between the

Sutlej and sources of the Ganges.’

Burrard in his book BIG GAME HUNTING IN THE HIMALAYAS AND

TIBET has gone more deeply into this subject, and throws some

light on the difference of opinion among sportsmen. He _ says:

‘Although the ibex is undoubtedly the best known of all the game

animals of the Himalayas, more mistakes have been made in explain-

ing its distribution than in the case of any of its less known friends

and relations. In more than one authoritative work it is described

as an inhabitant of Tibet, and is mentioned as being found in the

neighbourhood of Lhasa. Again-it has been repeatedly declared that

it is found in “Kumaon as far east as Gangotri’” and the sources of

the Ganges—quite regardless of the fact that Gangotri is not in the

British Province of Kumaon at all, but in the protected State of Tehri

Garhwal with the State of British Garhwal in between. It is

difficult to understand how these mistakes arose, but I conclude they

were made in the course of the collection of hearsay evidence on

which some famous scientific naturalists based some of their classifica-

tion. They provide an excellent example of the errors which can be

made through insufficient knowledge of geography and no personal

acquaintance with the actual haunts of game. The late General

Kinloch, who was always so accurate in all his descriptions of the

habitats of animals, never made any such error; nor did the older

sportsmen, such as General Markham and Wilson (‘Mountaineer’),

who hunted and shot in the forties. The mistakes would accord-

ingly seem to be of a more recent date and are all the more

inexcusable. The distribution of the ibex, as far as the Himalayas

are concerned, is clearly shown on the accompanying sketch. The

River Sutléj is its eastern boundary and it is never under any cir-

cumstances found on the left bank of this river.’

342 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

It will be seen from the above two extracts that both these

authorities agree that the ibex is never found to the east of the

River Sutlej. Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley in his book STALKING IN THE

HIMALAYAS AND NORTHERN INDIA also subscribes to this view. It

would therefore, be interesting to know as to who the sportsmen-

naturalists were who said that the ibex was found to the east of the

Sutlej also. Did these people actually see the ibex east of the Sutlej,

or did they base their statements merely on hearsay? I wish Burrard

or others concerned could throw more light on the subject. It would

also be interesting to know as to why the ibex were not able to cross

the Sutlej and extend their habitat to its east side. Is it due to the

fact that the river is not fordable, even during winter? What about

the snow bridges which must form during the winter over the higher

reaches of the river, which would allow the ibex to pass over to its

east bank? Is the terrain and the food found to the east of the

Sutlej not suited for ibex? Since I have never had the fortune so

far to visit the Sutlej area, I am unable to give my views on the

above questions.

All the relevant books I know of were published well before the

Second World War and it would be interesting to know what the latest

position is in the area. One day in 1953 I happened to see a mounted

ibex head at a taxidermist’s shop in Dehra Dun. On enquiry I was

told that it had been shot by a sportsman somewhere in Garhwal.

The taxidermist, however, was not sure about this. Unfortunately

at that time, as I did not know much about the habitat of ibex, I

did not ask for further particulars. It makes me now suspect,

however, that ibex may have crossed over the Sutlej and may now

be found on its eastern side. There is no doubt that the head was

that of an ibex, and with my subsequent experience of this animal

in Ladakh I can now say that it must have been about 32 inches in

length.

The object of this note is to elicit correct and, if possible, latest

information on the subject of the eastern limit of the Himalayan

Ibex. I would therefore be grateful if any sportsman or naturalist

who has been in the area under consideration would kindly offer his

comments or information on this controversial subject, through the

Journal. I wonder if the Zoological Survey of India has some definite

and latest information on the subject. If not, could they please have

this subject investigated, when they next send an expedition to the

Sutlej area or in Garhwal?

136 B.C. LINEs,

MEERUT CANTT., K. GUMAN SINGH,

February 21, 1957. Colonel

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 343

{From the fact that Hodgson described a variety of Capra ibex

from Nepal in 1841, calling it himalayanus (Calcutta Journ. Nat.

Hist. 2: 414), it would appear that the ibex must occur in that area.

But the exact provenance of Hodgson’s type is unknown and it may

possibly have come from elsewhere. No recent information as

regards the occurrence of ibex in Nepal is available-—EDs.]

7. GAZELLE IN NORTH AFRICA

Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Peniakoff in POPSKI’S PRIVATE ARMY

gives the following description of something he saw in January 1943

in Tripolitania when, in command of a motorized patrol of the

British army, he was crossing the Hamada el Homra:

‘One morning I noticed along the top of a slope on my left

a multitude of small serrations bobbing up and down. Puzzled,

as I thought, by a peculiar form of mirage, I drove idly up the

slope: my serrations were the heads, just visible above the skyline,

of a herd of gazelle, bounding along in the same direction as we

were going and keeping pretty well the same speed. There were,

we estimated, more than two thousand of them, in one compact

mass bound on some migration of theirs across the inhospitable

Hamada. Suddenly the whole herd took a right turn and joined

the path of our trucks: in a moment the beasts were amongst us,

so close that I had to brake sharply to avoid running one over.

On every vehicle rifles came out, but such was the amazement of

Dur men (to whom hitherto a dozen gazelle seen at one time had

been a wonder) at the number and the fearlessness of the lovely

animals that not a shot was fired. They ran with our moving

trucks for a while, then another turn took the herd out of our path

over the northern skyline.’

The patrol consisted of four armed jeeps, two or more thirty-

hundredweight trucks, and two three-ton trucks.

The behaviour of the gazelle in joining the patrol and running

along with it is surprising but is capable of explanation, because

the movements of the herd would not necessarily be determined by

the reactions of the comparatively few members of it which would

be in a position to see and hear the motor vehicles. Another question

suggests itself. The Lieutenant-Colonel describes the Hamada el

Homra as a stony desert covering tens of thousands of square miles

and marked by ‘the complete absence of vegetation.—‘an empty

344. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

stretch of desert, without a single bush for hundreds of miles’. Where

did the gazelle find food and drink? :

Pati HILL,

BANDRA, D. E. REUBEN

Bomsay 20, 3

March 21, 1958.

8. NOTE ON THE USE OF BAMBOO GUN ROCKET FOR

SCARING WILD ANIMALS OUT OF CULTIVATION. .

Some years before the Second World War 12-bore firework

cartridges of German manufacture were on the market. I found that

some of these, of a type bursting at the end of flight, were effective

in driving elephants and other wild animals out of ragi fields. Being

fired from a 12-bore gun directed at the raiding animals and bursting

near ground level near or among them, the loud report and visible

flash caused the raiders to panic out of the cultivation without being

injured in any way.

I then decided to experiment with country-made rockets dischintyed

from a tube as being more available and less expensive to the ryots.

The first rockets were obtained from a dealer in Palghat and I used,

with success, a short length of W.I. pipe. From an iron pipe I

turned to lengths (24 ft.) of bamboo, with the inner segments knocked

out except for a segment at one end of the bamboo—so leaving one

end closed.

Each rocket must have a bamboo (or thin stick) sliver

attached to it, which keeps the rocket steady in flight. The rocket is

inserted into the bamboo, head projecting from the bamboo mouth.

The length of the rocket and sliver should not be more than the

inside length of the bamboo.

The rocket head is then ignited and quickly pushed back into the

bamboo tube and the bamboo is then held in a horizontal position,

directed at the raiding animals. The aim should be correct, easily

achieved by practice—not pointing downwards as otherwise the rocket

will hit the ground near the firer and bound away erratically; nor

upwards, as animals soon get used to explosions above and invisible

to them. Correctly aimed the rocket bursts near ground level near

the raiders and causes consternation and a speedy flight out of the

fields. They may attempt to come in again once or twice, usually

not more than twice. The rockets must be of a type bursting Be a

loud report at the end of flight.

' MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 345

These rockets are at present stocked by Modern Gunsmiths Ltd.,

Coimbatore, but at a price many ryots would be unwilling to pay.

The fireworks manufacturers produce them cheaply, but it is essential

that they are of the right kind.

A great improvement would be to get the manufacturers to insert

a wick into every rocket head, the same as many types of fireworks

have, which will simplify ignition. At present it is sometimes not

easy on a windy or damp night to ignite the rockets.

The rockets must be made easily available to the ryot. While I

was the owner of Honnametti Estate in the Kollegal Taluk, we

utilised these bamboo rockets with great success in our ragi fields at

the foot of the Billigirirangan Hills; and I helped the neighbouring

ryots as well. But to purchase the rockets for themselves they had

to travel between 20 and 30 miles to Kollegal to the one licensee

stocking them there, and quite often he was out of stock. J urged on

Government to permit stocks to be held by Revenue and Agriculturai

Inspectors, and preferably by village headmen. The black powder

used in the manufacture of these rockets lasts a long time. I have

rockets now in good and usable condition that I procured in 1953.

Needless to say they should be kept out of the reach of children!

I notice that the newer rockets supplied by Modern Gunsmiths

Ltd., Coimbatore, are of a smaller size. To be definitely effective in

dealing with elephants I would advise the use of rockets double the

size of those at present supplied by them.

Rockets should, naturally, be stored in a dry place.

DUPABURRAY BUNGALOW,

ATTIKAN P.O., R. C. MORRIS

vIA MYSORE, ie Bee ,

March 21, 1958.

9. BIRD NOTES FROM NEPAL

The Nepal Valley is bounded on the south-east by the ridge of

Phul Chowk which, covered as it is with natural forest, has always

been a happy hunting ground for naturalists in Nepal. South-east

of Phul Chowk lies another mountain mass, which by contrast has

been totally neglected. It is connected with Phul Chowk by a narrow

col at about 6,500 ft. There is almost no surface water to be found

on it in the dry weather, so that camping is awkward. However, we

heard that there was water at one place, and on a short leave last

spring (1957) decided to explore the area, as there was no time to

346 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

get up to the high hills north of Kathmandu, which were our main

objective. We found the country most interesting.

The ridge is about 5 miles long, and some 3 miles of this lies

above 9,000 ft. It is known as the Nangi Danda. At the SE. end

it falls away to another col 7,500 ft. and then rises and ends in

the mountain Narain Than, just over 9,700 ft. We had no time to

explore Narain Than, but could see great.bare cliffs where perhaps

the swifts breed. On Nangi Danda were many plants not usually

found on Phul Chowk. Some of these, like Berberis wallichiana,

grow here down to 8,000 ft. as they do on the higher hills, but on

Phul Chowk and Sheopuri which just touch 9,000 ft. they are not found.

I suppose they need a greater area above 9,000 ft. to grow at all.

The chief interest of Nangi Danda are the stands of magnificent

Tsuga brunoniana, the tengre salla of the Nepalese. These trees do

not grow in any numbers anywhere else round the Kathmandu Valley.

There is also a great deal of hill bamboo. We camped at the only

spring, Kali Pani, where the scanty water rather lived up to its name

but was cold and quite pure, once the vegetable matter had been

strained away. It was at about 9,300 ft. elevation. We were there

from April 11th to 16th, when the following bird notes were made.

A month later would have been better, as by then all the migrant

birds would have left, but we should have missed the glory of the

tree rhododendron. As it was, these were in full flower, pink, white,

and red, a most beautiful sight, which we had not expected as they

were already over on Phul Chowk. Skimmia laureola was also in

flower, smelling delightfully of orange, and there was an occasional

tree of the wonderful magnolia (campbelli ?) with huge waxy white

flowers on the still leafless branches. The ridge is uninhabited during

the dry weather, and the forest has no doubt been preserved by the

lack of water. Every day whole families come up from the villages,

- below to collect firewood, grass, and oak leaves for their buffaloes.

The oaks (Q. semecarpifolia) are in the same sad condition as they

are in most places in Nepal near villages. They have almost no

branches, the leaves sprouting close to the trunk on small stunted

twigs. However, we saw plenty of young trees about, and the people

assured us that the leaves had been cut and the branches lopped for

generations without killing the trees. During the monsoon, when

. there is enough grass for the cattle, the trees are allowed to rest for

a few months. During the rains, small streams appear everywhere,

and we saw the remains of scanty huts where the herdsmen live for

a few months with their animals, but there is then enough grass for

the oaks to be left alone. Owing to the lack of water very few wild

animals were seen, except the odd barking deer near the spring.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 347

Nucifraga caryoctactes hemispila Vigors: Himalayan Nutcracker

This bird is common on the high hills north of Kathmandu, above

9,500 ft. in the blue pine and juniper forest. I have never seen one

anywhere near the Valley, but they were established in the Tsuga

forest. A family party lived near the camp, 3 young fully fledged

but still being fed by their parents. They had a regular routine and

would fly through the camp in the morning, spend the day crossing,

2 ridges of Tsugas, N. of the camp, and return each evening about

5 p.m., roosting for the night in a big clump of Tsugas quite close

to us. We saw other birds, singles and pairs, on the ridges to the

south, but no other young birds. Judging from the extent of territory

used by this family party, the numbers of birds cannot be very large.

I should guess only 4 or 5 pairs for the whole Tsuga-covered area.

It would be interesting to know what the area of an isolated group

like this must be, for it to maintain itself. Of course the numbers

may be augmented by fresh individuals from the higher hills.

Paradoxornis nipalensis Hodgson: Ashyeared Suthora

These little birds are found on Phul Chowk, but were very much

commoner on the Nangi Danda, where there is a much greater area

under bamboo. They never leave the bamboo. We shot a non-

breeding female. I imagine they nest during the monsoon.

Kitta flavirostris (Blyth): Yellow billed Magpie

This Magpie replaced the red billed bird everywhere on the Nangi

Danda ridge. On Phul Chowk both occur, but the yellow billed

species is very scarce and only found in a small area round the top—

of the mountain.

Certhia nipalensis Blyth: Tree Creeper

A single non-breeding female was shot. This is the only one

I have seen during ten years of bird watching in Nepal. It seems to

have a curious distribution. Dr. Fleming shot a bird near Pokhara,

many miles west of Kathmandu. This must be the most westerly

record. Otherwise I know of none seen or collected west of East

Nepal. When in London this autumn I compared my bird with those

in the British Museum collection. It was very like the Darjeeling

specimens. There was only one faded Hodgson skin from Nepal, with

no locality. Birds from SE. Tibet were very different, and I should

have thought two races were involved. Normally C. discolor is the

common low level (5,000-9,000 ft.) tree creeper, and C. familiaris the

high level (9,000-12,000 ft.) bird here.

348. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Alcippe v. vinipectus (Hodgson): Hodgson’s Fulvetta

These birds breed on Phul Chowk, but were much more abundant

on the Nangi Danda. Breeding was in full swing in mid-April, some

birds still building, but most incubating. 6 nests examined, each

contained 2 eggs.

Yuhina o. occipitalis Hodgson: Slatyheaded Ixulus

These birds were also very common and breeding.

Zoothera dauma dauma (Latham): Smallbilled Mountain Thrush

Very common, in pairs. For the first time I heard this bird’s

song. They were singing everywhere, usually from a small bushy tree

about 8 ft. from the ground, and were so engrossed that one could

get very close to them. They sang on and on for hours with very

little variation. They have a few fine notes, but these are connected

by a curious medley of squeaks and chuckles, very inferior to the

song of other thrushes, or even of the Rock Thrushes. I was very

glad to hear this usually silent bird so noisy.

Turdus ruficollis was still present in huge flocks, but we saw neither

Zoothera dixoni nor Z. mollissima, which I think leave early for their

breeding quarters. |

Seicercus burkii (Burton): Blackbrowed Flycatcher-Warbler

Common in pairs and singing, so no doubt they breed here as

they do sparingly on Phul Chowk.

Phylloscopus p. pulcher Blyth: Orangebarred Leaf Warbler

Common and singing, but not paired, and as they do not leave

Phul Chowk until the middle of April, these were probably also

non-breeding birds.

Phylloscopus m. maculipennis (Blyth): Greyfaced Leaf Warbler

Common in pairs, and breeding in the bamboo. A breeding male

was shot, and I saw several birds carrying nesting material. They

also breed on Phul Chowk, in bamboo above 7,000 ft.

P. r. reguloides (Blyth): Blyth’s Leaf Warbler

Very common in pairs and singing continuously. They also

breed on Phul Chowk and Sheopuri.

P. magnirostris (Blyth): Largebilled Leaf Warbler

Not seen. We were probably too early for them. They breed

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | | 349

on both Phul Chowk and Sheopuri above 7,000 ft. but I have never

heard the distinctive song before the end of April, and not commonly

till early May. They frequent broad-leaved tree forest rather than

bamboo, and perhaps the Nangi Danda is not suitable for them.

P. n. nitidus Blyth: Green Leaf Warbler

A good many seen, and a single non-breeding male was shot.

They were singing as they always do on the migration.

Horeites brunnifrons (Hodgson): Rufouscapped Bush Warbler

Common but not paired off and may have been still on migration.

Tesia castaneocoronata (Burton): Chestnutheaded Ground Warbler

This bird is common on Phul Chowk but here it was absolutely

abundant. They were in pairs calling and singing all day, and were

found everywhere in bamboo, amongst ferns in nallas amongst

Viburnum bushes, etc. One day I watched 2 birds displaying.

They were in the same bush, but one kept mostly to the upper

branches, where it ran or rather strutted backwards and forwards

with wings drooping, bill turned straight upwards, yellow throat puffed

out, tiny tail held bolt upright, uttering a continual rapid ‘tsk tsk

tsk’ on and on, occasionally varied by the very similar song

‘qdktiti ¢gzetiti?, The second bird behaved in exactly the same

way in the lower part of the bush. Their excitement was so intense

that the birds took no notice of me. JI could have caught them

easily. Every now and again the 2 birds would approach each other,

the excitement rising to fever pitch, but when about 2 inches apart they

would turn away and resume their usual positions but with somewhat

lessened excitement. This was repeated again and again, and after

half an hour of it I was obliged to leave them still at it, so never

discovered if they were a pair in some sort of courtship display or 2

males challenging each other. |

Rhipidura hypoxanthum Hodgson: Yellowbellied Fantail Flycatcher

‘These were common in pairs and I imagine breed here, as they

have left the hills round the valley by the middle of April. An

occasional pair breeds on Phul Chowk. Flocks of small finches were

seen which I think were siskins (Carduelis thibetana), but could not

be sure and we failed to collect one. They are said to breed in

larch forest, | wonder if Tsuga trees would do as well. It is only

a short flight to Godavari at the foot of a Chowk where they

winter in large flocks in the alders.

350 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Apus pacificus Latham: Whiterumped Swift

Flocks of these birds were seen flying over the ridge. They were

also seen over Phul Chowk in April and May, and I os probably

breed on the cliffs of Narain Than.

Spizaétus nipalensis Hodgson: Hodgson’s Hawk-Eagle

A pair of these splendid birds occupied the Nangi Danda ridge.

They are also seen on Phul Chowk, and perhaps the one pair needs

the whole territory. Black and Serpent Eagles occupied the

valleys between Phul Chowk and Nangi Danda, but were not seen

on the ridge itself.

Arborophila torqueola (Valenciennes): Hill Partridge

Very common. The single plaintive whistle would sound morning

and evening round our camp. They were very partial to the bamboo

jungle.

BRITISH EMBASSY,

KATHMANDU, NEPAL, (Mrs.) DESIREE PROUD

March 25, 1958.

10. WOODPECKERS DRUMMING

I was very interested to read the note in the Journal for April 1957

on the drumming of woodpeckers. As this is usually only heard in

spring, I have always imagined it was in some way connected with

the breeding display. I have observed the following woodpeckers

drumming in Nepal:

Picus canus Gmelin: Blacknaped Woodpecker. I see this bird

is included in your list of Woodpeckers which drum. It is common

here, and the 4-syllable whistle is heard from March to May, but

curiously I have never heard it drum.

Picus chlorolophus Vieillot: Lesser Yellownaped Woodpecker.

Only occasionally in spring.

Dendrocopos hyperythrus (Gould): Rufousbellied Woodpecker.

Drums frequently in May, usually on Quercus semecarpifolia. Not

heard in any other month.

D. macei Vieillot: Fulvousbreasted Woodpecker. Heard only

once, a very gentle drumming in late February.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES sol

D. auriceps (Vigors): Brownfronted Pied Woodpecker. Frequ-

ently heard and seen drumming for considerable periods during late

March and April.

Micropternus brachyurus (Vieillot): Rufous Woodpecker. This

is the master drummer of them all. As the birds select each year

a clump of bamboos in the Indian Embassy garden where I can watch

them from my window, I have kept careful notes of the dates. The

earliest date is about the end of March, but this is a half hearted

affair; the real drumming starts about 12th April, reaches a climax

about the 16th, and is heard no more after 21st April. There are

always two birds present, but only one (the male?) drums; the second

bird appears to take no interest. The drumming starts gently, works

up to a reverberating crescendo of sound which can be heard nearly

half a mile away, and then gradually slows down and stops. There

is usually a 2- or 3-minute interval between the bouts of drumming,

while the bird sits quietly on some side branch. It then hops back

on to the main bamboo stem and the whole thing starts again. For

a day, or two at most, this goes on for the greater part of the day, then

it is heard infrequently for a few days longer. I have never heard

this woodpecker drum on any other trees than bamboos.

Picumnus innominatus Burton: Speckled Piculet. I have often

seen this bird drumming quietly, and I rather think at any time of

the year, but am not quite sure of this.

BRITISH EMBASSY,

KATHMANDU, NEPAL, (Mrs.) DESIREE PROUD

March 25, 1958.

11. BLUETAILED BEE-EATER MEROPS PHILIPPINUS

LINNAEUS IN WESTERN SAURASHTRA

On Sunday, 11 May 1958, I drove out about 11 miles from

Veraval on the west coast of Saurashtra to a place called Sutarapada

on the west coast. On my way back just a few miles from this

village I saw large flocks of what were unmistakably Bluetailed Bee-

eaters. I estimated the flock, which was loosely scattered over barren

ground and ploughed fields, to consist of at least 60 to 80 birds. They

were flying low over the ground and settling now and then on low

stubble and clods of earth, uttering subdued calls chivip, chivip, a

sort of rippling sound and not the usual pruk, pruk. The birds were

in full plumage, and appeared smaller in size than the Bluecheeked

Bee-eater. They emitted a series of different call notes and appeared

to be migrating in a north-westerly direction. They allowed close

‘~

352. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

approach from the car and I watched them at a distance of ten to

fifteen yards. The birds were feeding on insects that were flushed

from the ground or had arisen on their own. The blue tail of this

species showed up clearly, and I had not the slightest doubt about its

identification. This was the first time I have seen these birds in

Saurashtra but, as I had not surveyed this particular area before, it

might easily be that the birds migrate through this area fairly regularly.

At Prabhas-Patan I saw the Bluecheeked Bee-eater in full plumage;

its call note appeared louder and in a lower key, though the difference

- may be very small between the calls of the two species. —

Dit BAHAR,

BHAVNAGAR, R. S. DHARMAKUMARSINHII

SAURASHTRA,

June 7, 1958.

i2, THE EASTERN SWIFT MICROPUS APUS IN SAURASHTRA

On 25 May 1958 at 10 a.m., Shivrajkumar and I were watching

a huge concourse of Common Indian House Swifts hawking midges

over the Alansagar reservoir two and a half miles from Jasdan.

Among the swifts, there were Indian Sand Martins, Dusky Crag

Martins, Wiretailed Swallows, and Redrumped Swallows. Suddenly

a large swift flew past us at great speed and we had the opportunity

of looking at it both from above and below as it circled back. We

watched its amazing aerial acrobatics for a quarter of an hour. Its

larger size and faster flight made it distinct among the smaller and

slower Common Indian House Swifts. The absence of the white

rump patch and the forked tail were also good distinguishing features,

while its uniformly dark brown plumage (not pale smoky or mouse-

brown as in Apus murinus) relieved by a white chin and throat

separated it from the Alpine Swift which often occurs in our skies

on foraging flights, and convinced us that it was an example of the

Eastern Swift Micropus apus. -

This swift is very common in the Himalayas around the higher

summits of the foothills and their great flocks wheeling and twisting

overhead are an unfailing source of joy to the watcher below. It

would be interesting to know of other records from the plains, as

in Stuart Baker’s FAUNA this swift is said not to occur in the plains

of India though it does winter in Cachar and the Andaman Islands.

Could this be a bird on return migration having been drawn down

by the great flock of feeding swifts and swallows? The exact status

of many of our birds especially the migratory species would undergo

_ MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 353

considerable change if a greater number of watchers were to scan

the skies and countryside of India.

SAURASHTRA,

JASDAN, K. S. LAVKUMAR

May 25, 1958.

13. DELIBERATE DROWNING BY A RAPTORIAL BIRD

In the Journal for Apri! 1956 (53: 476) Mr. M. A. Wynter-Blyth

has referred to a wounded teal on water being swooped upon by a

‘blackish brown bird of prey of heavy flight, slightly larger than the

common kite’. After a few unsuccessful attempts the raptor settled

on the teal on the water and though once disturbed it returned and,

when after some time it was again driven away, the teal floated up

dead, apparently drowned.

Recently while shooting duck at an irrigation tank in the Nasik

District, Bombay, I had a very similar experience. I was hidden

in a clump of rushes on the edge of a marsh about 20 yards away

from broad slow-moving water. A pair of garganey flew straight

into me and with the second barrel I winged the drake which fell into

the stream some 80 yards away. My retriever boy had already

started making excuses about his inability to reach a bird so far out,

when we saw a marsh harrier swoop upon it. Though it appeared

to seize, it could not lift the duck out of the water and, after two

or three attempts, the harrier flew to the shore and rested for a few

minutes. It then returned and settled right upon the duck with its

wings spread out, obviously holding the bird under water. The duck

was not visible but there can be no doubt that it was so held, as it

would otherwise have come up some distance away and been visible

in the Gpen water. For four minutes the harrier stayed in this

position, and then flew away with nothing in its claws. Both birds

were slowly drifting with the current and, though I saw the garganey

again, some duck flying past distracted my attention and in the fading

light I did not see it any more.

I have been shooting over this area for 25 years, and it is gratifying

to note that the spotbill which had almost completely disappeared

are now back in some numbers. The total number of birds is not

what it used to be, but the cotton teal which I had not noted earlier

has been visible in small flocks over the last few years.

c/O Faiz & Co., 3

75 ABDUL REHMAN STREET, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

BOMBAY 3,

March 20, 1958.

354. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

[In Vol. 52, p. 665, a Gleaning is published of a swan being

deliberately drowned by a cormorant.

Mr. Salim Ali recalls a Pallas’s Fishing Eagle on the Keoladeo

Ghana at Bharatpur making a sudden swoop on a flock of coots

on the water causing the birds to spatter and scatter and pouncing

on an individual that had got separated. After catching it in its

talons the eagle sat on the struggling bird now completely submerged

together with a part of the eagle’s tarsus. It sat thus for a couple of

minutes in an apparently calculated matter-of-fact manner, and when

it rose in the air a limp dead coot was dangling below it. It was

obvious that the coot had been killed by drowning. But how had

the predator learnt this technique?—EDbDs.]

14. ELWES’S EARED PHEASANT (CROSSOPTILON C.

HARMANI ELWES) IN TIBET

(With a_ plate)

In March 1956 I received a letter from His Highness the Maharaj

Kumar of Sikkim which read: ‘I have had a very interesting trip to

Lhasa and, further east, to a point directly north of the Mount Nacha

Barwa at the bend of the Brahmaputra. Whilst there I have taken

pictures of some pheasants which, although they are in the wild State,

eat out of one’s hand because there is none there to make enemies.

This particular type of pheasant we do not get in Sikkim, but in

Tibet they seem to thrive along the Brahmaputra Valley and its

tributaries at a height of about 8 to 15 thousand feet where there are

some shrubs or small type of oak trees. I gather that there is a

similar bird in Kham side, further east, but it is not of the same colour—

more white.’ With a subsequent letter, His Highness sent me some

photographs showing the extraordinary tameness of these pheasants

known as Cha-gnah in: Tibet, and wrote: ‘You will see from the

pictures that the birds are being fed at close quarters; they were

taken at a remote monastery in Kongbo Valley. The birds here went

im two or three coveys and the total may have been as many as fifty

or sixty birds. In size they are as large as the male Himalayan

Monal Pheasant, and their food seems to be similar to the Monal’s.

Although they can fly as well as any pheasant, but perhaps not so

far, they seem to live always on the ground. I have never seen one

actually on a tree. Their distribution seems to be along the valleys

of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries from the junction of the

Kichhu (the Lhasa river) eastwards. I have seen them as high as

JourRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Wild birds at a monastery in the Kongbo Valley of Tibet

Photos : Maharaj Kumar of Stkkim

“MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 355

13,000 ft. where there are only shrubs. I do not know how far down

they go as my travels inside Tibet did not take me lower than

7,500 ft.’ ;

Early history:

Crossoptilon c. harmani first came to the knowledge of science

in 1880 by way of a skin ‘in a terribly moth-eaten state’ which was

accidentally discovered by Elwes in the room of Lieutenant Harman

- of the Survey of India. It had been obtained by the monk Nem Sing

in the Tsangpo Valley, 150 miles east of Lhasa, in the neighbourhood

of Nang Dzong, or Kyimdong Dzong, at a height of about 10,000 ft.

After this first discovery no more skins of the bird were collected for

another 33 years until 1913, when Bailey and Morshead brought back

a series, again from the Tsangpo Valley.

Distribution:

Ludlow gives the distribution of the bird as follows: ‘It is possible

to define the western boundary if this bird’s distribution with some

degree of accuracy. It does not occur in the basin of the Manas,

but is found in that of the Subansiri, north of the main range, from

long. 92° 30’ E. In the Tsangpo Valley, however, it extends as far

west as long. 91° 33’, having been found first by Bailey and

subsequently by Battye (JBNHS 38: 626) in the valley south of

Lhasa near Samye Gompa. I can find no record of its distribution

north of Lhasa.

‘Eastwards, Bailey found traces of this pheasant in Pome (JBNHS

24: 77), and in 1938 I saw it at Gyala, and also at Pangkar, north of

Gyamda Dzong (long. 93° 30’ E., lat. 30° 15’ N.). But it probably

extends still further eastwards to the Salween Valley, for Kaulback

in his book entitled SALWEEN records slaty-blue Crossoptilons in

approximately long. 95° 30’ E., lat. 31° N., where apparently it meets

the typical race.’

Ludlow believes that the bird does not occur south of the main

Himalayan axis, despite Stuart Baker’s claim that he had ‘four eggs

taken in the Abor Hills on the 26th of May’.

Habits:

It is said that this bird exists in large numbers wherever it is to

be found. It keeps under cover of the forest, and will not venture

into the open except in the mornings and evenings. When disturbed

it will run uphill, and takes to the air only if forced to do so.

Lt.-Col. F. M. Bailey told Stuart Baker that beaters, on seeing the

bird, will imitate the barking of a dog: this has the effect of making

356 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

it fly into a tree where it is easily shot. Unless it hears this sound, the

bird will fly a great distance before it settles.

In the mornings and evenings the birds come out to feed on open

grassy hill slopes near rhododendon and juniper scrub. Its call,

uttered most frequently in the early mornings, is loud and harsh and

may be heard from as great a distance as a mile away.

Ludlow, like His Highness the Maharaj Kumar, found that ‘where

unmolested, this bird is remarkably tame, and at Chikchar it strutted

about in front of our camp like a barndoor fowl’.

A nest found on the 23rd May was ‘placed under a fallen fir tree,

and was composed of the bark and rotten pulp of the tree and lined

with moss. It contained nine unspotted, cream-coloured, hard-set

eggs, averaging 55.5042 mm.’

CATHAY BUILDING,

SINGAPORE, LOKE WAN-THO

MALAYA,

February 20, 1958.

15. OCCURRENCE OF THE GREAT SKUA (CATHARACTA

SKUA LONNBERGI MATHEWS) AT MALWAN, RATNAGIRI

COAST (BOMBAY)

Following up newspaper reports regarding large numbers of

birds washed up at Malwan, Ratnagiri District, 350 miles south of

Bombay, we received with the assistance of the Director of Fisheries,

Government of Bombay, a specimen of the Great Skua, which has

been identified by Major W. W. A. Phiilips at the British Museum

(Natural History) as Catharacta skua lénnbergi Mathews. This is

of considerable interest as the only previous record of this species in

India is a single example captured by fishermen in an exhausted

condition near Trivandrum, Travancore.

The reports in the local papers were widely conflicting and we

have obtained a note from R. G. Weingankar, Editor of Janayug

Weekly at Malwan, in which he says that a first flock of 127 was

washed up at Chivla near Malwan, between 15th and 18th June 1957,

and about the same time another 155 birds at Talashil and Sarjekot

in neighbouring areas. A few days later 7 more birds were found

at Chivla and 28 at Devbag, Mobar, and Nevali in the second week

of July.

The specimen received by us was a single bird washed up at the

Stone of Moria about two miles south of Malwan on Sth August,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 357

and the other 317 birds reportedly along a stretch of coast about 12

miles in length. Most of the birds are said to have been washed up

alive, and the point specially made is that none of them were eaten

by dogs.

BomBay NATURAL HIstToRY SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET, | EDITORS

BomBAY 1,

April 3, 1958.

16. SANDWICH TERN [THALASSEUS SANDVICENSIS

SANDVICENSIS (LATHAM)] IN SAURASHTRA

On 9 May 1958 I was out ‘birding’ at the mouth of the Hiran

River near Prabhas-Patan which is three miles from Veraval on the

west coast of Saurashtra. On the estuary I saw flocks of Lesser

Crested Terns, some Gullbilled Terns, and Whiskered Terns. On

the sandy banks of the estuary, walking close to the settled birds

I was able to approach to about 40 yards after which I sat down and

moved myself slightly closer. All the birds seemed to be well known

to me, but scrutiny of individual birds with my 9X34 binoculars

disclosed a tern which had a yellow tip to its black bill. This

tern was about the same size as the Gullbilled Tern, and evidently

was not in full plumage; the crown appeared greyish with a dark

blackish nape, the upper parts were pale grey, the lower parts white,

and the feet black. As this bird was new to me I made notes and

looked up A FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF BRITISH ISLES AND EUROPE by

Guy-Mountfort and Roger Peterson. In this book the field characters

on p. 156 and plate No. 41 disclosed that the bird I had seen

was the Sandwich Tern. I must mention that without the binoculars

it was not easy to trace the yellow tip to the black bill, which was

more slender and, if anything, longer than of the Gullbilled Tern.

The tail of the sandwich tern seen in flight was slightly forked.

I watched another bird of the same species also solitary but mixing

with the terns already mentioned on 12 May. This, I believe, is

a new record for this area.

Dit BAHAR,

BHAVANAGAR, R. S. DHARMAKUMARSINHSII

SAURASHTRA,

June 7, 1958.

358. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

17. OCCURRENCE OF THE RED SEA MASKED GANNET

(SULA DACTYLATRA LESSON) AT NASIK, BOMBAY STATE

Following up newspaper reports in July 1957 about a ‘radio-

active’ bird having been obtained at Nasik, about 70 miles inland

and north-east of Bombay, we have received from the Ferguson

College, Poona, the head and legs of a Red Sea Masked Gannet

(Sula dactylatra).

Though we have been unable to obtain any further information

regarding the ‘radio-activity’, the occurrence so far inland of this purely

pelagic bird is worth noting. There are only half a dozen earlier

records of this gannet from the Bombay sea-coast, all storm-tossed

individuals during the south-west monsoon in July/August.

BoMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET. EDITORS

Bompay 1, |

March 31, 1958.

18. OCCURRENCE OF THE LARGE WHISTLING TEAL

~DENDROCYGNA BICOLOR (VIEILLOT) IN BOMBAY

The Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot) is

accepted in all standard works as a relatively rare species but.

generally distributed all over India. There are exceptionally few

records from peninsular India, and I have only been able to trace

the following:

Fairbank, Stray Feathers 4: 264 (1876), ‘obtained a pair once

near Ahmednagar, but I have seen them on no other occasion’.

Wenden, Stray Feathers 7: 92 (1878), in a contribution to the

avifauna of the Deccan, states that he is sure that he has

observed this species at Nulwar (Gulburga District) and shot

several in 1873. ,

Annandale, Rec. of Ind. Mus. 22: 330, mentions that a pair

frequented Barkuda Island in the Chilka Lake throughout the —

rains of 1919, and probably bred upon it.

On 8 December 1957 I was out on Lake Beale, Nasik District.

The duck were wild and in the absence of cover very few shots had

been fired during the morning. We took a- boat with an outboard

and a one-man canoe to Dhamangaon about 8 miles away. Several

flocks of a hundred or more duck were seen at different places on

the bare shore-line, but with nothing before or behind which afforded

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 359

any kind of cover they usually rose well out of range. On one

occasion I was in the canoe, but as there appeared to be no chance

of getting any nearer than usual I watched the birds through glasses

at about 150 yards. The larger number were Pintail and Common

Teal, but a pair of Whistling Teal stood out conspicuously different

among them. Even on land they appeared to be exceptionally large,

and after a while when my fellow guns approached the birds from

the other side and put them up I had a good opportunity of watching

them in flight. They did not flutter in the un-ducklike manner of the

Small Whistlers, but their flight was quicker and more direct, easily

keeping with the flights of Pintail as they soared away. I was sure

that I had seen a pair of Large Whistling Teal and upon return I

saw that Stuart Baker in INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES refers to

their being ‘wilder birds than their smaller cousins, and also stronger

and quicker on the wing’.

Subsequent to this on the 17 June 1958 I was at Powai Lake,

Salsette Island, Bombay. The late monsoon had left large areas of

land exposed to water, and we saw a fiock of about 50 Whistling

Teal settled on the shore far away. We rowed up to within 40 yards

before the birds took off, and in the meantime had excellent oppor-

tunities of glassing the settled flock. Among them were two individuals

which stood much higher than those around them, and were

undoubtedly different. Mr. N. J. Northover who was handling the

boat and Dr. E. G. Silas both had a look at the birds through

binoculars and confirmed the difference in size. Also, in accordance

with the dichotomous key in the FAUNA, the upper tail coverts were of

a paler colour as against the darker ones in the smaller species.

It is indeed strange that I should have twice come across this

species at such short intervals and I wonder if it has not been over-

looked by shikaris and others.

c/o Faiz & Co., Aker

75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

BOMBAY 3,

June 23, 1958.

19. OCCURRENCE OF THE BAIKAL TEAL NETTION

FORMOSUM (GEORGI) IN ASSAM

You will be interested to hear that on Sunday morning I shot what

appears to be a rare duck for India. I didn’t know what it was,

but I have since identified it positively (with the help of Stuart

Baker’s book) as a Baikal (or Clucking) Teal, which I gather is fairly

360 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

common in South China and Japan, but a very rare visitor to India.

It was a drake in full and very beautiful plumage, and a single bird.

Dicso!1 P.O., |

ASSAM, C. D. HOPPER .

March 10, 1958.

[The Baikal Teal is a rare winter visitor to India but its occasional

occurrences have been reported in this Journal from time to time in

widely scattered places such as Delhi, Hardoi, Rewah State, Saran

Monghyr, Darbhanga, Purneah, Manipur, Sindh, and Ahmedabad.

The Statesman of 1 June 1949 had a report of three Baikal Teal

netted in Lucknow, and presented by Mr. P. K. Sen Gupta to the

Calcutta Zoo. This elicited a note from the late Mr. C. M. Inglis

that several records from Darbhanga had been published in the

Journal of the Bengal Natural Hist. Society and a further letter from

Mr. T. F. Robinson of two shot in Upper Assam. In Vol. 21 (p. 1090)

of the Journal is published the record of one shot near Sibsagar in

January or February 1910. It breeds in N. Asia, from Lake Baikal

east to Mongolia, Manchuria, Japan, and N. China.—EDs.]

20. WATER BIRDS AND OUR IRRIGATION SCHEMES

Apart from the conscious efforts of the authorities to include

conservation of the fauna and flora in the Five-Year Plans, it is

interesting to note that our birds and animals are also benefiting from

the river valley projects, such as the one at Malampuzha, Palghat.

The reservoirs not only provide the animals and birds with a never-

failing source of water but, by cutting off certain parts of the mountain

from ‘civilization’ (with its jeeps and guns), they afford greater safety

to them. If the rules that are displayed on boards near the dams

regarding the use of fire-arms are enforced strictly, some of these

catchment areas could well serve as wild life sanctuaries too. We

have the excellent example of the Periar sanctuary to prove this.

The Malampuzha reservoir was filled for the first time, if I am

not mistaken, in 1953. A large number of coconut and mango trees

were partly submerged and the latter soon lost all their leaves and

began to decay. Water birds did not take long to discover the

newly-formed lake, and egrets and small waders began to be seen

regularly in the place. On 11 September 1955, on one of my

periodical visits to the reservoir, I found some nests and what I

thought were cormorants on some of the dry mango trees that were

far away from the dam-site. On the 16 October, thanks to the kindness:

of one of the engineers, a few friends and I were able to go round

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 361

the lake in a boat. When we neared the trees it was found that

the breeding birds were not cormorants, but darters (Anhinga

melanogaster). There were no cormorants at all in the lake. We

saw more than 16 nests. There were about 25 adult darters and 10

juveniles. I learnt that some of the staff had raided the nests a few

days earlier and removed a number of eggs and young ones. One

of the nests we saw appeared to have eggs or callow chicks in it.

A crow tried to take advantage of our visit to steal the contents of

this nest, but 3 adult darters flew to the tree and, to the accompani-

ment of loud kle-kle-kle calls, put the crow to flight.

I was not able to discover whether the darters had nested there

an 1954. However, the fact that a colony was well established in

1955 shows that the birds took only a couple of years to find the new

nesting sites provided by the reservoir and its trees. Enquiries made

of local shikaris proved that darters had never been found there before

the lake was formed.

On all subsequent visits I have found darters in the lake. What

will happen to the colony when the trees rot away and disappear

remains to be seen. If the larger trees that still stand on some of

the islands are not cut away, the birds may choose to build in them.

Other water birds, never seen in Palghat before the formation of

the lake at Malampuzha, are Openbill Storks, White Ibis, and Little

(?) Cormorants. These have not become regular visitors yet.

It may be suggested that employees of the P.W.D. may be given

special instructions not to interfere in any way with the birds and

animals that appear near the reservoirs of these dams.

I was interested to see that the chicks of the darter (which, at a

. distance, could easily be mistaken for egrets of some kind owing to

their white plumage) rarely submerged even when pursued in the

boat. Is diving an accomplishment that comes later?

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE,

CHITTUR-COCHIN, _K. K. NEELAKANTAN

KERALA STATE,

June 5, 1958.

21. EGG-LAYING HABITS OF SEA TURTLES DESCRIBED

IN THE TAMIL SANGAM LITERATURE

Several occasional references in the ancient Indian texts enable us

to visualize not only the ancient Indian fauna and our knowledge

concerning them, as shown by Hora (1935, 1951, and 1953), Jayaram

(1950), and Rao (1957), but also indicate to what an extent our

ancients showed an interest in natural history.

362 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

In the Tamil Sangam Literature (circa 4th century A.D.), a short

poem written by the poetess Kumizhi Gnazhalar Nappasalaiyar in

Aghandiniru (Stanza 160: lines 3-8) gives a brief but remarkably

accurate account of the breeding habits of the Indian sea turtles. The

accuracy of her observations is rivalled only by the recent similar

observations on the Indian sea turtles by Mawson (1921), Cameron

(1923), and Deraniyagala (1930):

THE POEM

‘Adumbukodi sidhaiya vanghi kodunkazhi

Kuypai venmanal pakkam sérthi

Niraitchool yamait maraithénru puthaitha

Kottuvattu vuruvin pulavundrum muttai

Parpida nagum alavai pakuvai

Kanavan ombunv

TRANSLATION

The laying turtle collects and brings a bundle of adumbu creepers,

Keeps them beside the heap of white sand to conceal (lines 3-5)

Egg, white as elephant tusks and round as well as foul smelling.

(line 6)

With open mouth, the male awaits the hatching of the young ones.

(lines 7-8)

Nappasalaiyar, while describing the scene of a sea-shore at night,

records how a turtle walks across the beach beyond the tidal zone,

collects a few creepers of JIpomaea biloba (adumbu_ kodi), and

camouflages the eggs concealed in sand. Mawson (1921) observed

Chelonia mydas similarly covering the nest with some weeds. No

one else has recorded this habit in Indian turtles excepting

Nappasalaiyar and she is even more specific and probably correct

in noting the weeds to be of adumbu kodi which, as identified by

Lourduswamy (1953), is Ipomaea biloba, a common weed on the

Indian sea-coast.

The various other details concerning the shape, colour, and smell

of the turtle eggs as described by her are correct, but the last point

that the male keeps waiting (guarding 7?) till the hatching of the

young ones is not, as far as 1 know, either recorded or noticed in

sea turtles. Nor is it practicable for a male turtle to keep so long

exposed to the dangers on the beach. SERS: it may be a point

worth putting to observation.

This contribution of Nappasalaiyar to ancient Indian natural history

is of interest because the various details and the sequence of events

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES a 363

during the rather elaborate process of the egg laying of sea turtles,

described by her, agree closely with our present knowledge on the

subject and, especially in view of the fact that our earliest accurate

but short account of the sea turtle (Loggerhead) breeding, mentioned,

in the Old John Speed Atlas, dates back only to 1622. The above

description of Nappasalaivar (circa 4th century A.D.) is clear evidence

not only of the keen interest that our ancients evinced in natural

history but also of their remarkable powers of accurate observation and

description.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, P. J. SANJEEVA RAJ,

TAMBARAM. M.A., F.A.Z,

REFERENCES

Cameron, T. H. (1923): JBNHS 29: Hora, S.L. (1953): Birla Vidya

299-300. Vihar Magazine 1-6.

Deraniyagala, PP Ese: eae Ceylon Jayaram, K.C. (1950): J. Zool. Soc.

J. Sci. Sect. B, 16: 43-8 Ind. 2: 34-38.

Hora, S.L. ae ae As. Soc. Perc us ay, P. (1953): Tamil cul-

Bengal. Science I: -ture. II (1):

res ee ine D’ Hist.Des. Mawson, N. i921): JBNHS 27:956-957

Sci. 15 : 405-412. Rao, H. S. (1957): JBNHS 54: 251-280

22. ON THE ABNORMAL TAIL OF A GECKO

It is common knowledge that geckos can snap off the tail at will

and regenerate new ones. In most cases this new tail appears as a

continuation of the original one and is exactly similar to the lost one

in most of the important characters. Hora (1926, Rec. Ind. Mus.

28: 193) recorded a specimen of Hemidactylus brooki Gray with a

triradiate tail. The tail was composed of a normal median limb and

two perfectly symmetrical short limbs starting from the base of the

former. The following note is based on a specimen of Hemidactvlus

brooki caught from the Marine Biological Laboratory, Trivandrum.

The major part of the tail is normal, clearly showing the dorsal scutes

and the ventral plates, but the distal one-fifth is clearly forked. The

fork is asymmetrical, the left limb being slightly longer and more

slender than the right. The left limb possesses the dorsal scutes and

the ventral plates characieristic of the species, but both scutes and

plates are absent on the right limb. The external characters thus

clearly indicate that the left limb is the normal original tail and the

shorter right limb an abnormal development. The growth of the

accessory limb slightly displaced the original tail, producing a dicho-

tomous appearance.

364 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

The skeletal structure was studied from a transparent preparation,

stained with alizarine red. This has confirmed the conclusions based

on the external characters. The vertebral column is continued on to

the longer limb and is clearly demarcated into vertebrae. The

vertebra at the base of the fork is bifid, the branches entering into the

limbs of the fork. The branch which enters the shorter right limb

273

Foye

FeEPR

DETER

Ett

Sts:

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SRS ee.

iB lc

> fa Cr

Seeaty

CECA?

€

—

tee

& {2335

1. Tip of tail (dorsal view). 2. Tip of tail (ventral view).

provides the skeleton of the accessory Jimb and is not divided into

Its basal one-third is bulky and the distal two-thirds

vertebrae.

A typical caudal vertebra has two transverse processes

slender.

The accessory skeleton starts from the

placed exactly at the middle.

middle of the vertebra where the transverse process is usually seen

and thus appears to be the modified and enlarged transverse process.

This seems probable, because the corresponding transverse process,

though degenerated, is visible on the other side.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 365

According to Deraniyagala (Ceylon J. Sci. 13: 291) ‘the new tail

regenerates only the chorda without the vertebrae’ and the ‘additional

tails arise as regenerations of wounds which fail to break off the

original’. In the light of this observation, it appears that in the present

case the tail sustained two injuries. One of the injuries affected the

3. Caudal skeleton (dorsal view).

tail exactly at the middle of a vertebra and this resulted in the growth

of an additional limb. The other injury broke off the tip of the tail

and a new one was regenerated as a continuation of the original.

This is evident since the tip of the longer limb is exactly like the

shorter limb, devoid of vertebrae, dorsal scutes and ventral scales.

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY,

TRIVANDRUM, N. KRISHNA PILLAI

May 21, 1958.

366 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

23. RAT-SNAKES ‘MATING’

Motoring down our ghat road I came across two rat-snakes

(dhamans) as tightly coiled round each other as a thick rope. On

the approach of my car the ‘snake-rope’ shot up two separate heads,

which stared at us, then lowered and the whole then wriggled to a

culvert and went down a hole in the culvert wall just as a painele

snake would—perfect dual control.

DUPABURRAY BUNGALOW,

ATTIKAN P.O., R. C. MORRIS

viA Mysore, SOUTH INDIA,

February 4, 1958.

[At page 174 of the last number of the Journal we have commented

on a similar incident reported by Mr. K. R. Sethna.—EDs.]

24. ON A COLLECTION OF FISH FROM DELHI STATE

The study of the fish fauna of Delhi State was undertaken during

1949 at the suggestion of the late Dr. S. L. Hora. Collections were

made from all over the State, and the list of species given here may

be regarded as being fairly representative of the fish fauna of the

State.

PHYSICAL FEATURES

Delhi State is surrounded by Bulandshahr and Meerut districts of

Uttar Pradesh on the east, and the Punjab districts of Gurgaon and

Rohtak on the south and the north-west respectively. Though

situated at a higher altitude of about 709 ft. above sea-level, it is

essentially a plateau with an area of 574 square miles. The only

river supplying water to this State is the Jumna, which flows along

its eastern boundary. Delhi is criss-crossed by irrigation canals

bringing water from the Jumna to the agricultural land, village tanks,

and ponds.

Jumna River originates in the western Himalayas, 20,720 ft. above

sea-level. It flows through Punjab, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh to meet

the Ganges at Allahabad. The level falls by 5,000 ft. in the first

20 miles of its course and 4,500 ft. more before it comes out of its

gorge at Faizabad, a distance of about 100 miles from its source. By

the time it reaches Delhi, the level falls by another 900 ft. and it

becomes a broad river. The differences in its width during summer

and winter are very great. During the monsoon months of July and

August it is a vast stretch of water about half a mile across, but in the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES (367

winter months of December and January it dwindles to a small

stream with only knee-deep water at places. During the monsoon

months some of the hill-stream species are washed down the river

and are available at Delhi and all such species collected locally are

also included in the list. |

Delhi State has an average annual rainfall of only 26.24 inches,

on account of which many of the ponds and tanks contain very little

water for the greater part of the year. This is a big handicap for the

development of fisheries in the State.

_ List OF SPECIES

The classification followed is mainly the one proposed by L. S. Berg

(1940). Local names are also indicated wherever available.

Family Cyprinidae

1. Labeo rohita (Hamilton) ... Rohu

2. Labeo calbasu (Hamilton) ... Kalbons

3. Labeo gonius (Hamilton) .... Kurchia

4. Labeo dero (Hamilton) ... Chilwa

5. Labeo pangusia (Hamilton)

6. Cirrhina mrigala (Hamilton) ... Mirgal, Narain

7. Cirrhina reba (Hamilton) ... Raia, Suni

8. Catla catla (Hamilton) ... Katla

9. Barbus (Tor) tor (Hamilton) ... Mahaseer, Raja

10. Puntius sarana Hamilton on eee

11. Puntius sophore Hamilton ... Bhur, Puti

12. Puntius conchonius Hamilton ... Puti

13. Puntius ticto Hamilton Reeitee 47)

14. Puntius punjabensis Day

15. Crossocheilus latius punjabensis —

Mukerji

16. Garra gotyla (Gray)

17. Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamil-

ton) .. Meluwa

18. Aspidoparia morar (Hamilton) .... Moraki

19. Barilius vagra Hamilton

20. Rohtee cotio (Hamilton) .... Chanda

Sub-family RASBORINAE

21. Esomus danricus (Hamilton) ... Mola

Sub-family ABRAMIDINAE

22. Chela bacaila (Hamilton) ... Chela

23. Laubuca atpar (Hamilton)

368 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Sub-family PSILORHYNCHINI

{Family Psilorhynchidae of Hora (1925)]

24. Psilorhynchus balitora (Hamilton)

Family Cobitidae

25. Nemachilus corica (Hamilton)

26. Nemachilus montanus (McClell.)

27. Nemachilus zonatus (McClell.)

Sub-family BOTINI

28. Botia lohachata Chaudhuri we Billi

Family Siluridae

29. Wallago attu (Bloch & Schneider) Malli

30. Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch) ... Pabda

31. Ailia coila (Hamilton) ... Basmati

Family Bagridae

32. Mystus (Osteobagrus) seenghala

(Sykes) we. Singhara

33. Mystus (Mystus) cavasius (Hamil-

ton) ... Lengra

34. Mystus (Mystus) tengara (Hamil-

ton) ae es

35. Mystus (Mystus) aor (Hamilton) Ss

36. Rita rita (Hamilton) ... Rita, Ghegra,

Khagga

Family Schilbeidae

37. Eutropiichthys vacha (Hamilton) Bacha

38. Silonia silondia (Hamilton) ... Silond

39. Clupisoma garua (Hamilton) ... Bacha

Family Saccobranchidae

40. Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) ... Singi

Family Sisoridae

41. Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton) .... Gonch

42. Gagata cenia (Hamilton)

43. Nangra punctata Day

44. Glyptothorax telchitta (Hamilton)

45. Sisor rhabdophorus Hamilton

Family Ophiecephalidae (Ophicephalidae)

46. Channa punctatus (Bloch) ... Souli

47. Channa striatus (Bloch) .« Soula, Souli

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 369

48. Channa marulius (Hamilton) ... Shai

49. Channa gachua (Hamilton) ... Shouli

Family Gobiidae

50. Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton) Bhelua

Family Centropomidae (Ambassidae)

51. Ambassis nama (Hamilton) .... Chanda

52. Ambassis ranga (Hamilton) _... in

Family Anabantidae

53. Colisa fasciatus Bloch & Schneider Kharda

Family Mugilidae

54. Mugil corsula Hamilton ... Andowari

55. Mugil cascasia Hamilton

Family Mastacembelidae

56. Mastacembelus armatus (Lacé-

péde) ne. Bam

97. Rhynchobdella aculeata (Bloch) Giluwa

Family Notopteridae

38. Notopterus chitala (Hamilton) ..._ Chital, Pari

29. Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) ..._ Pholee, Mo

Family Clupeidae

Sub-family CLUPEINI

60. Gadusia chapra (Hamilton) ... Khuri

Family Belonidae (Xenentodontidae)

61. Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton) Chonchwali

Family Amphipnoidae

62. Amphipnous cuchia (Hamilton) Bam

IMPORTED VARIETIES

Besides the sixty-two species listed above, the following species

of freshwater, estuarine, and marine fishes are imported from outside

Delhi and are available in the fish-markets :

1. Hilsa ilisha (Hamilton) .... Wish, Hilsa

2. Clarias batractus (Linnaeus) ... Magur

3. Nandus nandus (Hamilton)

4, Eleutheronema tetradactylus

(Shaw) ... Salmon

5. Pampus argenteus (Euphrasin) ..._ Pomfret

370- JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

6. Scomber microlepidotus Riippell Mackerel

7. Lates calcarifer (Bloch) ... Bhetki

8. Cynoglossus sp. ... Chepti

REMARKS

In several locally available species slight variations in body pro-

portions, number of fin-rays, scale counts, and coloration have. been

noticed, which along with their description, bionomics, and ecology

are being published in the form of a separate handbook.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Dr. M. L. Bhatia, Professor and Head of the

Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, and to the late Dr.

S. L. Hora for their constant encouragement and guidance during

the progress of this work. My sincere thanks are due to Mr. A. G. K.

Menon of the Zoological Survey of India for checking up my identi-

fications. My thanks are also due to my colleague Mr. H. L. Sarkar and

to my friend Dr. B. G. Kapoor for giving me specimens of Barilius

vagra and Sisor rhabdophorus from their collections.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, N. N. MAJUMDAR

DELHI,

October 31, 1957.

REFERENCES

Berg, L. S. (1940): Classification of fishes both recent and fossil (English

edition 1947) Michigan, U.S.A. .

25. PARASITISM OF OPHICEPHALUS GACHUA HAMILTON

BY THE COPEPOD ARGULUS INDICUS WEBER

Max Weber (1892) originally. described the female of Argulus

indicus Weber from the east coast of Java. The male of this species

was later described by Wilson (1926, 1944) from Bangkok (Thailand).

The above species was reported from India for the first time by

Ramkrishna (1952) who in his paper referred that the collection of

the parasites was previously made by S. C. Bough from the skin of

Ophicephalus punctatus Bloch from Champahati, a village 15 miles

south of Sealdah Station, West Bengal. |

On 7 April 1956, during the survey of the fish fauna of Gokalpur

Lake, Jabalpur, M.P., 2 specimens of Ophicephalus gachua Hamilton

were collected from a small piece of fresh water which later runs

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 371

to join ‘the lake proper. Both the specimens of Ophicephalus gachua

were heavily infested with Argulus all over the body on all sides and

on the fins. The number of parasites collected from both the fishes

was 26. The number of male specimens was 17 and the rest were

females. On identification these parasites were found to be Argulus

indicus Weber.

It would appear that Argulus indicus is not strictly host specific,

but is ectoparasitic on different species of Indian murrels.

The author’s thanks are due to Dr. B. S. Chauhan of the Zoological

Survey of India for the specific identification of the parasites and for

his helpful suggestions.

DEPT. OF ZOOLOGY,

MAHAKOSHAL MAHAVIDYALAYA. R. B. MALAVIYA

JABALPUR, M.P.,

June 20, 1957.

REFERENCES

Ramakrishna, G. (1952): Rec. Ind. Wilson, C.B. (1926): Jour. Siam Soc.

Mus. 49: 307. Nat. Hist. Suppl. 6: 361-3, Pl. 22.

Weber, Max (1892): Zool. Frgeb. figs. 1-7.

2: 544, fig.1. — (1944); U.S. Nat.. Mus. 94:

552- 2-3, PL. 22, figs. 34, 39, 48.

26. PELAGIC SWARMING OF POLYOPHTHALMUS

(FAMILY OPHELIIDAE—POLYCH aeea

(With one text- oA

While making certain observations relating to the experimental

kelong® fishing operations being conducted at this research station, |

came across an interesting phenomenon which seems worthy of record.

Surface collections made in the Gulf of Mannar (approximately at

lat. 9° 16’ N. and Jong. 79° 08’ E.) during February and March 1958

with the help of a hand net after sunset under a 200 c.p. gas lamp

suspended about half a metre above the water surface showed a vary-

ing number of small Opheliid worms on different nights. These

=r —— —_———

1 Published with the permission of the Chief Research Officer, Central Marine

Fisheries Research Station, Mandapam Camp.

2 The ‘ Kelong’ used in this case consists of a kind of lift net in conjunction

with a light as lure and operated at night from a raised platform on the sea. Further

descriptions of this will appear elsewhere. The author wishes to record here

his appreciation of the help rendered by Shri D. Edward Chellappa who _ is

conducting the fishing operations and who was responsible for obtaining the night

collections.

372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

collections were primarily intended for other purposes and, as no

special effort was made to collect the polychaetes in particular, it is

possible that at the time of collection these swift moving worms were

present in larger numbers than were actually represented in the hauls.

The phenomenon was observed at a distance of about 365 metres from

the coast, where the bottom is characterised by loose sand and is

surrounded by extensive coral and algal beds. During the highest tide

the water is about 4 metres deep at this place, although during

occasions when the swarming was noticed the water level had never

attained its maximum for the night.

The Opheliid is identified as a juvenile Polyophthalmus pictus

(Djuardin) and a slightly contracted specimen is shown in the figure.

When freshly caught these worms swim about vigorously with a

wriggling or more often a darting movement characteristic of many

of the adult Opheliids. The length of the specimens ranges from 7 to

10 mm. with 27 setigerous segments. Body segmentation is not

clearly marked off but there are annulations more numerous than the

segments themselves. The body is pigmented by brown spots in the

form of close rings which are prominent in the anterior and posterior

regions. But this pattern is slightly variable with the pigment rings

often losing their continuity and appearing in bands or patches in

the middle and dorsal regions of the body. ‘The head is not pigmented

and the prostomium is short and round at its tip unlike many other

Opheliids which show a pointed conical snout. The ventral groove

is relatively more prominent than the ventrolateral ones. About 12

anal papillae are present fringing the margin of a short anal funnel.

Lateral gills are absent throughout. 2 or 3 submerged cephalic eyes

and about 10 lateral eye spots starting from the 7th segment are

present. The parapodia in these specimens do not seem to have

attained the adult. biramous structure described for the genus and

possess two or three simple capillary setae in each parapodium.

However, in the last seven segments of the body the capillary bristles

are highly elongated as shown in the figure with 5-7 setae in each

foot. Those of the last segment project well beyond the anal papillae.

Similar enlongated posterior bristles in the newly metamorphosed larvae

have been noticed in Ophelia (Wilson, 1948) and in Thoracophelia

(Dales, 1952). While discussing the significance of this character

‘Wilson has also pointed out that this is a feature of the young and

mature sexual individuals of Polyophthalmus. He has also noticed

a slight correlation between the prolongation of these posterior

bristles and the type of bottom soil inhabited by the worms, for

the finer the soil the shorter are the posterior bristles. However,

considering the pelagic swarming habit of these juvenile worms one

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 373

is inclined to regard this phenomenon as an adaptation for swimming,

during its pelagic phase.

Z Zens aU

EE ZTE

Text-fig. A juvenile specimen of Polyophthalmus pictus (Djuardin).

The family Opheliidae includes worms with a markedly localised dis-

tribution inhabiting only a fairly narrow range in grade of bottom soil of

the intertidal areas or at some depth in the sea. They are not known to

have an atokous phase and do not usually occur in plankton when

once they have taken to a life at the bottom after the metamorphosis

of the larvae. There seem to exist only very few records of observations

of these worms assuming a pelagic phase in their life besides the

remarks by Fauvel (1927) and Wilson (1948) that Polyophthalmus

becomes pelagic at night during its period of sexual maturity. Our

knowledge of Indian Opheliidae itself is meagre. Fauvel’s records

(1956) show that Opheliid worms are known to occur from Ceylon,

Pamban, Krusadai Island, and Kilakkarai in the Gulf of Mannar

region. Recently I obtained adults of Ammotrypane aulogaster from

the muddy bottom in the Mandapam Dockyard area and adjacent

localities’, and Armandia species from the sandy intertidal zones in

Krusadai Island and also opposite the Fisheries Station Campus.

With the occurrence of a varied and suitable type of substratum in

these regions it is very likely that the different Opheliids inhabit

other localities as well around the spot where the swarming phenomenon

was noticed at present.

| Apart from the classical examples of -periodic swarming of the

several errant polychaetes and their larvae which have been critically

analysed and reviewed by Korringa (1947), the occurrence of sedentary

forms such as the Scalibregmids in surface collections has been

recorded by Clark (1952-53). Earlier, Meek and Storson (1924) have

mentioned a pelagic phase in the life of the bottom living Arenicola

marina. Korringa’s review indicates that the swarming phenomenon

exhibited by most such polychaetes more or less during definite

periods is associated with maturity and changes in the lunar cycle.

The worms taking part in the swarming have thus been found to be

+ Thanks are due to Dr. R. Raghu Prasad for placing the bottom samples from

the Gulf of Mannar at the disposal of the author in this connection.

374. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

sexually ripe. The few observations made at present do not warrant.

any generalisation of the factors influencing the rising of Polyophthalmus

to the surface at night. Sexual play may have to be ruled out in this

particular instance as the specimens obtained were all immature. The

migrating Scalibremids observed by Clark (1952-53) were also immature

as in this case. The period of sexual maturity of Opheliids in our

waters is not known except for my observations on Armandia

Leptocirris (unpublished) which become sexually ripe in February-

March. The intervals of the swarming behaviour observed so far

do not throw light on any possible correlation with the lunar phase

although it may be mentioned that the worms appeared in surface

collections between the full moon and the last quarter, on the new

moon night, and again just before the first quarter with a maximum

during that time. Similarly, factors such as the surface temperature

and the weather conditions did not reveal any abnormal changes from

the usual conditions prevailing in the Gulf during the season. The

swarming of these worms under the light seems to indicate some kind

of photopositive reaction although there is no conclusive evidence

of this. However, this might be of some interest in view of the

negative phototropism observed in the larvae of Ophelia bicornis

by Wilson (1948). As regards the association of these swarming

worms with other animals, the general composition of the organisms

in each collection varied, sometimes considerably. Swarms of

Calanoids, Cumaceans, Decapod larvae, or Ostracods were obtained

along with the polychaetes on different nights.

CENTRAL MARINE FISHERIES RESEARCH STATION.

MANDAPAM CAMP,

S. INDIA,

March 28, 1958.

P. R. S. TAMPI

]

REFERENCES

Clark, R. B. (1952-58): Pelagic between the moon and periodicity in

swarming of Scalibregmidae (Poly- the breeding of marine animals. Ecol.

chaeta). Annual Rep. Scottish Mar. Monogr. 17: 349-381.

Biol. Assn., 20-22. Meek, A. and Storson, B. (1924): On

Dales, R. P. (1952): The larval a pelagic phase of Arenicola marina

development and ecology of Thoraco-

phelia mucronata (Treadwell). Biol. Bull.

102 (3) : 232-242.

Fauvel, P. (1927): Polychaetes seden-

taries. Fauna de France, Paris, 1-494.

— — (1956): Fauna of India, Poly-

chaeta. London.

Korringa, P. (1947): Relationship

and Eteone arctica. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.,

Ser. 9,14: 453-455.

Tampi, P.R. S. (Unpublished): On

the anatomy of Armandia leptocirri.

Grube.

Wilson, D. P. (1948): The larval

development of Ophelia bicornis Savigny.

J. Mar. Biol. Assn., U.K. 27: 540-552.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 315)

27. A LIST OF BUTTERFLIES FOUND ON DATE PALMS

TAPPED FOR TODDY

In November last year I had an opportunity to watch for a few

days a number of butterflies disporting on and around a date palm

tapped for toddy. They were attracted to the palm, no doubt, by the

smelly sap which dripped down the trunk and also fell on the ground

at the base. The butterflies settled wherever the sap fell and sipped

for varying lengths of time throughout the day. Between sips they

left the tree and basked on the bushes near it or flew aimlessly around

or gave chase to one another for short distances. Curiously enough,

they showed no ill effect of toddy in spite of their repeated indulgence

in itt all through the day.

I give below a list of the butterflies sipping on the palm as found

by me during those few days of November:

I. Satyrids

A species of Bushbrown (Mvycalesis)

Bamboo Treebrown (Lethe europa)

Nigger (Orsotrioena medus)

Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda)

Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra) & 2

Spotted Palmfly (Elymnias malelas) @

Il. Nymphalids

Tawny Rajah (Charaxes polyxena) °

Clipper (Parthenos sylvia)

Knight (Lebedea martha) |

Commander (Limenitis procris)

Painted Courtesan (Euripus consimilis) 3

Colour Sergeant (Pantoporia nefte) &

Common Sergeant (Pantoporia perius)

Common Sailor (Neptis hylas)

Baron (Euthalia garuda) & 2

Gaudy Baron (Euthalia lubentina) 9

Grey Count (Euthalia lepidea)

Peacock Pansy (Precis almana)

Lemon Pansy (Precis lemonias)

Yellow Pansy (Precis hierta)

Grey Pansy (Precis atlites)

(Sex differentiation by sight)

376. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

A fuller account of the butterflies is published in the Journal of

the Bengal Natural History Society, Darjeeling, April 1958.

SONAPUR TEA ESTATE,

SONAPUR P.O., AJOY SHANKAR BHADURI

Dt. KamrupP (ASSAM),

May 28, 1958.

28. INDIVIDUAL HOST DISCRIMINATION BY BLOOD-

SUCKING INSECTS

In the summer of 1957, during a world flight, I spent nine days

in India. On the morning of July 21 Mr. Salim Al, Mr. Humayun

Abdulali, and I were observing birds near Funnel Hill about twenty

miles north-east of Bombay. Mr. Abdulali and I walked together

through the woods for about half an hour. When we emerged, Mr.

Abdulali’s head, face, neck, and arms were covered with many large

swellings from insect bites, mainly mosquito, whereas I showed no

similar symptoms. We both were hatless and wore short-sleeved,

open-necked shirts. I can offer no explanation of the preference

shown. Is it related to the ecology of the insects, whatever they were?

Did I have some kind of immunity which my companion did not

have? Perhaps some experiments would have to be made on the

spot to reach any exact conclusions.

BRoOoKS SCHOOL,

NorTH ANDOVER, Mass., U.S.A., OSCAR M. ROOT

March 8, 1958.

[This note was referred to a medical friend and his reply reads in

part: : bleh

‘.. . the reaction to mosquito bites is not synonymous with having

been bitten by mosquitoes. While there is no doubt, from careful

field studies which have been done, that different persons are attractive

to different degrees, it is also well known that some people have a

strong local reaction to bites while others do not.’

We hope to have a more detailed note on this interesting subject

later.—EDs. ]

29. PARAGREWIA GAGNEP. EX SESHAGIRI RAO

SYNONYMOUS WITH LEPTONYCHIA TURCZ.

During 1947, while studying Indo-Burmese species of Grewia, a

few doubtful sheets belonging to the Calcutta and Madras Herbaria

were well matched with the description and diagrams of Paragrewia

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES S17

poilanei just then published by Gagnepain in SUPPLEMENT A LA FLORE

GENERALE DE L’INDOCHINE I, 1945, and an account of them was

given under this name by the writer (JBNHS 51: 671, 1953 and 32:

190, 1954).

Recently, while working on similar doubtful sheets kept along with

Grewia specimens at the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden,

' Edinburgh, the writer came across a few more species similar to

Paragrewia collected from India and Central Africa, and after proper

dissection and study all of them, including the so-called Paragrewia

poilanei from Burma and India (JBNHS 51: 672, 1953), have turned.

out to be species of Leptonychia Turcz. (Sterculiaceae). After care-

ful study of the Indian material of Leptonychia and the so-called

Paragrewia at Edinburgh, Kew, and British Museum Herbaria, it

has been found that Paragrewia poilanei is nothing but Leptonychiai

moacurroides Bedd. Subsequently, a holotype and two isotypes of

Paragrewia poilanei Gagnep. have been studied at the Paris

Herbarium where there are three sheets of Poilane 31768. One of

them with Poilane’s original label with details of locality and

Gagnepain’s diagrams of floral dissections which have been actually

reproduced in Gagnepain’s paper (loc. cit., 1945) is considered to be

the holotype. Gagnepain’s floral dissections kept in an envelope

attached to the holotype show, on careful examination, appendages

and staminodes along with the staminal tube, features which have

been completely omitted by him in his description and diagrams.

The writer is fully convinced that the type material is nothing but

Leptonychia moacurroides Bedd. Therefore, the new genus Para-

grewia together with its type species Paragrewia poilanei cannot

stand. The synonymy of the species is as follows:

Leptonychia moacurroides Bedd. Fl. Sylvatica, 1, t. 114 (1871).

Syn.: Grewia acuminata Bedd. in Madras J. Sc. ser. 3, 1: 38,

1864 et in Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 25: 210, 1865—non Juss.

(1804).

Leptonychia acuminata (Bedd.) Burret in Notizbl. Bot. Gart.

Mus. Berlin, 9: 727, 1926—non Mast. (1874).

Paragrewia poilanei Gagnep. in suppl. Fl. Gen. Indo-Chine, 1,

(1945); Seshagiri Rao in JBNAS, 51: 671, 1953 & 52: 190,

1954.

My grateful thanks are due to Mr. B. L. Burtt, Royal Botanic

Garden, Edinburgh, for his kind suggestions during the study.

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

SHILLONG, ROLLA SESHAGIRI RAQ

March 15, 1958,

378 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

30. ON THE IDENTITY OF KERSTANIA RECH. F.

(With one map)

The genus Kerstania Rech. f. has been described recently

(Rechinger f., 1957) from Afghanistan, based on K. nuristanica

Rech. f. It is said to be related to Hosackia Dougl. ex Benth. The

description of the genus is accompanied. by good illustrations

(Rechinger f., 1957, t. 8, 9) and my observations are entirely based

on them.

A critical study of these illustrations has revealed that Kerstania

‘nuristanica Rech. f. is the same as Astragalus hosackioides (Royle ex

Benth.) Benth. This species was originally described by Bentham

(1835) in the genus Podolotus Royle ex Benth. and at that time he had

clearly pointed out its affinity with the totally American genus Hosackia

Dougl. ex Benth. However later in 1865 (Bentham, 1865) he trans-

ferred it to the genus Astragalus. The same treatment has been

maintained by Baker (1876).

In Hooker f., FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA, Vol. 2, this taxon has

only been reported from Kumaon and Garhwal. However, while

revising the genus Astragalus from W. Pakistan and NW. Himalaya,

it has come to light that this taxon is more widely distributed than

was hitherto Known and it extends to Kashmir, E. Punjab, W. Punjab,

and N.W.F. Province. The present recognition of K. nuristanica Rech.

f. as A. hosackioides (Royle ex Benth.) Benth. shows that it is present

in Afghanistan (Nuristan) also (see map).

As stated earlier this taxon is presently placed in the genus

Astragalus, Podolotus being recognised as a subgenus (Bentham, 1865;

Baker, 1876). Bentham has recognised only two species in this sub-

genus, namely A. hosackioides (Royle ex Benth.) Benth. and A. lotoides

Lam. (A. sinicus L.). Even if it is thought desirable to recognise

a separate genus for the taxon under discussion, Podolotus Royle ex

Benth. has priority over Kerstania Rech. f., which must be reduced

to synonymy.

The correct specific epithet and the synonymy is as follows:

Astragalus hosackioides (Royle ex Benth.) Benth. in Benth. et

Hooker f. Gen. Pl. 1 (2): 507. 1865.

Kerstania nuristanica Rech. f. in Biol. Skr. 9 (3): 19, 1957.

The specimens observed on which the attached map is based are

as follows: :

Punjab (East and West): Mount Krol, 4,000 ft.. Drummond

21918 (K); (G); Murree, Lawrence Road, June 1915, Saunders (K);

Banni, Murree Hills, 6,000 ft. B.O. Coventry (K); Chamba Shali,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES : 379

8,000 ft., Collet 157 (K); Simla-Kalka, 4,000 ft., Drummond 24771 (K);

Simla, Suni 3,000 ft., Watt 9740 (B).

A AHOSACKIOIDES

NW.F. Province: Kohat, 3,000 ft., Drummond 21915 (K); Khil

Tangi, Kurram Valley. Harsukh 14982 (K).

Kashmir: Nakial, Poonch, 6,000 ft., A. Rashid and R. R. Stewart

25853 (RAW),

380 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Kumaon and Garhwal: Nainital, 7,000 ft., Strachey and Winter-

bottom (K); Nainital, 6,800 ft., Strachey and Winterbottom (K); (BM);.

Nainital, Thomson 586 (K); (BM).

[For the abbreviations of the herbaria referred above, I have

followed Lanjouw and Stafleu (1956).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To the authorities of the following herbaria my thanks are due

for the herbarium and the library facilities: Royal Botanic Gardens,

Kew; British Museum (Natural History), London; Royal Botanic

Gardens, Edinburgh; Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Geneva. I

am also indebted to Dr. R. R. Stewart, Principal, Gordon College,

Rawalpindi, for kindly sending the specimens on loan.

c/o THE HERBARIUM,

RoyAL BOTANIC GARDENS,

Kew, RICHMOND, SYED IRTIFAQ ALI

SURREY, ENGLAND,

April 30, 1958.

REFERENCES

Baker, J. G. (1876) in Hooker, J.D. Hooker, J. D. (f.) Genera Plantarum 1

(f.). Flora of British India 2 : 123. (2) 2.507.

Bentham, G. (1835) in Roye, J. F., Lanjouw, J. & Stafleu, F. A. (1956):

Illustrations of the Botany of Himalayan Index Herbariorum, 1.

Mountains and the Flora of Cashmere : Rechinger, K. H. (f.)'(1957) Legum-

198

inosae, Symbolae Afghanicae in Biol. Skr.

Bentham, G. (1865) in Bentham, G. & 9 (3): 19.

31. OBSERVATION OF VIVIPARY IN ERYTHRINA

INDICA LAMK.

(With a photo)

Viviparous germination is common in most of the mangrove plants

like Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Ceriops, Kandelia, etc., where it occurs

on account of special adaptation to the surroundings and also for a

quick fixation of the seedlings in their usual muddy habitat.

Goebel (2) has reported cases of vivipary in Hepaticae, Musci

and Filicinae of moist habit, where spores germinate within the

sporangium without any resting period. He also states that Filicinae

members when grown in dry region produce spores which germinate

only after a resting period.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 381

Photograph showing the germination of seeds in a pod

Viviparous germination is also known amongst non-mangrove

plants like Mangifera indica L., Artocarpus integrifolia L., some

species of Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae, Gramineae and Cactaceae. Khan

(3) reported vivipary in Moringa and tried to classify viviparous forms.

Mani (4) observed 8 healthy seedlings inside the fruit of Pyrus malus.

Venkataraman (6) noted that in Carica papaya seeds have no dormant

eriod and the cotyledons had turned green while still inside the

fruit. Srivastava and Williamson (5) have recently published a note

on the germination of seeds inside the fruit, in which they have re-

ferred to viviparous generation in Cucurbita maxima L. Khan (3)

has suggested the classification of this phenomenon of vivipary under.

two groups, true and spurious, depending upon the direct and indirect

supply of food and water from the parent plant.

While collecting plants for undergraduate students of our Institute

on 3 August 1957 it was noticed that many of the roadside trees of

Erythrina indica Lamk., belonging to Papilionaceae, near Ghodbunder

nearly 25 miles north of Bombay, had their pods fully matured and

turned blackish. Some of them were open and about to disperse

their seeds. Among these many seeds were in different stages of

germination while still on the parent plants. It was further observed

that the pods in which the seeds were germinating were turned in

the upward direction while on the trees, as if to give support to these

germinating seeds. In some cases the seedlings were developed up to

3-4 inches. The specimens were brought to the laboratory for photo-

graphing and for further examination, |

382. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

On looking around these trees, it was noticed that many of the

seedlings, some of them of considerable length, were scattered on the

ground, indicating that these must have dropped down to the ground

from older pods either due to wind or birds.

It appears that the normal dormant period of the seeds is lessened

and a stimulus for germination on the trees is obtained by favour-

able climatic and other conditions of humid air and constant drizzl-

ing of rain water from the upper branches and leaves.

It was further observed that seeds were germinating only in pods

in which dust from the roadside had accumulated, and this was aided

by the texture of the dried fruit coat, the lately developed upward

curvature of the pod, and its cracking along the upper suture, resulting

in the formation of a partly curved boat-shaped structure and heavy

dampness due to season.

As indicated by Khan (3) this type of germination could be

classified as a spurious vivipary, wherein the seedlings though still

attached to the parent plants do not get their nourishment and water

supply from the latter.

We have been prompted to write this note seeing that Blatter

and Millard (1) in the first edition, and Stearn (1) in the second edition

of SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES, whilst describing the plant and

all its parts in full, do not mention vivipary as observed by them; this

note thus supplements an otherwise interesting and fairly complete

description of Erythrina indica Lamk.

Finally, we express our sincere thanks to Rev. Fr. H. Santapau,

J., Ph.D. (Lond.), Director of the Biology Department, St. Xavier’s

College, Bombay, for his valuable suggestions and for critically going

through the manuscript.

BOTANY DEPARTMENT,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, S.S. KELKAR

Mayo Roap, Fort, B.S. NAVALKAR

Bompay 1,

May 8, 1958.

REFERENCES

1. Blatter, E. & Millard, W. S.& Pyrus malus. Curr. Sc. 16th, 10, Oct.

Stearn, W. T. (1954): Some Beautiful 1947.

Indian Trees (ed. 2) : 63-70. 3

2. Goebel, K. (1905): Organography

Srivastava, LL. M. & Williamson,

A. D. (1958): Science and Culture, 23 (8):

of Plants (II) : 255-257.

Khan, M. S. (1945): On the Con-

Proc. 32nd

cept of Vivipary in Plants.

Indian Sc. Cong. Ill. 85.

4, Mani, V.K.S. (1947) : Vivipary in

428, Feb. 1958.

6. Venkataramani, K. S. (1951): An

interesting instance of viviparous germi-

nation in Carica papaya L. J. Madras

Uni. B. 21, 2, 218-219, Dec. 1951,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 383

32. SERICOCALYX SCABER (NEES) BREMEK.

(With a plate)

A few months ago the authors of this note were keen on getting

information on this plant, which had been collected for the first time

from Baroda on 7 March 1957. The identification proved somewhat

troublesome.

At first sight the plant might be confused with Ruellia particularly

on account of the twisting of the corolla; but other characters suggested.

Strobilanthes, among these the number of stamens, usually 4, the

nature of the corolla tube, and the number of seeds. Two pressed

specimens were sent to Father H. Santapau of St. Xavier’s College,

Bombay, for determination. He remarked: “The plant is a stranger

in our flora; it is definitely Ruellia genus, but I have no means of

coming to the species since none of my monographs on Acanthaceae

mentions the plant. The specimens will have to be sent to an inter-

national Herbarium, such as Kew or Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum.’

Mr. M. B. Raizada of the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun,

identified it as Strobilanthes scaber Nees.

This identification was confirmed by the Director of the Royal

Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, who in his letter further states that

the specimen is Sericocalyx scaber (Nees in Wall.) Bremekamp, Mat.

Mon. Strobil. 165 (1944). Syn. Strobilanthes scaber Nees in Wall.

PAS. Rar. 3 84,7 1832.

The nomenclature of the plant is as follows:

Sericocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek. in Verh. Nederl. Akad. Wet.

II, 41 (1): 163, 1944.

Strobilanthes scaber Nees in Wall. Pl. As. Rar. 3: 84, 1832;

Bot. Reg. 27: t. 32, 1841; Fl. Brit. Ind. 4: 446.

Ruellia scabra Wall. Cat. 2393, nom. nud.; non Cat. 2377.

Ruellia aspera Nees in DC. Prodr. 11: 147, quoad spec. Bengal.

- Distribution: Burma, N. and E. India; elsewhere cultivated.

DESCRIPTION

Stems 30-90 cm. high, pubescent or hairy upwards; leaves

12X5 cm., narrowed at the base, crenate at the margins, coarsely

scabrid to subhispid or at times nearly glabrous, hard; nerves 7-8

pairs; petioles 2 cm. long. Jnflorescence in spikes 2.5-5 cm. long,

hairy; bracts 2.50.5 cm., obtusely acuminate, green; bracteoles

6 mm. long, linear, or oblong; calyx 6-8 mm. long, divided nearly to

the base, the segments linear, pubescent: corolla symmetric or nearly

so, glabrous, base cylindric, about as long as the ventricose portion,

lobes rounded. Stamens included, the filaments hairy towards the

384. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

base. Ovary glandular at the apex, always 4-ovulate; style nearly

glabrous; capsule 12-14 mm. long, 4-seeded; seeds about 2 mm. diam.,

discoid, with numerous fine hairs near the edges, the hairs being

‘hygroscopic and expanding when wet; areoles very large, glabrous.

According to Thwaites and Beddome the plant is found in Ceylon, but

only under cultivation.

FIELD NOTES

In the field near Baroda we have always recorded this plant as a

cultigen, and only from the University Botanic Garden and Sayaji

Park, Baroda. We feel somewhat dissatisfied with the descriptions of

the habits and habitat of this plant as given in the literature; in our

area it seems to be a rather variable plant. Sometimes it is found

along Lawsonia hedges (in the grounds of the Faculty of Science),

with its divaricate branches spreading; in front of the buildings of

the Faculty of Arts the plant is utilised by our malis for making

borders from small cuttings taken from any individual plant. There

‘is considerable difference in the plants collected from Sayaji Park;

here it is a perennial shrub, up to 2 m. high, rather bushy and vigorous

in growth; the flowers are yellow with a brownish purple tinge in

the tube; the leaves are larger, the spikes longer, the bracts larger

than in the normal variety. In this park the plant seems to prefer

Shaded spots, or perhaps it was planted there in the first instance

and has developed some abnormal size and habit.

From the scanty data collected to the present no conclusion can

be drawn; but from past records it is clear that the plant is a new

record for Baroda, and further that it is a rare species both in Baroda

and in Bombay State.

Flowering: Late February to early April; Fruiting: Mid-Aprik

to June.

Embryological work on this plant has been carried out by Miss

K. B. Ambegaonkar in our University; and it is mainly due to her

enthusiasm for the collection and identification of materials of the

family Acanthaceae that the authors were moved to collect the present

material and write this note to clear up the systematic position of the

plant.

BOTANY DEPARTMENT,

M.S. UNIVERSITY, V.G. PHATAK

BARODA, B. B. JOSHI

May 8, 1958.

[According to Bremekamp, op. cit. p. 57, the genus Sericocalyx

extends through south China, Indo-China, Sumatra, Java, Celebes,

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Sericocalyx scaber (Nees in Wall.)

Bremek.

(1) Entire branch, (2) Flower, (3) St. didynamus (dissected flower)

4) Ovary, (5) Stamen, (6) Capsule, (7) Seed,

pues | atechh hy Hie ee po ree

Wage

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 385

Sunda Islands; elsewhere only under cultivation or as an escape from

cultivation. The species Sericocalyx scaber (Nees) Bremek. has been

cultivated in many parts in Asia; from Bombay, in addition to the

Baroda specimens mentioned in the note, the plant has been recorded

from Victoria Gardens, where it has been flowering profusely for a

number of years.—EDs.]

33. COELOGYNE CALCICOLA KERR IN BURMA

In 1953 I received this orchid from Sinlumkaba in the Kachin State,

at. 243, 1577 Ni, ong. 97-7307 E; alt: 5,000 ft. U, Aung Din,-M-A:

(Oxon.), silviculturist, Forest Department, Burma, very kindly sent a

herbarium specimen to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where it

was identified.

The description from ‘Orchids from Laos’ (1933 Journal Siam

Society, Natural History Supplement 9) is quoted below:

‘The sepals and petals are creamy white, the lip white with yellow

patch on disc and brown ridges. There are two specimens in the

Kew Herbarium referable to this species: Forrest 18715, Yunnan,

and a cultivated specimen from the Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin,

“probably from Siam or Annam, as it is of French origin’’.’

In 1956, I received this orchid from Mount Victoria in the Chin

Hills 21° 15’ N., 93° 55’ E., alt. 10,210 ft., and in 1957 from Nyaunggyo,

19” 33’ N., 94° 50’ -E., alt. 3,500 ft. The plants from Nyaunggyo

are smaller than the ones from Sinlumkaba and Mount Victoria. This

may be due to the lower altitude where they grow, or it may be a

small flowered form? They are not thriving in Rangoon.

25 InyA MYAING RoaD,

UNIVERSITY P.O., TUN YIN,

RANGOON, B.C.S. (S.G.), Retd.

BURMA,

March 31, 1958.

34. GROWING SAFFRON IN LUCKNOW

In 1956 a plant collection party from the National Botanic Gardens,

Lucknow, collected corms of saffron (Crocus sativus Linn.) from

Kishtwar and Pampur in Jammu and Kashmir State. The corms were

planted in the National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow, in September, in

pots filled with leaf mould and soil. Some of the plants produced

flowers in the last week of November and first week of December 1956.

486 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Subsequently in 1957 corms ranging from 8-9 cm. in diameter were

introduced from Kashmir. They were planted in the third week of

October 1957 in pots in the same manner. The plants produced

flowers in the second and third weeks of November 1957. The corms

obtained from the 1956 crop in the gardens, however, did not produce

any flowers in 1957.

It may be seen from the above that Crocus sativus Linn. can be

grown in Lucknow by importing corms from Kashmir. Corms of

8-9 cm. diameter planted in the second week of October produced

flowers within a month. It is intended to continue the experiment on

a bigger scale next year.

The author’s grateful thanks are due to Prof. K. N. Kaul,

Director, National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow, for encouragement and

guidance.

NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS,

LUCKNOW, G. 8S. SRIVASTAVA

February 25, 1958.

Notes and News

A combination of circumstances, happy and sad, has obliged the

Society to shift its time-honoured headquarters from the premises of

Messrs Phipson and Co., 114 Apollo Street, where its offices and

library have been housed since 1885. Owing to serious overcrowding,

the extensive and fast-expanding reference collections of mammals,

birds, snakes, insects, etc. had to be moved to the Prince of Wales

Museum in 1921.

For many years the scientific work of the Society had been

seriously hampered, first by the great congestion in the old premises,

and later by the fact that the library and research collections were in

such widely separated places and thus inconvenient to use. Efforts

had been continuous to find a permanent home for the Society where

not only would ali the necessary facilities be available under one

and the same roof, but where adequate working space could be

provided for research workers and students, together. with a meeting

room for members and a well-equipped lecture hall. Negotiations

for the sale of Phipson and Company’s premises were well advanced,

and the imminent prospect of being thrown out on the street prompted

the Committee to urge on the Governments of India and Bombay

State the pressing need of a permanent home for the Society with its

priceless scientific collections and library, if its good work of three-

quarters of a century was to continue.

We are happy to announce that the efforts have borne fruit and,

thanks to the Central Government, there seems every likelihood of

the Society getting a permanent home in the grounds of the Prince of

Wales Museum in the near future. Until such time as the new build-

ing is up and ready for occupation, it is hoped that the Government of

Bombay will be pleased to continue a renewal of the grant which they

have made to the Society for the first year to enable it to hire temporary

premises and carry on its independent existence.

The Committee have been able tc rent adequate premises in 91

Walkeshwar Road, Malabar Hill, (Bombay 6). as from Ist September

1958, but it may be yet a while before the shift is completed and our

office can settle down to its normal routine. Some inconvenience to

members during this process of moving is inevitable, but it is hoped

will be overlooked.

* * * *

The Bombay Natural History Society has been recognised by the

University of Bombay as a post-graduate teaching institution for

388. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Field Ornithology. B.Sc. zoology students will henceforth be able to

get an M.Sc. degree with research in field ornithology under the

guidance of the Society. This is the first occasion where the im-

portance of the field study of birds has been recognized by an Indian

university, and it is hoped that students will take advantage of the

special facilities which the Society is in a position to offer in this

department. Just at present we are fortunate in having at our

disposal as teacher and guide Dr. J. H. Crook, a competent researcher

from the Maddingley Ornithological Field Station of Cambridge

University. Further particulars may be obtained from the Honorary

Secretary, 91 Walkeshwar Road, Bombay 6.

*K * : * *

We are glad to announce that the Rockefeller Foundation has

made a grant of $10,000 to the Society to be used during the year 1959

for general operating expenses and the employment of personnel in

furtherance of its expansion programme in the new premises.

This is a handsome tribute to the sterling work of the Society in

the cause of Indian Natura! History, carried out under difficulties and

with restricted finances. The Society is grateful to the Foundation as,

much for its munificence as for this appreciation of its efforts and

achievements.

* % ok x

In the review of KNAURS VOGELBUCH published on page 151 of

Vol. 55, the price was omitted. The publishers inform us that it is

DM. 12.80=Rs. 14.85.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY

SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR ENDING 3lst DECEMBER 1957

President

SHRI SRI PRAKASA, Governor of Bombay

Vice-Presidents

Major-General Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.s.

Rev. Fr. H. Santapau, s.J.

Mr. Sélim Ali

Executive Committee

Prof. S. P. Agharkar, M.A., Ph.D., F.L.S., F.N.I.

Mr. J. A. Singh, I.F.sS.

Dr. D. V. Bal, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Mr. G. V. Bedekar, I.c.s.

Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, M.sc., Ph.p.

Mr. D. N. Marshall

Mr. D. J. Panday

Mr. D. E. Reuben, I.c.s. (Retd.)

Mr. Humayun Abdulali (Hon. Secretary)

Mr. M. J. Dickins (Hon. Treasurer)

Advisory Committee

Mr. H. G. Acharya, F.R.E.S. Me .... Ahmedabad

Sir Chintaman Deshmukh, Kt., C.1.E., L.c.s. ... New Delhi

Rev. Fr. Dr. J. B. Freeman, M.A., L.T., Ph.b., D.D.

Mysore

Mir EB. Po: Gee; (McA, C.M.Z:S. ... Assam

Col. R. C. Morris, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. ... ... Attikan

Lt.-Col. E. G. Gite tua O.B.E., F.Z.S., IA

(Retd.) .. Yan Nileiris

Dr. M. L. Roonwal, M.sc., sane F.N.I., F.Z.S.1 .... Calcutta

Dr. Baini Prasad, D.Sc., F.N.I. on ... Dehra Dun

List of members of the Executive and Advisory Committees elected

for the year 1958:

President

SHRI SRI PRAKASA, Governor of Bombay

390 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Vice-Presidents

Major-General Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, 1.M.S.

Rev. Fr. H. Santapau, s.J.

Mr. Salim Ali

Executive Committee

Prof. S. P. Agharkar, M.A., Ph.D., F.L.S., F.N.I.

Dr. D. V. Bal, M.sc., Ph.D.

Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, M.sc., Ph.p.

Mr. D. N. Marshall

Mr. D. J. Panday

Mr. D. E. Reuben, 1.c.s. (Retd.)

Mr. J. A. Singh, L.F.s.

Mr. Humayun Abdulali (Hon. Secretary)

Mr. M. J. Dickins (Hon. Treasurer)

Advisory Committee

Mr. H. G. Acharya, F.R.E.S. a ... Ahmedabad

Mr. G. V. Bedekar, I.c.s. ... — Aurangabad

Sir Chintaman Deshmukh, Kt., C.I.E., LC.S. ... New Delhi

Rev. Fr. Dr. J. B. Freeman, M.A., L.T., Ph.D., D.D. Mysore

Mr. E. P. Gee, M.A., C.M.Z.S. ate af Assam

Col. R. C. Morris, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S.... Le eAttiKkan

Et-Col E.G: pe 2 ae O.B.E., F.Z.S., I.A

(Retd.) ae ... Nilgiris

Dr. Baini Prasad, D.Sc., F.N.I. oe . Dehra Dun

Lt.-Gen. Sir H. Williams, ¢.B., C.B.E., M.LC.E.,M.LE.- Roorkee

Dr. M. L. Roonwal, M.sc., Ph.D., F.N.I., F.Z.S.1..... Calcutta

HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1957

THE SOCIETY’S JOURNAL

Parts 2, 3, and 4 of Volume 54 were published.

MAMMALS

W. C. Osman Hill and A. H. Booth in ‘Voice and Larynx in

African and Asiatic Colobidae’ give a preliminary account of the

laryngeal specialisation in the Primate family Colobidae. The

principal anatomical features of the larynx of seven genera including

the Indian langurs have been studied and an attempt made to

correlate the laryngeal mechanisms, ranging from the relatively

PROCEEDINGS & ACCOUNTS, 1957 391

simple arrangements in Proco/obus to the large and complex larynx of

Colobus (sensu stricto), with their vocal performances, The paper

also throws light on the close relationship of the African genus

Colobus (sensu stricto) to the Asiatic Presbytis and to the distincti-

veness of Procolobus.

Mrs. Aruna Banerji in continuation of her paper published in the

Journal 53 (2): 261 has given a detailed account of certain aspects

of the family life of the Fivestriped Squirrel Funambulus pennanti

Wr. The female attains maturity between the age of 6 and 8 months

and appears to take the initiative in the pre-mating activities. The

gestation period averages between 40 and 42 days and observations

on one squirrel over about 34 years reveal that there are three litters

a year, with an average of three young per litter.

In ‘The Abominable Snowman’ Swami Pranavananda has attempted

to dissuade believers and to convince them that the Yeti is a myth

and not a reality. The Swami has studied the problem in the course

of his extensive travels in the Himalayas. The word ‘Yeti’ is derived

from the Tibetan word my-te, meaning ‘abominable, filthy, disgusting

to a repulsive degree or dirty’. He concludes that te (brown bear)

and my-te (man bear or red bear) which may be identical are respon-

sible for the footprints that have caused all this controversy.

Mrs. Swarna Subramoniam has recorded the habits of 8 specimens

of the Slender Loris Loris tardigradus (Linnaeus) kept in captivity

under conditions simulating their natural environment. The Slender

Loris is omnivorous in its diet and it is noted that they use their

molars and not their incisors for seizing the insects and other food

offered to them. The extreme adaptability of the limbs of this animal

is well illustrated by a series of 30 line drawings. The author has

also discussed their sociability and docility, the sounds they produce,

and their intelligence which is of a very low order.

‘The Lion of the Gir’ is a chapter from the late Lt.-Col. A. H. E.

Mosse’s unpublished manuscript entitled ‘Indian hours with Nature.

being ramblings of a naturalist shikari’. These notes were written in

1936 and provide an interesting background to the recent efforts at

counting the total population of lions and their preservation.

BIRDS

Salim Ali and V. C. Ambedkar record more observations on the

biology of the Weaver Bird Ploceus philippinus Linn. made at two

control colonies, one in Poona and the other in Bombay. Confirma-

tory evidence of many of their earlier findings [JBNHS 53: 381-389

(1956)] is available and further notes on clutch size, percentages of

successful hatching and nestling in the control colonies, natural

392 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

mortality and sex ratios among nestlings, nest building and

intelligence denote possibilities of much more work of great interest

on these birds.

‘Notes on the Birds of a selected area of Dehra Dun—June 1946

to July 1951’ by the late Mrs. M. D. Wright embodies observations

made during five years covering 227 species and subspecies. Notes

on movements, relative abundance, breeding. courtship, nesting, etc.

are given under each species.

In ‘Notes on Specific Identification in the Tawny Pipit (Anthus

campestris), Blyth’s Pipit (A. godlewskii), and Richard’s Pipit (A.

novaeseelandiae) in Asia’, Mrs. B. P. Hall discusses the geographical

variation in these three species, some forms of which are resident in

or visit India every year, and also the problem of their identification

in the museum. The streaks and spots on the body and the tail, the

size and shape of the hind claw, and the relative lengths of the wing

and tarsus are important characters which assist in the study of a

difficult subject.

The ecological study ‘The Blackfaced Weaver Bird or Dioch in

West Africa’ by G. Morel, Marie-Yvonne Morel, and Frangois

Bourliere covers Quelea quelea, a bird which has been a major pest

of wheat and other cereal crops in parts of Africa. In the losses

which it causes, the Dioch is often compared by modern agriculturists

to locusts. The study is based on observations made in its natural

Surroundings and on breeding experiments since 1953.

“Terns of the Seychelles Islands’ by M. W. Ridley covers obser-

vations made during four months in the breeding season in 1955. The

Common and the Lesser Noddy, the Sooty. the Brownwinged, the

Crested, the Roseate, the Blacknaped, and the White Terns were found

nesting while the Little and the Caspian Terns were non-breeding

visitors.

REPTILES

‘Reptiliana’ is another chapter from the late Lt.-Col. A. H. E.

Mosse’s unpublished manuscript referred to earlier. No other paper

on this subject was available.

FISH AND FISHERIES

S. V. Gokhale in ‘Operations of the Dol Net off Saurashtra Coast’

describes the net so widely used for the ‘Bombay-duck’ but on which

so very little literature is available.

D. V. Bal and K. H. Mohamed’s ‘A Systematic Account of the

Eels of Bombay’ refers to fourteen species, four of which are new to

this area.

PROCEEDINGS & ACCOUNTS, 1957 393

In ‘Bionomics of Forage Fishes’ K. H. Ibrahim has observations on

the fecundity of three common species of minor barbels, Puntius

stigma, P. ticto, and P. vittatus. The author finds the fecundity of

these species high enough to suggest their introduction into tanks as

food for the culture of Murrel (Ophicephalus spp.), which is extremely

predaceous and which has not been successfully reared in India.

INVERTEBRATES

Entomology:

D. G. Sevastopulo in the fourth and concluding part of his ‘Notes

on the Heterocera of Calcutta’ reports on the Pyralidae, which though

small are often of outstanding beauty and of which many species

exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. In all 138 species in 9 sub-

families, some of which are of economic importance, are mentioned

with notes on their abundance, time of occurrence, etc.

In ‘Notes on the 8riielia Group of Mallophaga (feather-lice), with

Descriptions of four new species’, W. Eichler draws attention to the

correlation of the different Mallophaga to the phylogeny and

systematics of their avian hosts, and suggests methods of collecting

feather-lice.

‘Brief Notes on Crop Pests and their Control in the Panjab (India)

by K. N. Trehan deals with the common pests which are found not

only in the Panjab but in other parts of the country also.

The sugarcane leaf-hopper Pyrilla perpusilla Walk. is a serious

pest and B. R. Subba Rao gives a detailed account of the biology and

bionomics of the Hymenopterous Dryinid Lestodryinus pyrillae Kieff,

which as a nymphal parasite on Pvrilla keeps down its population in

sugarcane fields and forms an excellent instance of biological control

useful to agriculture.

S. Krishnaswami, N. S. Chauhan, and P. S. Negi in ‘Studies on

non-insect Enemies of Lac, with special reference to Squirrels and

Birds as serious seasonal Predators’ have drawn attention to the

damage caused by squirrels and birds in summer when the lac crop

matures. Their conclusions are based on the analysis of the stomach

contents of 36 Fivestriped Palm Squirrels (Funambulus pennanti)

obtained in the Kundri forest in Palamau District of Bihar, which

indicated that they fed voraciously on the maturing lac insects in June.

As against this it was found that during the October season they visit

the lac crop mainly for the lac predators. The stomachs of 58 birds

of 16 species revealed that woodpeckers and bulbuls also damage the

maturing lac crop to a small! extent,

394 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Arachnida:

The mating habits of the South Indian Scorpion Heterometrus

scaber Thorell are described by A. P. Mathew. The author

has explained certain anomalies noticed in the male reproduc-

tive system of scorpions and has re-named the so-called ‘sheath of the

copulatory organs’ and ‘penis’, terms used by earlier authors, as the

‘spermatophoral sac’ and ‘valves of the spermatophore’ respectively.

It is now accepted that the male after courtship deposits a packet

of sperms (spermatophore) before the female who sucks it up into her

genital opening.

Crustacea:

B. F. Chhapgar in Parts I and II of “The Marine Crabs (Decapoda :

Brachyura) of Bombay State’ gives a detailed systematic account of

81 species and subspecies of crabs found along the Bombay coast.

Almost all the species are illustrated with 13 in colour. A key to the

identification of the species and subspecies is followed by a discussion

on the geographical distribution of these crabs in the Indo-Pacific

Region and observations on the ecological adaptation of the major

species. This paper is now being brought out as a book by the

Director of Fisheries, Bombay State.

In ‘Influence of stage of Tide on the attachment of Barnacle

Cyprids’ A. Daniel has shown that various species of barnacles respond

differently to the different stages of the tide, and suggests that these

differences are associated with the nature of their habits rather than

any inherent response to tidal rhythm. Cyprids of Balanus amphitrite

settle in large numbers during low tide and Chthamalus stellatus at

high tide, while Balanus tintinnabulus is indifferent to the stage of

the tide.

MOLLUSCA

N. Balakrishnan Nair records 18 species of shipworms of the genera

Bankia Gray and Teredo Linnaeus from the coast of south India and

gives a detailed report on the anatomy of one of the species Bankia

indica Nair. A study of the breeding season and development of this

species shows that most larval development and settling occurs in

August. The breeding is continuous throughout the year with two

peaks, one in December and the other in May-June. From the data

obtained from test-planks of red cedar used for a period of 219 days

the author concludes that, after the attachment of the larva, the

growth is very rapid for the first 90 days from whence it slackens and

almost ceases after eight months,

PROCEEDINGS & ACCOUNTS, 1957 395; -

In another paper, N. Balakrishnan Nair and O. N. Gurumani record

the distribution and salient features of eight species of shinworms

found in two important fishing centres, Tondi and Adirampatanam on

the east coast of India. The authors note that the turbidity of the

water was not a deterrent to the borers and their preference for any

particular timber depended largely on its availability in the area.

GENERAL ZOOLOGY

In an article entitled ‘History of our Knowledge of the Indian

Fauna through the Ages’, H. S. Rao has brought together scattered and

little known facts that furnish a better pattern of the background of

our knowledge through the ages which has not been available to the

students of biology and its history. Chronological groups from the

3rd and 4th Millenia B.C. in the Indus Valley and the adjoining

territories of Sind, Punjab, and Baluchistan cover the Vedic period

(2000 to 600 B.C.) the Upanishads, Susruta Samhita, etc., the period

of the Sangam Literature in the Tamil country, the Sultanate and the

Mogul followed by the post-Mogul, continuing up to modern times.

‘On a Zoological Collecting Tour of the Islands Off Jaffna’ by

P. H. D. H. De Silva is a preliminary report on the land and fresh-

water vertebrate fauna of 8 islands in the Gulf of Mannar visited by

the author for three weeks from the middle of February 1956. 23

species of brackish and freshwater fishes, 8 of amphibia, 18 of reptiles,

63 of birds, and 4 of mammals are recorded. From the material

obtained it is deduced that zoo-geographically the island fauna shows

considerable affinities to those of peninsular India.

‘On the Marine Fauna of the Gulf of Kutch’ by P. W. Gideon,

P. K. B. Menon, S. R. V. Rao, and K. V. Jose is a preliminary faunal:

survey of Port Okha, Pirotan Island, and adjacent areas of the

Kathiawar Peninsula. Among the zoological specimens collected is

the Echiuroid /kedella misakiensis (keda) which constitutes the first

record from Indian waters. The entire collection is deposited in the

Museum of the Department of Zoology, Birla College, Pilani.

BOTANY

A study of the flora of Harsh Nath, one of the highest peaks in

the Aravalli range, has enabled N. C. Nair and G. S. Nathawat to

record 223 species belonging to three different elements: (1) Western

(African-Persian), (2) Eastern (Malayan), and (3) Indian. Of. these,

the Western element is predominant. The authors have attempted to

group the principal plant associations and an altitudinal zonation is

indicated.

396 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

In ‘A Botanical Trip to the Valley of Flowers’ B. N. Ghildyal lists

283 species and six varieties belonging to 74 families from the

Bhyundar Valley (Valley of Flowers) situated about 13,000 feet above

sea-level in the Garhwal District of Uttar Pradesh.

K. M. Gupta and T. N. Bharadwaja, in Part I of their paper on

Indian Marsileas, report the results of their study of 82 herbarium

sheets of the genus Marsilea from four different collections. The

report covers the characteristics of the sporocarp, the variability in

size, shape, and structure, particularly in the widely distributed

Marsilea minuta.

In the ‘Grass Flora of Coimbatore District (South India) with

special reference to Fodder Grasses’, J. Sakharam Rao lists 178 species

together with notes on their distribution and economic importance.

H. Santapau and V. Patel give a systematic account of the genus

Cuscuta Linnaeus occurring in Bombay State. Descriptions of four

Species and a variety are followed by keys for the identification of

the species and of the subdivisions of the genus Cuscuta. -

‘Observations on the Flora of Kodaikanal’ by J. Pallithanam

embodies results of a preliminary survey, including a few new dis-

tributional records and some notes on their morphology, etc.

‘A Contribution to our Knowledge of the Diatom genus Pinnularia

by H. P. Gandhi is a systematic account of 17 species and varieties,

of which two species and varieties are described as new to science and

nine listed as new records for India.

‘The Genus Eremopogon Stapf and its affinities with Schizachyrium

Nees’ contains a critical discussion of both the genera from which the

authors M. B. Raizada and S. K. Jain opine that, contrary to earlier

belief, a more detailed study of the two genera may show that they.

are congeneric. |

In Part If of “Botanical Explorations in the Bhillangna Valley of

the erstwhile Tehri Garwal State’, R. K. Gupta records 98 species

belonging to 31 families.

‘The Algal Flora of the ponds and puddles inside the Banaras

Hindu University Grounds, India’ by V. S. Venkataraman is another

taxonomic paper, listing 61 species and varieties with notes thereon.

The author describes 5 varieties and seven forms as new to science.

D. D. Sundararaj and V. Ramakrishnan record two new species,

Lippia unica and Cenchrus giaucus, in Part II of the series entitled

‘New Plant Records for South India’.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

72 notes covering I1 branches of natural history were published as

against 116 last year. This section of the Journal is very popular

PROCEEDINGS & ACCOUNTS, 1957 ep)

with readers, and the great decrease in the number of notes that we

have received is a matter of grave concern not only to the editors but

also to the Society as a whole. These contributions from members

and others are always an index of the general interest in natural history

and also serve to arouse interest and memories in others.

NATURE EDUCATION

The Nature Education Scheme financed by the Government of

Bombay was continued during the year and the third booklet entitled

‘Our Beautiful Trees’ in the Glimpses of Nature Series was published

in English, Marathi, and Gujarati.

The usual activities, including talks on Nature Rambles on the

All-India Radio as well as tours and talks at the Museum, the Tara-

porevala Aquarium, and the Victoria Gardens, were continued.

GENERAL

In addition to the two nature films ‘Long Flight’ and ‘Wild Life

and the Human Touch’ shown at the Annual General Meeting on

21 August 1957, the Society was fortunate enough to be able to arrange

for a lecture-film at the Institute of Sciences, Bombay, on 28 October

1957 on ‘The Bird Islands of Peru’ by Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy,

former Head of the Bird Division, American Museum of Natural

History, and author of the well-known book ‘OCEANIC BIRDS OF SOUTH

AMERICA’.

REVENUE ACCOUNTS

The total receipts during the year amounted to Rs. 50,992, includ-

ing grants of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 4,000 received from the Governments

of India and Bombay respectively, as compared with Rs. 49,373 during

the previous year.

The fall in the income from subscriptions during 1957 is in a

large measure due to the delay on the part of members in settling their

outstanding subscriptions; these are being followed up actively. The

reduction in the entrance fee from Rs. 25 to Rs. 5 has resulted in

a decrease under this heading as unfortunately there has been no

appreciable improvement in the number of new members.

The decrease in sales of our publications this year is partly on

account of ‘THE BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS’ being out of print. Sales

of back numbers of the Journal, however, were a little higher than in

the previous year. |

The following is a comparative statement showing the sources of

revenue in 1956 and 1957:

398 = JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

Revenue Revenue Increase Decrease

| in in in in

| 1956 1957 1957 1957

on DAE Ral BPE eet te,

<e | Rs. | Rs. Rs. Rs.

Subscriptions | 21,303 | 17,876 —— 3,457

Entrance Fees | 1,589 | 1,318 ——- | van

Publications;

Books - 9,677 | 9,091 — | 586

Journals A 4,421 4,897 476 | ——

Sundries ne 341 | 111 —— 230

Interest on Invest-

ments and others .. 4,042 3,699 —— 343

Grants:

Govt. of India a 4,000 | 10,000 6,000 es

Govt. of Bombay .. 4,000 | 4,000 —— ——

Tarim 49,373 | 30,992 6,476 “4,857

The total number of members on our books as at 31 December 1957

was 1234, of whom 231 were life members and 6 honorary members.

Subscriptions for 1957 were received from 596 ordinary members,

leaving 401 still to be paid; arrangements are in hand to carry out a

through check of the membership and to bring our register up-to-date,

as it is known that in some cases subscriptions have remained unpaid

for a number of years despite the reminders which have been sent out

regularly.

During the year, 65 new ordinary members and 3 life members

joined; 2 ordinary members became life members and 14 ordinary

members resigned, whilst 6 ordinary members and | honorary member

died. There was thus a net increase of 47 members on the register.

STAFF

The Committee wishes to record its appreciation of the willing co-

operation of the entire staff in the activities of the Society.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Committee’s thanks are due to the late Mr. P. M. D. Sanderson

who looked after the Society’s interests in the United Kingdom until

his death on 8 September 1957. Mr. J. L. Bernard, who was formerly

on the Executive Committee of the Society in Bombay, has agreed to

look after the Society’s interests in the United Kingdom,

PROCEEDINGS & ACCOUNTS, 1957 399

APPENDIX TO THE HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT

COVERING THE PERIOD JANUARY TO AUGUST 1958

Copies of the report for the year ending 31 December 1957 are

available to you, but I would make a few remarks regarding some

matters of interest during the current year.

I will first refer to the award of the Padma Bhushan by the

President of India to Mr. Sdélim Ali for the work which he has done

for ornithology in India. In view of his close association with the

Society over many years, I think that this is an honour not only to

him but also to the Society. He is now at Helsinki in Finland attend- —

ing an International Ornithological Conference. He has also been

elected Fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India.

The Society has been recognised by the University of Bombay as

a teaching institute for research for the M.Sc. degree in Zoology

(Field Ornithology) and Dr. J. H. Crook of Cambridge University, who

is to be one of our teachers, has already commenced his personal

work on the study of the breeding habits of the baya at Poona where

a large base aviary has been set up. After finalisation of a few

technical matters, it will be possible for the Society to enrol three

students for the study of a subject which, in spite of its undoubted

value and importance, has yet remained completely unrecognised by

Indian universities.

Last year I referred to negotiations with the Prince of Wales

Museum and the Government of India regarding the construction of

a separate building for the Society’s offices, library, and reference

collections in the Museum grounds in Bombay. The negotiations

have progressed satisfactorily, and we hope that it will be possible to

have this building go up in the next few years. In the meantime, the

Government of Bombay and the Rockefeller Foundation have agreed

to make us grants to the extent of Rs. 45,000 each, and this would

enable us to move into rented premises large enough to house us

together with the reference collections which are now at the Museum.

This is receiving our immediate attention and we hope to be able to

take some definite action during the course of this year.

The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust has for the second time placed

Rs. 3,000 at our disposal for the encouragement of biological research

in the field. Some of the papers relating to the work done with the

assistance of the first grant have been published in the Journal and

we hope that it will be possible to get more and more people interested

in widely differing but still fascinating subjects.

The manuscript of the second edition of the Animal Book has at

last gone to the press and it should be ready by the end of the year,

400 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (2)

The Wall Chart on the identification of poisonous snakes, in

English, Marathi, and Gujarati, is in the final stages of printing and a

check-list of Indian Birds by Dillon Ripley is also in the course of

preparation.

The following 62 members have joined since the last Annual

General Meeting:

FRoM 16 AUGUST To 31 DECEMBER 1957

Mr. Oliver C. Schmidt, Northfield, Illinois, U.S.A.; The Staal

Museum Fir Natiirkunde, West Germany; Mr. David Reuben,

Ahmedabad; Indian Central Oil Seeds Committee, Hyderabad, Dn.;

Rev. Fr. E. B. O’Connor, s.J., Bihar; Mr. Peter F. R. Jackson, New

Delhi; Dr. K. P. Karanth, Hyderabad, Dn.; H. H. The Maharao Sahib

Bahadur of Kotah, Kotah (Rajasthan); Mr. Oscar M. Root, North

Andover, Mass., U.S.A.; Rev. Br. Antony Navarro, S.J., Bombay;

Mr. M. Lee Bristol, Collinsville, Conn., U.S.A.; Dr. Raymond Andrew

Paynter Jr., Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.; The Principal, Arts & Science

College, Warangal; Mrs. Maureen Miller, East Pakistan; Mr.

Harischandra Vinayak Desai, Bombay; Mr. William Hagstrom, Assam;

Dr. T. H. Bassett, Alberta, Canada; Dr. E. G. Silas, Bombay; Mr. Dana

Larson, Assam; Rev. Fr. L. M. Balam, Tiruchirapalli; Mr. Ashoke

Bir, Bombay; Rev. Fr. A. Carnilleri, s.J., Kurseong; Mr. K. Dorayya

Reddy, Anaparti; Capt. S. K. Daug, Deolali; Mr. J. T. Holland,

Bombay; Mr. John Goatly, Bombay; Miss Mehera D. S. Dubash,

Bombay; Mr. H. A. Kern, Nilgiris; Mr. A. V. Wenkateshwaran,

Bombay; Mr. R. Murlidhar, Bombay; Mr. S. Goswami, Calcutta;

Prof. F. Bourliere, Paris, France; Capt. H. A. Mohite, Ahmedabad.

FROM | JANUARY TO 18 JUNE 1958

Mr. F. O. C. Andrade, Coorg; Mr. V. C. Martin, New Delhi; Mr.

John K. Almond, Quilon; Capt. Jean Deuve, Vientiane, Laos; Deputy

Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Patna; Mr. Allan F.

Mortimer, Dehra Dun; Mr. G. E. Thomson, Bombay; Mr. C. J. E.

Gurr, Bombay; The Headmaster, Khrist Raja High School, Bettiah;

Mr. Lim A. Bilimoria, Bombay; Dr. B. Mehta, Bombay; Mr. Peter

Aufschnaiter, Nepal; Mr. F. Wild, Burnpur; Mr. John Alfred Cook,

Assam; Rajyaratna Prataprai G. Mehta, Jaipur; Maharaj Shri

Madhusudan Singhji, Banaskanta; Dr. R. Mertens, Frankfurt,

Germany; Mr. J. Joseph Raj, Madurai; Mr. K. S. Desai, Kenya, Br.

ER. Africa; Mr. Kraig K. Adler, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.; Mr. G. W.

Peck, Assam; Mr. Adi C. P. Wadia, Bombay; Mr. D. A. T. James,

Assam; Mr. H. J. Dadachanji, Ahamedabad; Dr. E. Lloyd Cunningham,

Bulsar; Divisional Forest Officer, Assam; The President, Regimental

Institute 9th Bn. Assam Rifles, Assam; Mr. Pesi Phiroze Birdi,

Bombay; The Registar, Utkal University, Cuttack.

401

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406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 58 (2)

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY HELD IN THE

DURBAR HALL, ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BOMBAY, TOWN

HALL, BOMBAY ON WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 1958 AT

5.45 p.M. WITH REV. FR. H. SANTAPAU, s.., IN THE CHAIR

|. The Honorary Secretary proposed that the Report for the year

ended 31 December 1957 which had been circulated to members prior

to the meeting be taken as read. Messrs P. F. Merwanji and T. Gay

were both of the opinion that members had not had sufficient time in

which to peruse the Report and that it should be either read or

circulated sometime before the meeting. ‘The Honorary Secretary

explained that the Annual Report was mainly a precis of the articles

published in the Journal and was subsequently reproduced in full in

the Journal, and apart from this the cost of such circulation was

considerable. After some discussion the Chairman assured the meet-

ing that the Committee would consider the matter and try and make

arrangements whereby members would have earlier access to the

Report'. The Report was then taken as read and adopted.

2. The Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts presented by the

Honorary Treasurer were approved and adopted after a similar objec-

tion and assurance.

3. The Committee’s nominations to the Executive and Advisory

Committees, as previously circulated to members, were accepted by

the meeting.

4. The Honorary Secretary then read a Supplementary Report on

the activities of the Society since 1 January 1958 (see page 399).

5. After completion of the formal business, the Honorary

Secretary introduced Dr. Telford H. Work of the Virus Research

Centre, Poona as the speaker of the evening. Dr. Work then exhibited

his film ‘Arctic to the Tropics’ and delivered a running commentary

on the large variety of birds, animals, plants, and other items shown

in the film. Both the talk and the film were greatly appreciated by

the meeting which terminated with a vote of thanks to Dr. Work and

to the Asiatic Society for the loan of the hall.

’ The Executive Committee has since decided that the notice which goes

out to members two weeks before the Annual General Meeting shall state

that both the Report and the Balance Sheet were available for perusal at the

Society’s office to all members wishing to see them. A certain number of

2xtra copies shall be available for members who specifically wish to receive

them.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

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EDITORS: SALIM ALI, AND H. SANTAPAU

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CONTENTS

- PAGE

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS. ,

Part II—Birps. By W. W. A. Phillips and R. W. Sims .. aS

Part IV—AMPHIBIANS AND RepTILES. W. W. A. Phillips Beemer Bn |

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE SEASONAL VARIATION IN STARCH CONTENT OF

BAMBOOS IN KERALA STATE AND ITS RELATION TO BEETLE BORER INFESTA- .

TION. By K. V. Joseph a aA us nes ca ea

NEW SPECIES AND FORMS OF LEPIDOPTERA FROM AFGHANISTAN AND [RAQ. By

E.P. Wiltshire .. Pee - De Bee RE

A FEW NOTES ON THE PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION OF GAMBLE’S FLORA

OF THE PRESIDENCY OF Mapras. By D. Daniel Sundararaj .. .. 238

BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN EAST NEPAL. By M.L. Banerji aa .. 243

EVOLUTION : THE TAXONOMER’S APPROACH. Part II. By R. B. Seymour Sewell. 269

INDIAN MARSILEAS: THEIR MORPHOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS. By K. M.,

Gupta, and T. N. Bhardwaja Me ve hes .. 287

NOTES ON A VISIT TO CERTAIN ISLANDS OF THE LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGO. By

V. Balan ati . ste die Ze aie DE

NOTES ON THE EGGs, TADPOLES, METAMORPHOSIS, AND ECOLOGY OF THE

CEYLONESE NARROW-MOUTHED FROG Ramanella obscura (GUNTHER). By

A. M. Morgan-Davies “4 Yin “ Be as OF

ENDEMISM AND OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON THE FLORA OF MANIPUR. By D. B.

Deb mi ee Xe a oa rp

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME MyYXOPHYCEAE FROM HIGH ALTITUDES. By G. S.

Venkataraman a Bs a abe . 318

REVIEWS... ahd ae ae ee a <cyoge

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ve ee <3 aoe .. 334

NoTES AND News Me « a “iy 2 aie a aT

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HIsTORY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR

ENDING 3lst DECEMBER, 1957 sé Ne oe .. 389

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY .. 399

Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society

Vol. 55, No. 3

Editors

sALIM ALI & H. SANTAPAU, s.3.

DECEMBER 1958

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 publica-

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

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3. All scientific names to be printed in italics should be under-

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

letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and sub-specific 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.

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6. Text-figures, line drawings, and maps should be in Indian ink,

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not underlined (roman type), thus:

Roepke, W. (1949): The Genus Nyctemera Hiibner. Trans. ent.

Soc. Lond. 100 (2): 47-70.

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: (Roepke, 1949).

9. Synopsis: Each scientific paper should be accompanied by

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91, Walkeshwar Road, EDITORS,

Bombay 6. Journal of the Bombay Natural

History Society.

ee ee ee

ee 7 =

a a a

This part completes the present volume.

In future each volume will consist of the three

parts issued during the calendar year.

RTI 3

ae eee A

a bs eee te awe @1- <a ‘< a

em 4 1 H

ies

Act 1951. By O. H. de St. Croix

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 3

PAGE

SMALL GAME SHOOTING AND CONSERVATION IN NORTHERN INDIA—WITH SOME

OBSERVATIONS ON THE BOMBAY WILD ANIMALS AND WILD BIRDS PROTECTION

NEST CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE OF THE PURPLE SUNBIRD. By Joseph George ..

OBSERVATIONS ON THE VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS

OF THE EASTERN GHATS. By R. Seshagiri Rao

SOME BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON RATS OF BOMBAY. By. P. J.

Deoras and M. S. Gokhale

THE BIOLOGY OF THE WEEVIL Alcidodes mysticus Faust. (Coleoptera: Curcu-

lionidae). By T. R. Subramanian. (With two plates)

CATLA FISHING IN PowAl LAKE, GREATER BOMBAY. By F. R. Goldschmidt.

(With five text figures)

NEW PLANT RECORDS FOR BoMBAY—V. By H. Santapau, s.J., R. R. Fernandes,

and Z. Kapadia. (With five plates)

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS.

Part V—FisHes. By G. Palmer. (With one plate)

Part VI—Insects. By W. W. A. Phillips

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR AND ITS IMMEDIATE ENVIRONS. By H. P.

Gandhi. (With fifty-one figures)

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE EEL Neenchelys buitendijki WEBER & DE BEAUFORT

IN INDIAN WATERS. By K. H. Mohamed. (With one plate)

IDENTITY OF THE PLANT Piyaman OR Madar-Jamua. By D. Chatterjee & P. C.

Kanjilal. (With one map and one plate)

REMARKS ON INDIAN CyYPRINID FISHES DESCRIBED BY JERDON (1849) UNDER Gono-

rhynchus MCCLELLAND. By E.G. Silas. (With one plate)

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA, ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD, AND PAVAGADH. By V. G.

Phatak and G. M. Oza

REVIEWS :—

ile

Soondar Mooni (E.P.G.)

The Flora of Purandhar (S.P.A.)

The A to Z of Dogs (D.E.R.)

Palaemon (K.K.T.)

A Zoological Guide to the Zoological Gardens of Ceylon (H.A.)

The Darwin Reader (E.G.S.)

. 407

420

. 429

. 450

. 460

. 473

. 481

.. 486

. 489

. 493

i. SZ

apy)

keys)

il CONTENTS OF VOLUME 55, NO. 3—(contd.)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

1. Tigers and porcupines. By Sardar Bhupendra Kumar (p. 550). 2. A Musk

Shrew attacking a snake. By B. K. Behura (p. 552). 3. Abnormal site of horn-

growth in Rhinoceros unicornis (With a photo). By W. C. Osman Hill (p. 553). 4.

Re-discovery of the Smaller Asiatic Onehorned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

in Malaya (With a plate). By Editors (p. 554). 5. The Shou or ‘ Sikkim Stag’ (With

a plate). By E. P. Gee (p. 556). 6. A Myna’s remarkable escape from electrocution.

By Joseph George (p. 558). 7. The Blackbacked Woodpecker, Chrysocolaptes festivus

(Boddaert), in Chittur, Kerala. By K. K. Neelakantan (p. 559). 8. The voice of the

Kora, Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin). By K. K. Neelakantan (p. 560). 9. Photographing

the Lesser Florican, Sypheotides indica (Miller), at nest (With three plates). By M. K.

Shivrajkumar (p. 561). 10. Wilson’s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) at Colombo.

By E. W. Dawson (p. 562). 11. Photographing a colony of Egrets, (Bubulcus ibis and

Egretta garzetta),in Assam (With a plate). By J. H. Burnett (p. 565). 12. Notes on

the nesting of the Blacknaped Tern, Sterna sumatrana mathewsi Stresemann, in the

Maldive Islands. By W. W. A. Phillips (p. 567). 13. The present status of the White-

winged. Wood Duck, Cairina scutulata (S. Miller). (With a plate). By E. P. Gee (p. 569).

14. More bird notes from Kutch. By M. K. Himmatsinhji (p. 575). 15. Trinket

Snake (Elaphe helena) with abnormalities in ventral scalation (With a photo). By

W. C. Osman Hill (p. 577). 16. Can Snakes produce vocal sounds? By Humayun

Abdulali (p. 578). 17. Larval Water-mites (Hydracarina) parasitic on insects, with

notes on the dispersal of small freshwater invertebrates. By C. H. Fernando (p. 579).

18. Additions to the Crab fauna of Bombay State (With two plates). By

B. F. Chhapgar (p. 582). 19. Diagnosis of a new species of the genus Branchinella

Sayce (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca) from Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan

(With three text figures). By K.K. Tiwari (p. 585). 20. A note on very heavy fouling

of copper sheathed hulls of naval craft at Bombay (With a plate). By V. Gopalkrishnan

and V. V. Kelkar (p. 588). 21. A note on a species of Cissus. (With five figures). By

J. J. Shah (p. 591). 22. Some notes on the genus Mussaenda Linn. By W. Wilson

Mayne (p. 592). 23. A red or rose variant of Polygala erioptera DC. By V.G.

Phatak and G. M. Oza (p. 593). 24. Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj.—a new record

for Bombay (With a plate). By H. Santapau, s. J., and N. A. Irani (p. 594)

GLEANINGS ee an fe ai a 596

CORRIGENDA aa va Se: ber ae .. 601

JOURNAL

On ee

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1958 DECEMBER Vol. 55 No. 3

Small Game Shooting and

Conservation in Northern India—with

some Observations on the

Bombay Wild Animals and Wild Birds

Protection Act 1951

O. H. DE ST. CROIx

Until quite recently there existed on either side of the Delhi-Alwar

road, between Sohna and Firozpur Jhirka, a series of large jheels

which provided a winter home for scores of thousands of all sorts of

waterfowl. This is the land of the Meos in the Gurgaon District of

the Punjab and is overlooked throughout its length by the Kala

Pahar, one of the northward-thrusting spurs of the Aravali Range.

In a good monsoon this stony ridge drains itself in profusion on to

the plain below. To control this capricious flow of water in the

interests of cultivation Government constructed a system of long, low

bunds over a wide area and after the monsoon the result was a chain

of large, shallow jheels, sprouting with vegetation and teeming with

uquatic life which formed a paradise for all sorts of water birds.

Here one could see at one time or another during a winter season

practically the whole range of Indian waders from the several kinds

of Stork, and even occasionally a flight of Flamingoes, to diminutive

Stints and Sandpipers. Swimming birds of course were also fuily

*The comments of Mr. Humayun Abdulali, the Society’s representative on th

Indian Board for Wild Life and on the State Wild Life Board: who is Paes a

pone eg Warden for Bombay State, are given in square brackets in the. body

of the article

N 959

SMITE STION MAR 2 4 19

408 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 55 (3)

represented from Pelicans to Dabchicks with a regular galaxy of

intermediate species.

Naturally, what is a water birds’ paradise is also a happy hunting

ground for the duck-shooting man. These particular jheels together

with the huge and historic permanent jheel between Gurgaon and

Najafgarh formed the core of the plan to control duck shooting in

the District on an organised basis when the late F. L. Brayne wag

Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon just over thirty years ago. Un-

fortunately, it was a plan, which, though temporarily successful, did

not outlast its originator. More recently, in the years just before

and after the last war these jheels still provided all that the naturalist

and shooting-man could hope for. They were then but lightly shot-

over and for the casual shooting party, without the advantage of

elaborate preparation, afforded both exacting and stimulating sport.

Here during the course of a winter season ore could count on seeing

practically all the species of migratory duck and teal which visit,

India, including the occasional rarity. In addition, both species of

wild goose were regular visitors, the Greylag often in hundreds when

the conditions for them were right.

The writer’s game book, which covers about 16 years of this

period shows 14 species of migratory duck and teal, as well as 5

indigenous species. The number of birds which found their way into

the bag was of course only an infinitesimal proportion of those seen,

for the shooting parties did not exceed 4 guns as a rule and usually

shot for the first four or five hours or so of daylight and that only

once a week on an average. In fact it was one of the most satisfying

features of this type of shooting that while enjoying excellent sport

one appeared to make no real impression on the quarry which seemed

to exist in just as great numbers at the end of the season as at the

beginning. At times the duck and teal were concentrated in almost

incredible numbers and the concerted roar of their wings when they rose

to the first shot of the day was a sound that will not easily be

forgotten. The greatest concentrations were usually to be seen during

the migration assemblies at each end of the season. But between

times there was a remarkable change in the appearance of the birds,

for by the end of February in the New Year the dowdy eclipse

plumage of the previous autumn had given place to immaculate and

colourful breeding dress.

Most interesting were the fluctuations in numbers of the various

species from time to time over the years. For example in the late

1930’s this area seemed to be only on the fringe of the Maliard’s

range: they were seldom seen and even iess seldom bagged. Ten

years later the position was very different and Mallard were not only

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 409

seen regularly in appreciable numbers but quite often formed a sizeable

part of the bag. It is difficult to account for this. Similarly, the

commonest of the four pochards was formerly the White-eye: more

recently their abundance has definitely declined and there has been

a noticeable increase in the once rare Tufted Pochard. Most pleasing

of all has been the recent increase in the numbers of Spotbill, once

rather uncommon in these parts. But where they breed is something

of a puzzle in view of the vast increase in human population, culti-

vation and land reclamation all over this area in the last 10 years or

so. One hopes they will continue to keep it a secret.

The proportion of species one to another in the bag by no means

reflected their relative abundance at large. One of the commonest

duck to be seen on the big jheels, and one of the most conspicuous,

was the Pintail, but their wariness makes them difficult to circumvent

and they figure sparsely in the records. Similarly Wigeon were nearly

always to be seen in fair numbers but are so well able to look after

themselves that their appearance in the bag was only occasional.

With such an abundance and variety one could always hope for

making contact with a real rarity. Twice during this period the

occurrence of Bronzecapped Teal was definitely established by birds

in the hand. A little more often Marbled Duck were obtained, but

their status is difficult to assess accurately owing to their retiring

habits. Most prized quarry of all were, as ever, the geese, particularly

the Greylag, whose wiliness in the face of pursuit is proverbial, as

also should be their excellence as table birds. But a careful study of

them reveals that they too are creatures of fixed habits. If careful

note were taken of them, a Keen and experienced shooting man could

reckon on bringing one or two of them to bag in a day with fair

regularity during the season. Each such occasion makes an indelible

mark on the memory for no one can get too old or sophisticated to ex-

perience a thrill on bagging a Greylag Goose by his own efforts.

Today the course of the non-stop air service from Bombay to

Delhi lies right over this stretch of country. The eye that knows it

intimately from the ground can trace the lay-out with ease from the

air and see that all of these Mewat jheels are in a normal year now

drained and put under the plough. From the standpoint of the

national economy this is a good thing and in step with the march of

time. No one, except the ultra-reactionary, can complain if the shoot-

ing man’s loss is the farmer’s gain. But from the aspect of wild life

conservation one has to consider what adjustments may be necessary

in the face of such developments. For this is not a local trend.

With the continual demand for progressive expansion in food pro-

duction it is likely to be country-wide. This means that with the

416 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

draining of marsh lands the best feeding grounds for waterfowl will

be obliterated and the vast numbers of migratory and indigenous

waterfowl, both game birds and otherwise, will have a much restricted

choice of winter feeding grounds. They will not often be able to

select the safest and most remote as hitherto. They will, assuming

that the migratory birds continue to come to this country in the same

numbers as before, have to exist in denser concentration than ever

if they are to live on their feeding grounds. They will consequently

be more vuinerable, especially now that firearms seem to be licensed

more freely and widely than hitherto and shooting or netting appears

to be practised incessantly, ubiquitously, and with little restraint.

Already one hears reports of the growing scarcity of waterfowl in

their former haunts. ‘This may be due in part to migrants going

elsewhere in which case they are lost to this country all together.

Or in part it may be due to a change of habits in that they are only

visiting their feeding grounds, where they are most vulnerable, during

the hours of darkness. In that case, to the extent that they are

game birds, there is a loss to sport and to the supplementary food

supply. In either case the situation gives the sportsman naturalist,

who cannot but be a conservationist at heart, serious cause for

thought. For while it is true that vast areas are being inundated by

the new dam projects under the Five Year Plan, the water of these

is for the most part too deep to provide a living for large numbers

of surface feeding’ waterfowl.

3 xe x xe

The country within a radius of about 60 miles from Delhi lying

within the Gurgaon and Rohtak Districts of the Punjab and the

Meerut and Bulandshahr Districts of the U.P. provides an

admirably suitable habitat for partridges both Black and Grey. It

provides an ideal blend of intensely cultivated, well irrigated farm

land with scrub-covered, lightly forested wastes or tracts of thick

reeds and pampas grass of the Jamuna Kadir country. This combines

the abundant and varied food supply afforded by intensive agriculture

and the requisite amount of permanent shelter for safety and nesting

purposes provided by the waste land. Country like this can support

a very large, though not necessarily evenly distributed, partridge

population, which undisturbed by man can maintain itself despite

losses from weather conditions and natural enemies. But when there

iS unrestrained interference from man, the balance is very soon upset

even under favourable conditions of habitat such as those described

above. The iluctuating effects spread over a long peniad of years

make an interesting and instructive study.

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 411

Our predecessors tell us that in the 1920’s and before a good

partridge shoot was to be had within sight of the Kutub Minar or

almost anywhere in the adjoining districts of the U.P. or Punjab

within a short tonga drive of Delhi. The march of time has put its

foot firmly on that and no wonder, when the growth of New Delhi

provided a large market for the professional trapper and the develop-

ment of motor car travel increased the mobility of the shooting man.

Inroads on the partridge population were heavy and not always with

respect to seasons or a sporting sense of restraint.

The Black Partridge, being somewhat of a fool so far as self

preservation is concerned and also the better eating bird, suffered

most and by the early 1930’s its status had sunk so low that its

killing or capture was totally prohibited in the Gurgaon District.

The Grey Partridge, though by nature better able to look after itself,

was also heavily reduced in numbers and became scarce even in some

of its favourite haunts. Since it has the additional disadvantages of

being a popular cage bird and of announcing its presence with irre-

pressible regularity, it is far from being proof against the wiles of

professional netters.

With the outbreak of war things changed for the better fortuitously.

Petrol was rationed reducing mobility, the cost of cartridges increased

in inverse proportion to their availability, shooting men were pre-

occupied with grimmer things. It was surprising how quickly the

partridge population reacted to these favourable conditions reinforced

by wise administrative action on the part of the Punjab Government.

In the early 1940’s it was possible, within sight of a large town and

just off a trunk road not 40 miles from Delhi, to see both species

as numerous as they must have been 20 years or so before.

By the time the war ended proper protective legislation had been

enforced in the Punjab, which with continued petrol rationing and

cartridge scarcity sustained the position for a few years. But as

soon as war-time conditions receded into the background and with the

population of greater Delhi increasing by leaps and bounds, there was

a progressive worsening. Lax administration of the law did not help

matters. But more recently the law has been tightened up, parti-

cularly as regards netting, and the early 1950’s onwards have seen a

definite though patchy improvement. Now it is understood that the

Offering of partridges for sale in Delhi has been made illegal at all

times and if this is so a still further improvement is assured, for this

checks by far the biggest drain on the stock.

All this should provide some useful lessons for shooting men, for

shooting undoubtedly played a part in depleting the partridge stock

over :the years under review in this area. Partridge shooting in this

412 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

sort of country is done almost entirely on cultivated land when the

birds are in search of food in the growing Rabi crops and are not

difficult to flush. In well irrigated tracts, which goes for most of this

area, the sugar cane patches are the favourite resort. These are

relatively small in extent and can be easily covered by two guns:

if well beaten out and with reasonable marksmanship a high pro-

portion of birds seen is brought to bag. A mustard crop is a greater

magnet still, especially when running to seed. Here again the patches

are small, the concentration of birds sometimes surprisingly large, and

the shooting easier.

Seeing that there is no artificial replenishment of stock it seems

fairly clear that if the stock level is to be properly maintained some

special self-imposed restraint should be practised over and above

strict observation of the law, which in this case now imposes a limit

per gun daily. There are certain self-imposed rules which can

achieve the object in view as the writer can vouch from actual ex-

perience. The experience in question is drawn from a week’s shoot-

ing from camp over a certain tract of well favoured partridge grounds

twice, two seasons apart, each time with the same number of guns.

On the first occasion observing the law and the self-imposed rules a

very satisfactory bag was obtained in four outings. On the second

occasion with the same methods and the same number of outings

over exactly the same ground there was as good, if not a better, show-

ing of birds and a bag obtained up to the legal limit. On each

occasion sufficient birds were left behind to replenish the stock in the

normal way.

The self-imposed rules referred to were as follows:

(1) The same ground was not shot over twice in a season,

(2) The number of guns was never more than 3 and they were

spaced in such a way that no bird which went straight away

could come under fire from more than 1 gun,

(3) The line of draw was pre-determined and any bird which

flew out of the area to be drawn (unless known to be

wounded) was allowed to go unmolested.

In addition it is felt that, in view of the nesting habits of the three

commonest Indian partridges of the plains, the open season should be

confined to the four months from November to February inclusive,

regardless of what the law may say.

[In the Bombay Act a comprehensive Close Season from Ist April

to 31st September is laid down for all small game, partly because of

lack of exact information regarding the breeding seasons of the

different species but mainly to simplify administration. As very few

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 413

of the officers concerned would be able to tell the different species

apart, it was thought that this differentiation on paper would be

useless.

The overall close season is, however, not altogether satisfactory.

A little beyond Poona we shot Grey and Painted Partridge on the

same day (15th February) when the former had unshelled eggs in the

oviduct and the latter showed no signs of breeding. Sandgrouse shot

on the same day were also in breeding condition. It is evident that the

Close Season for the Grey Partridge and Sandgrouse should commence

about the 15th of February if not carlier.]

The foregoing gives an idea of how the interference of man,

whether deliberate or not, can affect quickly and drastically the status

of birds, mainly game birds, of widely differing habits and environ-

ment, both indigenous and migratory. It emphasises the need for

intelligent conservation both by law and by the voluntary self-

restraint of shooting men. In the Bombay State we are fortunate in

that comprehensive legislation has been enacted through the Wild

Animals and Wild Birds Protection Act (No. XXIV) of 1951 and its

rules. But legislation, however well drafted, by itself is not enough.

Its effective implementation is of course essential if it is going to get

anywhere near the achievement of its objects. For effective imple-

mentation it must have been framed with a due regard for the severely

practical aspects of the problem. It is, therefore, highly pertinent to

consider how the Act stands in this respect.

In the first place it is as well to be quite clear on the precise object

which the Act should set out to achieve. The preamble merely states

this as ‘to make adequate provision for the protection of wild animals

and birds .... Why is it found necessary to provide special protec-

tion? To answer this the statement of objects might be expanded as

follows to explain the need for protection of fauna as:

(1) to conserve a National Asset but with due regard to the

safeguarding of farm crops and livestock, and

(2) to conserve wild life classed as game for shooting by way

of sport in a properly conducted manner or for capture as

part of the food supply by humane methods.

[The Bill when first published was accompanied by a Statement

of Objects and Reasons and most of these matters were referred

to in great detail (JBNHS 49: 817). The sentiments expressed of

course cannot now affect the interpretation or administration of the

Act. But since the Act has to be read by everybody taking out a

414. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

licence under it, it is as well that they should have a clear idea of

its basic objects and it may be worthwhile publishing the Objects

and Reasons along with the Act.]

To reconcile the interests of the farmer with the need for con-

servation of a national asset is one of the most difficult aspects of the

whole problem. The fact has to be faced that herbivorous wild

animals cannot be tolerated where crops are grown and carnivorous

wild animals must be kept severely in check where livestock is

raised. ‘This is provided for in the Act (Section 50) by enabling the

‘occupier’ (whatever that may mean) of land to protect his agricultural

property freely. But is the administration of this Section being con-

ducted properly or is it courting abuse as it can easily do?

[In old Bombay State (1948) the total number of arms licences. was

70,000 of which 50,000 were for sport and 20,000 for crop protection.

Before the expansion of the State the total number of licences had

increased to 1,20,000 of which those for sport remained at 50,000, the

rest being for crop protection!

It is the general consensus of opinion that the only manner in

which wild life can be properly protected from the depredations of

the farmers is to arrange to recall or seal the guns as soon as the

crop is harvested. Sketches showing how all types of guns can be

sealed have been circulated, but no action has yet been taken by any

State.

It may be worthwhile drawing attention to an unfortunate anomaly

whereby Section 38 of the Act. requiring the surrender of animals

shot in defence of property, does not cover female deer and antelope

which are neither ‘game’ nor ‘trophy’.]

There is also provision for classification of certain animals and birds.

as vermin. Is this really necessary when the interests of cultivators

are already safeguarded as above? If it is at all necessary, the list

should be a very short one indeed. There are certain inclusions in

the existing vermin list which call for immediate comment.

By including all birds of prey and bats there is an invitation to kill

some of the best rodent and insect destroyers known to man. Then

again it should be remembered that an animal (wild pig for example)

may be definitely harmful in a cultivated area and yet not so in a forest.

area.

[The inclusion of birds of prey and insectivorous bats in the list

of ‘Vermin’ was an unfortunate error, and though nothing has yet

been done, the Advisory Board decided on 21st September 1954 that

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 415

the wild pig should be removed from this category and be included

in both Big and Small game.

Actually, in view of Section 50 of the Net there does not appear to

be any need of a separate class of animals to be termed ‘Vermin’ and

its inclusion allows for a lot of poaching in many different forms.]

This latter point raises the question of how the Act under reference

ties in with the Forest Act and its Rules (which is understood to

have its own provision) for regulating shooting and the capture of

birds and animals in the Reserved Forest Areas.

[The Forest Act and its Rules still operate, but the Wild Life Act

as comprehensive and refers to both forest and non-forest lands. The

shooting of ‘Vermin’ in forest land without a permit from the Forest

Department is now prohibited. For the correct administration of any

game laws under Indian conditions it is I think necessary that no

distinction be made between forest and non-forest land. Before the

Act came into operation it was not possible to take any action against

a person driving into town with a Cheetal doe in his car unless it

could be proved that it had been shot inside a Reserved Forest! The

Forest Rules have not been rescinded and there is a certain amount of

duplication of rules’ with respect to the forest areas.]

There is ample provision in the Act (Chapter IV) for the formation

and conduct of ‘sanctuaries’ for wild life. But what steps have been

taken to form any in the seven years since the Act was passed? The

only ones that come to mind are those at Taroba in Chanda District

(inherited from M.P.), Gir in Kathiawar (inherited from Saurashtra),

and the Krishnagiri National Park in Salsette: the last named has

little or nothing to offer as at present constituted, though it has distinct

possibilities. Surely there are other areas in the Reserved Forests of

the new Bombay State which could be made sanctuaries, for cannot

the creation of a sanctuary be reconciled with the requirements of

forestry?

[The Krishnagiri National Park is admittedly very small (about

d2 sq. miles) and its administration has now- passed to the Director of

the Aarey Milk Colony. A preliminary attempt at the introduction

of deer into the Krishnagiri National Park has not been very successful,

but Grey Junglefowl released in 1952 have now established themselves

and can be heard on any morning. With the closure of shooting on

the whole of Salsette Island and with the opening of the new road

from the Aarey Milk Colony to Kanheri it is possible that another

attempt at the introduction of Sambar and Cheetal may be more

successful.

416 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

The Dandeli Game Reserve in North Kanara, which was never a

national park, covers an area of about 100 sq. miles and did hold a

few Bison, Deer, and Elephants. This has now unfortunately gone

to Mysore and it is certainly essential that Bombay should look for

suitable areas to turn into national parks. Sanctuaries are really not

enough as they can be demolished by a stroke of the pen. National

parks should be controlled by Acts of Parliament which render them

more inviolable.]

A sanctuary in India (Taroba for instance) need not be of anything

like the size of its African counterpart for the type and variety of

animals, which have to be protected and which incidentally are almost

all forest dwellers, differ so widely from those in Africa that the

proposition is basically different. A sanctuary where killing or capture

is totally prohibited, surrounded by Reserved Forest where there is

proper regulation of both should be ideal for the purpose in view. It

should not only be easily accessible to the public but properly

administered as well, and here is where the provisions of the Act or

the implementation of them seem to be lamentably inadequate. For

how many officers or servants of the right calibre and training have

been appointed to enforce the Act?

[The lack of suitable personnel for the administration of the Act

is one of the most difficult problems before us. The number of

people who can identify game birds and animals is negligible and so

far no attempt appears to have been made to remove this deficiency.

Soon after the Act came into operation there was a report of a

man being fined Rs. 5 for shooting an ‘Opossum’ during the Close

Season. As this animal is not known to occur in India, the Society

asked for the skin which proved to be that of a Civet Cat and which is

listed as Vermin and does not require any licence! In the same area

another person shot a Green Pigeon and was apparently able to

prove to the Court that it was a bird of prey because it had claws! ]

It seems that too much is expected of a single Wild Life Preser-

vation Officer and honorary appointees. It also seems fairly clear

that it is in the Reserved Forest areas that almost all India’s species

of four-footed fauna can and should be conserved. This places the

onus on the Forest Department for carrying out the work required and

they will obviously need a reinforcement of staff at the right level

to do it. Why cannot there be an entirely separate set of rules

(administered by the Forest Depariment) governing shooting and

capture in those areas of Reserved Forest which are large enough to

be divided into blocks? It is on the border line between Reserved

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 417

Forest and cultivated areas that the real clash of interests occurs, so

far as big game is concerned, between the interests of cultivators and

conservationists. The handling of this situation to maintain a proper

balance calls for skilful and authoritative administration for which

an adequate executive staff is essential.

[The preamble to the Act referred to earlier reads in part:

‘Recently, so many States have merged in the State of Bombay.

This has increased the State-forest area considerably. In view of this

it is proposed to appoint an independent officer for seeing that

the provisions of the Bill are properly implemented. Forest Officers

are fully engaged with their normal work and cannot find time for

effectively undertaking this duty.’

In spite of these sentiments the Wild Life Officer works depart-

mentally under the Chief Conservator of Forests and there is very

little evidence of his securing any assistance, at least from the junior

members of the Forest Department few of whom really understand

the details of the Act and its administration.]

There remains the administration of conservation and shooting of

small game (birds almost entirely) which applies outside the Reserved

Forest for the most part. While the Act provides fairly compre-

hensively for this on paper it can hardly be said that anything like

adequate provision has been made for implementation.

[Within shooting distance of Bombay, the activities of trappers

appear to have been controlled, but there is little or no evidence of

increase in the number of game birds like partridge and quail. I think

an important factor is one to which very little attention has been

given in this country, namely Cover. The denudation of the hill-

sides and the continued cutting of bushes and shrubs around villages

has left no cover which is essential to these birds. Where some years

ago two or three guns could make a satisfactory bag of partridge, no

birds are now seen. It is apparent as one walks along that the cover

which existed is now gone and the small islands of scrub which

produced the birds which had run the whole line of the beat no longer

exist. Below the Ghats we have only the Painted Partridge which

seldom goes out into the open, and the removal of its natural habitat

has either reduced its numbers sadly or forced it to live in new places

still unlocated.]

There also appears much room for improvement of the classifica-

tion in the Act under Schedule If (Small Game): for example what

are ‘water-birds’ and what water-birds should really be treated as game

418 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. .55 (3)

birds? What in fact is a game bird or animal? Some attempt at

definition seems indicated and the following is suggested:

‘A game bird or animal is one which possesses ue first and at least

one other of the following three attributes:

(1) It should have adequate means of protecting itself by powers

(or combination of powers) such as those of swift move-

ment or concealment or detection or retaliation and the

intelligence to use those powers, which make it difficult to

circumvent and call for skill, patience and/or endurance

in bringing it to bag;

(2) It should be notably edible;

(3) It should carry a trophy which is a worthy memento of

the chase.’

[The term ‘Water-Birds’ was used after due consideration to

include the 100 odd species of Sandpipers, Stints, Plovers, Curlews,

Coot, Moorhens etc., etc., which are all shot at sometime or the other

in the best shooting circles. It was thought that this general term

with the specific exclusion of Egrets, Herons, and Storks would be

sufficient, though it now seems necessary to add a few more like

Flamingoes, Ibises, and Cormorants to the list of prohibited species. I

do not think that it would be worthwhile attempting to make a list

of the water-birds which can or cannot be shot.]

Finally, if people are to be allowed to shoot or capture game

lawfully and have to pay for a licence or licences to do so (in addition

to an arms licence) they should be given a fair money’s worth. They

should not be subjected to a complexity of rules, for example forest

rules superimposed on Protection Act rules. In short they should

be treated with some consideration.

[In spite of several efforts, I have still been unable to persuade

Government to arrange to have the game licences issued against

payment at the counter. It is true that some persons may be black-

listed and licences not issued to them, but no such action has yet

been taken and the problem has not yet arisen.

There has been considerable discontent among shikaris over the

necessity of obtaining permission to beat in Reserved Forests, parti-

cularly as most of the shooting is arranged at short notice when

there is no time to obiain permission from the District Forest Officer.

At a meeting of the Advisory Board held on 22nd February 1955 it

was agreed that permission should be available from the Range Forest

Officer and a list of these officers would be attached to game licences.

It was also recommended that if the officer was not available, the

SMALL GAME SHOOTING IN NORTHERN INDIA 419

applicant had only to make an entry in a book to be retained on the

premises and proceed with the beating, though it was open to any

forest officer to stop this should he think that this interfered with the

work of his department. Unfortunately, there is yet no evidence of

any action having been taken in this respect.]

On this basis (to take one instance) the necessity for Section 10,

Chapter III of the Protection Act is not clear when it seems that the

object of this provision could quite easily be achieved by the arms

licensing authority notifying the Wild Life Preservation Officer direct

of all licences granted or renewed under the Arms Act. Also both

for convenience and information, could not a handy-sized copy of the

- Protection Act of 1951 (in the appropriate language) be issued auto-

matically along with any licence granted initially under Section 11 of

the Act? Licencees have to sign for having read it. [The Act and

the Rules thereunder have been published in a handy booklet priced

at 5 as.]

The above is mostly concerned with the proper implementation of

what is an admirably intentioned piece of legislation. But no amount

of effort towards implementation will be really successful unless there

is an adequate amount of popular support. To enlist popular

support, widespread education (starting with the young) and dissemina-

tion of information by every possible publicity medium is indicated.

Also, most importantly, it is necessary to allay suspicions, which

undoubtedly exist, of wild life conservation and hence game preserva-

tion being really designed in the interests of the well-to-do. These

aspects of the matter will undoubtedly have to be tackled by private

agency. But those who are public. spirited enough to make the effori

can surely expect to receive adequate Government support.

Nest construction technique of the

Purple Sunbird

JOSEPH GEORGE

New Forest, Dehra Dun

The nest of the Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica), one of the

most wonderful examples of bird architecture, has been described by

many ornithologists. Hume (1890) has given the following exhaustive

account: ‘The nest is pendent, and composed of all kinds of materials

beautifully woven together with the silkiest fibres and cobwebs; hair,

fine grass, pieces of decayed wood, lichens, rags, thorns, etc., are all

pressed into service. The body of the nest is oval, generally, with all

sorts of little pendent pieces of wood, etc., hanging below as orna-

ments, apparently, while the apex of the oval is prolonged into a cone

meeting the point of support. A little above the centre of the oval,

a small circular aperture is worked, and just above it a projecting

cornice, 1 to 14 inches wide, is extended; then on opposite side of the

oval, the wall of the nest, which is ready some days before the eggs

are laid, is pushed out or bulged out a little so as to give room for

the sitting bird’s tail. The bulging out of the back of the nest is one

of the last portions of the work, and the female may be seen going in

and out trying the fit, over and over again.’

Hutton, a correspondent of Hume (1890), observed that the

materials of construction are not interwoven, but held together by

cobwebs and seed down sparingly plastered over the other materials,

and most abundant at the point of attachment to the twig from which

the nest is suspended.

Adam, another correspondent of Hume (1890), found that on the

second day after beginning of a new nest, it had the upper portion well

formed, on the third day the nest was well blocked out, but had no

inner lining, and from the fourth day to the seventh, the bird was

occupied in ornamenting the outside of the nest with all sorts of stray

feathers and other odds and ends. During these days it also filled in

the inner lining. On the ninth day Adam found the bird sitting in

the nest, presumably on eggs.

NEST CONSTRUCTION IN THE PURPLE SUNBIRD 421

Gill (1924) has briefly described the different stages in the con-

struction of the nest as observed in the plains of U.P. From the point

of suspension, he states, the nest is gradually extended and widened

till the place where the aperture should be is reached, the nest having

acquired by this time the shape of a more or less solid cone with

the apex on top. Now comes the aperture with the little projecting

cornice above it. Next, the bird extends the body of the nest and

finally the soft and cosy egg-compartment. Then follows a_ short

period of activity during which the female may be seen going in and

out of the nest, twisting her little body about inside it in order to

get the pliable materials to conform to the shape of her body; and,

as she sits in the nest with her bill protruding from the aperture, it

acquires a distinct bulge behind in order to accommodate her tail in

comfort. Gull found that the nest took about 10 days to complete.

Bates has recorded the different stages in the construction of two

nests. The first nest (Bates, 1926, 1931) in a Madras garden, the

construction of which he saw from its commencement, took a full

three weeks to build. On the fifth day the nest had progressed to

the extent of being in shape not unlike the upper half of a crinkled

paper bag suspended from the branch or a small edition of an un-

finished weaver-bird’s nest without the cross bar. On the twelfth

day this outer shell was almost completed and reminded him of

nothing so much as of a deflated penny balloon, the entrance hole

appearing like a rent in its side.

The next step appeared to be the construction of the porch, and

by the sixteenth day this and the outer shell were altogether finished,

even down to the ragged little bits hanging down an inch or so below

the nest on loose strands of web. After this no further work was

done on the outside. During the next week the ‘balloon’ was quickly

inflated, the bottom presenting a more or less rounded appearance on

the afternoon of the seventeenth day.

The second nest, observed by Bates (1927, 1931) in Pachmarhi,

was completed within six days. The first day’s work resulted in a

stalk some 3 inches long which just showed signs of a division in its

lower portion from which, Bates thought, the sides were eventually

to be formed. On the second day great progress was made, as the

entrance and porch were completed and also the sides, front, and half

the back, leaving as the third day’s task but the bottom and lower

half of the back premises to be added. By the afternoon of the

third day the female had actually commenced the filling. Three days

more and the nest was finished.

The method of construction of the second nest was, according to

Bates, virtually the same as that of the first nest he described. The

422 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

outside was completed in every detail before the filling and lining was

put in hand. ~The so-called decorations, he remarks, are component

parts of the outer case and, far from being additions which might

easily be dispensed with, are, or rather those not merely suspended

from the structure are, important solid portions—foundations—of the

main framework.

Later in the same year, Bates (1931) observed the construction

of a nest by the Purplerumped Sunbird (Nectarinia zeylonica).

The female Sunbird wrapped building materials round a drooping

twig causing the loose ends to project on either side of it. These

projections were gradually increased, bent round, and _ brought

together, so that the shell was thus formed of two more or less

separate halves joined together from below the entrance hole.

If the second Purple Sunbird observed by Bates had adopted such

a technique, that is, 1f it had lengthened the two halves of the stalk

and joined them together from below the entrance hole, its method.

of construction would have been different from that of the first bird

which had initially built a small edition of an unfinished weaver-

bird’s nest without the cross-bar, or in other words, a bell shaped

structure.

Lowther (1949) saw a female Purple Sunbird flying from one bush

to another one morning prospecting for a nesting site. As soon as

a site was decided upon she busied herself with nest building. The

following morning Lowther found the bird making 40 visits to the

nest in 40.5 minutes and 50 in 60.5 minutes. At 8.15 a.m. the visits

to the nest slowed down appreciably and from midday till 2.30 p.m.

she did not go near the nest. On the evening of the second day the

pendent home was found te have been roughly fashioned, even down

to the entrance hole. The nest held the first egg on the sixth day

after construction began.

It has been the experience of different observers that the nest of the

Purple Sunbird is the work of the female alone. (Salim Ali, 1955).

Lowther (1949) has, however, come across three instances of the

male assisting in the task ‘at nests each 200 miles apart’. In one case

the male bird’s contribution was about 25 per cent, in the second about

50 per cent, while in the third only the male proceeded with the

construction during the two days following a great fright which the

female received as she left the nest.

Hutson (1954) saw 3 female sunbirds at work on their nests. At

the time of observation one bird which was reducing the size of the

entrance, which was too large, was never at the nest longer than 10

seconds and was often away for over a minute. The second bird was

at the nest 5 to 8 seconds at a time and away for 20 to 25 seconds,

NEST CONSTRUCTION IN THE PURPLE SUNBIRD 423

while the third one merely stayed long enough to poke in what she

had brought before flying back for more.

The writer (1957) had a rare opportunity to observe the construc-

tion of a nest by the Purple Sunbird in his bungalow. This was

followed by observations on the construction of a few other nests

during the nesting seasons of 1957 and 1958 in New Forest, Dehra’

Dun, U.P. It is possible from these observations to form a complete

picture of the operations involved in nest building. It would be

interesting to find out, especially in view of Bates’s observations,

whether the technique followed by the birds in Dehra Dun is the

same as that followed elsewhere. Jowther’s observations on the

participation of male sunbirds in nest construction also show the

possibility of variation in nest construction habits.

METHOD OF NEST CONSTRUCTION

The observations in Dehra Dun show that while all the birds

followed the same technique of nest construction, there was a certain

amount of variation in the timing of the different operations involved,

as also in the number of times a particular operation was carried out.

Extracts from the field notes on the construction of three nests are

given at the end of this paper. These notes show the similarity in

technique of construction, and at the same time serve to bring out the

‘differences referred to above.

First day's work: Nest construction always began in the morning.

On the morning of the first day, male and female birds together

examined different sites and chose one. Prospecting for a nesting

site appeared to begin on the day previous to this or even earlier.

Bates (1931) found a pair of Purplerumped Sunbirds becoming

interested in their nesting site 10 days before construction began. The

female Purple Sunbird was often observed to wind cobweb at

more than one site before the pair made the final decision about the

nesting site. ‘The female, who alone was found to build the nest,

alighted on the chosen twig to fix the material she brought. Later

on, she alighted on the nest stalk as it took shape. Some material

was also fixed while hovering. The female bird was never seen

coming to the nest without building material except during the first

visit or first few visits in the mornings.

When nest construction began, one bird confused between two

sites that were similar in appearance and close to each other on the

same twig. Work proceeded simultaneously at the two sites for some

time before the bird mastered the situation and built at one site alone.

In one instance two strands were built close to each other at a site to

424 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

support the nest. When the nest was suspended from a sloping

twig, a considerable length of the latter was usually built over. One

nest built on an almost vertical stem of a climber was attached to

it for a length of about 6 cm. The nest was loosely attached to tha

stem for a further distance of 12 cm. Bates (1931) found a Purple-

rumped Sunbird wrapping building materials to a distance of 5 to

7.5 cm. on a twig drooping at an angle of about 60°. In the case of

the nest built on a pendent chain (George, 1957) about 13 cm. of the

latter was built into the nest. Another nest was loosely attached

throughout its whole length to a vertical stem of a climber.

The next development in nest construction was to poke the nest

stalk with the beak at a point about 3 cm. to 7 cm. below the point

of suspension. The poking was done during several visits to the nest,

but usually only once per visit. Occasionally, material brought to

the nest was pushed in at this point with a vigorous thrust. In one

nest the fibres around this point showed a circular orientation by 11

a.m.; in some other nests orientation was visible by the evening; in

yet others, especially where leaves were used in abundance, no

orientation was observed. At the end of the first day the nest stalks

were found to be from 5 cm. to 15 cm. in length with a tail up

to 15 cm. in length. The stalk was often shaped like a gently

tapering cone with the apex at the — top.

Second day’s work: On the second day more material was added

to the nest stalk. Poking was continued, but the head itself was

now pushed into the mass of materials. Eventually a depression

appeared at this point if the nest stalk was very bulky or a hole

appeared if the nest stalk was fibrous and thin. Starting from the

same point, the direction of the push was now changed up to

about 75° to the left and right. The material at the back of

the stalk got spread out and the beak of the bird and, later on, its

head came out on the sides and back of the nest. The spreading out

of the materials at the back and sides of the nest stalk was the

first step in the formation of the pouch. The wall so formed was

very flimsy at this stage with a big hole in the middle, opposite the

point at which the bird started pushing, and many other smaller

holes and gaps. The hole in front at the point of pushing became the

entrance hole to the nest.

The addition of material to the nest went on, but much of it

was now pushed in through the entrance hole. The bird continued

to enter forward into the entrance hole, but it now also pushed up-

wards with partly lifted wings. It then backed out. The hole was

énlarged by this operation. Standing on the lower rim of the opening,

NEST CONSTRUCTION IN THE PURPLE SUNBIRD 425

the bird also pushed up the top rim with its crown. As a result of

these pushing operations the hole assumed an oval shape and was

larger than the entrance hole of the finished nest in length. When

‘the bird pushed up with partly opened wings, it stretched its legs

apart on the lower rim. The whole mouth of the nest was in tension

during this operation and elongation of the hole took place both

upwards and downwards.

The pushing in of material into the hole continued and the

material was further pushed back by the head as described earlier.

The wall of the nest got strengthened and the hole at the back was

nearly closed in some nests. At this stage the bird carried out a

very interesting operation to smoothen the sides of the entrance hole.

It lifted its hind parts up to one side and pressed the material on

that side of the opening with its tail, using the underside of the

tail for the purpose. The operation was carried out on both sides,

now on one side, now on the other. The tail was sometimes lifted

well above the head for this operation.

A move to force down the bottom of the nest to enlarge and

lengthen it into a pouch also began at this stage. The bird entered:

the nest and with a vigorous shaking movement of its body, sank into

the material at the bottom.

Another interesting move was made to smoothen the lower rim of

the entrance hole. The bird entered the nest, turned about and put

its head outside the nest. The head was then bobbed up and down

so that the throat pressed the rim. The bird moved left and right to

cover the whole rim. If some point of the rim was misshapen this

head bobbing was sometimes restricted to that point only.

Third day's work: On the third day the bird continued to push

the top of the opening with its crown and partly lifted wings. Pressing

the rim of the opening with the tail and throat, and forcing the bottom

down to lengthen the pouch were also continued. In those nests

where the back wall of the nest was slow to form, these operations’

were begun only on the third day.

The construction of the cornice and the lining of the pouch were

taken in hand on the third day. The former was completed on the

fourth day, while the latter was continued till the bird was ready to

lay. Most of the lining work was, however, done on the third and

fourth days.

A move to consolidate the materials of the wall and to bulge it

out further was begun on the third day and continued on subsequent

days. The bird entered the nest, remained inside in various directions

and pushed the wall backwards with the underside of its tail. The

426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

point that was pushed could be seen shaking and bulging out on the

outside. The wall of the nest is very pliable, so that when the bird

stopped pushing, the bulge disappeared. The directions in which the

bird pushed with its tail were the same as those in which it pushed

with its beak and head earlier on the second and third days. In

addition, the bird took up positions at right angles to the direction it

occupies while incubating and pushed out the wall on the left and

right of the entrance hole.

It is interesting to compare these actions of the Purple Sunbird with

the corresponding actions of the Yellowbreasted Sunbird (Nectarinia

jugularis), so vividly described by Loke (1954) who observed the bird

at work in his garden in Singapore. Every so often, the female

Yellowbreasted Sunbird would sit inside the nest and turn in a circle

with the object of rounding out the lower half of the nest chamber.

Sometimes she would sit with her beak projecting out of the entrance

and with wings slightly opened would move vigorously from side to

side pushing out the walls of the nest.

The hole in the back wall sometimes became larger as a result of

the tail movements of the Purple Sunbird. Material added subse-

quently usually closed the hole again.

Very little material was added to the exterior of the nest on the

third day. On the fourth day it was done only once or twice. On

subsequent days there was no addition at all.

Fourth day’s work: Work on the cornice and the lining of the

pouch continued on the fourth day. The lining material was smoothed

down by the shaking and sinking movement. The wall was pushed

on all sides with the tail. The bird also pressed against the sides of

the wall with its body. Hume’s expression ‘trying the fit? may be

taken to mean all these operations together.

The wall of the nest sometimes developed holes even on the fourth

day when the bird was trying the fit. These holes were usually closed

with material added later, but small holes remained in the finished

nest sometimes.

The upper end of the oval opening was built over in making the

cornice. The sides received on very rare occasions some material to

strengthen them. The lower rim became thickened by the material

added on the inside of the nest and by the ends of fibres pulled in from

the outside of the nest by the bird. The result of all this was that

the entrance hole became more or less circular in shape.

Fifth and subsequent days’ work: Lining of the nest continued

on the fifth day. No other material was added to the pouch but fibres

sticking out in front were pulled in through the entrance hole and

NEST CONSTRUCTION IN THE PURPLE SUNBIRD | 427

the entrance smoothed out by the tail if found necessary. The front

side of the nest was sometimes further tidied up by pushing loose

projecting ends of fibres into the body of the nest.

A certain amount of work was done on subsequent mornings till

the first egg was laid. This consisted in adding more lining material

and trying the fit. The first egg was laid on the eighth or ninth

morning after commencement of construction. The second egg

followed on the next morning and the third egg, if laid, the morning

after. }

The ‘tail of the nest: The tail seen hanging below many nests

was partly built by the bird and partly accidental. Loose strands of

cobweb brought by the bird or already existing at the site ‘collected’

material falling off the nest. The bird sometimes also fixed material

quite low down on these strands of web. There appeared to be a

tendency for the bird to ‘dump’ large size material in the tail region.

In one instance the tail was contiguous with cobweb already existing

below the site so that the tail appeared to have been joined to a bush

lower down. However, this connection was not as conspicuous as the

one ‘photographed by Bates (1927, 1931). It is interesting to recall

Jerdon’s (1877) observation of two nests being built at sites where

cobweb already existed.

Collecting material for the nest: For gathering cobweb for the

nest, the bird was observed to take hold of one strand after another

while hovering, and fly off. For bark, the bird alighted on a suitable

stem and tore off piece after piece, some pieces dropping off during

the process. Most of the material was collected after alighting at

suitable places. Sometimes the bird also tried with little success to

snap off grass stems, etc., while hovering.

Orientation of nests: At a very early stage in the construction,

it became clear that the bird invariably made the approach to the nest

from the same direction. This was the direction in which the opening

of the nest eventually faced. The bird did all the work on the nest

from the entrance hole side. For fixing material at the back, she

stretched her body out over the side or even the top of the nest. It

may be worthwhile recording that out of 24 nests observed in 1957

and 1958, 13 nests faced west while only 7 faced north and 2 each

faced east and south.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writer has pleasure in acknowledging the kind interest taken

by Mr. Sdlim Ali in these observations.

428

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

REFERENCES

1. Ali, Salim (1955): The Book of

Indian Birds, Bombay : 44.

2. Bates, R. S. P. (1926): JBNHS

31; 283-284.

3. —— — (1927): JBNHS 31: 920

and plate on opposite page.

4, ——— (1931) : Bird Life in India,

Bombay : 48-54.

5. George, Joseph (1957): JBNHS

54: 943.

6. Gill, E-H.N. (1924): JBNHS 29:

967.

7. Hume, Allan O. (1890) : The Nests

and Eggs of Indian Birds, Vol. 2,

London : 253-255.

8. Hutson, H. P. W. (1954): The

Birds About Delhi, Delhi: 90-91.

9. Jerdon, T. C. (1877): The Birds

of India, Vol. 1, Calcutta : 371.

410: Loke, W.T. (1954): JBNHS 52:

11. Lowther, E. H. N. (1949) : A Bird

Photographer in India, Oxford : 11-1.

ome.

Observations on the Vegetation of the

Rampa and Gudem Agency Tracts

of the Eastern Ghats”

R. SESHAGIRI RAO

Botanical Survey of India, Shillong

(With two maps and five text figures)

The Rampa and Gudem Agencies, as they were formerly known, are

located along the Eastern Ghat ranges of the Godavari East and the

Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh (long. 81° 30’—82° 15’E.

and lat. 17° 15’—18°N.). The forests of these tracts which are occu-

pied by the hill tribes, ‘ Konda Dora’ (or ‘ Koya’) and ‘ Konda Reddi’,

have been very little explored. A part of the Gudem Agency tract

which now lies in the Visakhapatnam district near the boundary of the

Godavari East district was first visited by Col. R. H. Beddome of the

Madras Forest Department in 1840. Later in 1883 and 1884 J.S. Gamble

of the Madras Forest Department explored the forests along the Goda-

vari River which include the Rampa Agency. In 1902 C. A. Barber of

the Madras Forest Department again visited the Rampa Agency and

other surrounding parts of the lower Godavari. Afterwards, in 1914,

M. S. Ramaswami of the Botanical Survey of India collected a few

specimens from the Rampa area only. A. W. Lushington visited a part

of the Gudem area of the Visakhapatnam district during his collection

-tours in the early part of this century. The same area and the surround-

ing tract were next visited by V. Narayanaswami of the Botanical

Survey of India in 1920. Again, in 1947, a general survey of the parts

of the Rampa and Gudem areas and also the wide area in between the

two zones was undertaken by V. Narayanaswami and the research

party of the Botanical Survey of India including the writer. After-

wards, in 1949, the writer had the opportunity of studying the Rampa

and Addatigala Agency forests in further detail.

The Rampa and Gudem Agency tracts occupy hilly regions adjoin-

ing the plains of Godavari East district and the south-west border of

the Visakhapatnam district with the boundaries of the Godavari River

on the west, the Sileru River on the north, the major portion of the

_ *The paper was written when the author was working at the Calcutta Herbarium

and was read at the symposium on ‘ Vegetation Types of India’ held during the 42nd

session of the Indian Science Congress at Baroda 1 in Jan. 1955.

430 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Chintapalli taluq of Visakhapatnam district on the east, and the plains

of the Godavari East district on the south. It covers an area of about

3000 sq. miles ranging from long. 81° 30’ to 82° 15’ E. and lat.

17° 15’—18°N. The ghats in this area rise by gentle gradations with an

average altitude varying from 500 ft. to 4000 ft. The elevation of the

Rampa country adjoining the Godavari River gradually increases from

Chodavaram (30 miles north-east of Rajahmundry) and the general

altitude of the area is about 1500-2000 ft. (450-600 m.). The highest

point in this region is Bison Hill with an altitude of 2708 ft. (825 ‘m.).

The hills are highly dissected. The elevation from the bank of the

Godavari gradually increases towards the north-east with an average

altitude of about 2500-3000 ft. (750-900 m.). The highest peak in this

part of the Rampa region is Dummakonda with an altitude of 4466 ft.

(1361 m.). Further north-east in the Gudem area of Chintapalli taluq, ~

Visakhapatnam district, the highest point is Sambar hill with an ele-

vation of 5009 ft. (1527 m.). This north-eastern part of the Rampa

and Gudem areas contain moist valleys with dense primeval forests

and small tributaries of the rivers Sileru and Eleru running along the

various gorges and valleys. The hills throughout the region under

study are covered with dense forests along the slopes and present

characteristic barren tops where mostly grasses and a few herbs grow.

(Map 1).

GEOLOGY

The Eastern Ghats, consisting chiefly of crystalline metamorphic

rocks, have a strike north-east—south-west with various parallel struc-

tural ridges running in the same direction. Young valleys are

opened up by subsequent tributaries like the Pamuleru of the Godavari

River and the Maddieru of the Eleru. The region is an uplifted

peneplain. The chief rock types of the area are khondalites and

charnockites, the former group including garnet-biotite-gneiss (Musuru-

milli and near Addatigala), garnetiferous gneiss (widely distributed),

garnetiferous quartzites (Seethapalli hills), and garnet-sillimanite-gneiss.

The area from Rampa to Gudem consists of different types of

soils. Lateritic soil is the common type along the deciduous forests of

the area. But along the plains and valleys adjoining the rivers Pamuleru

and the tributaries of Eleru there is a certain amount of black cotton

soil partly mixed with coarse sandy loams. At certain places the hill-

sides are usually covered by stony and gravelly soil which is sometimes

highly leached. The hill-tops on Bison Hill, Dummakonda, Sesharayi,

Dharakonda, and others, which are almost barren with grasses and

other minor herbs, usually present huge boulders and highly denuded

rocky surface. Hot springs with a few sulphur deposits along the huge

cut-end portion of a hill-slope near Sesharayi have been observed.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. See. Map 1

VARAM

ANGAKONDA

(4160)

pee

RESERVED FOREST...R.R

REST HOUSE ......+ RH.

DISTRICT BOUNDARY..e eee

(ast Godavari & vizeg. ) H

{

c @ miles

se |

Is ETERS TE a HP I a

Map of Rampa and Gudem jane tracts, showing the route followed and

regions surveyed.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe. Map 2

PRBS BED! MR ee USS EAE GAY GVO Ce INA (Reg ST MGR BATE UAT ALTREC PS Id a OPEN 6G DEN. BTU NS Se SUP R T Remake HDD oe iat OT AD ENCARTA feat do Ae PERIL ae

0 eee te Miles

Map of Rampa and Gudem Agency tracts, showing the variation in altitude

and distribution of vegetation. (Position of the five transects studied are also shown.)

Cultivated lands: [/_] below 500’; Transitional: 500’ — 1,500’; Dry

Deciduous: 1,500’ — 3,000’; Moist Deciduous : 3,000’ — 5,0C0’.

A. Chodavaram; B. Addatigala; C. Kota; D. Ramavaram; E. Gurtedu;

F. Dharakonda; G. Gudem; H. Chidipalem.

1. Rampa to Dummakonda. 2. Addatigala to Dummakonda. 3. Daragedda

to Dharakonda. 4. Dharakonda to Gudem. 5. Gudem to Chidipalem.

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 431

CLIMATE

The climate on the hills of Rampa and Gudem is mild in summer

and in some of the interior valleys of Gudem the winters are very chilly.

The maximum shade temperature rarely exceeds 100°F. even in May.

The valleys of Rampa and Dummakonda areas are quite hot and less

humid, but the valley in between Dharakonda and Gudem is cooler

and more humid. Frosts occur at higher elevations.

The general rainfall for the area as a whole ranges between

45”-55”. The rainfall shows a tendency of gradual increase from the

Rampa area (south-western portion of the region under study) to the

Gudem area. In places like Chodavaram, Addatigala, and the neighbour-

ing areas with an altitude of about 1000 ft. (300 m.), the average rain-

fall is 45”. This average gradually increases towards Dharakonda,

Gudem, and Jeypore Agencies of the Visakhapatnam district where the

average rainfall is about 55”. The highest rainfall of 86.02” was recorded

in 1893 at Chodavaram (about 1000’). It is a pity that no data of

temperature and rainfall from the hill-tops of the area under study are

available. But the general averages of the various places given above

can be safely considered as appropriate as they are based on the data

available from the adjoining regions of the Rampa and Gudem areas.

But the rainfall is not evenly distributed throughout the year. Usually in

June-July and in October and November these areas get the heaviest rain-

fall from the south-west monsoon and north-east monsoon respectively.

July is the month of maximum rainfall (10”).

The flora itself reflects the climate. The general vegetation is mostly

a dry deciduous type except in the valleys of higher elevation where

it is more moist. But in Gudem valley, there are patches of dense

forest with a network of small streams which indicate the formation of

_moist evergreen type to a certain extent. In general, ferns are rare in

number and few in species except in the Gudem valley. Similarly the

epiphytic orchids are scarce in most of the lower elevations but they

appear quite common along the valleys of higher elevation and the

Gudem valley. Though the total annual rainfall is considered as mode-

rate, it is noted that its distribution throughout the year is very uneven.

Thus, the climate of the area under study is almost dry from December

to May, the average monthly rainfall during these seven months being

very little. This absence of a heavy rainfall combined with moderate

temperature and rather prolonged cold season from November to March

tends to favour a flora of not very moist type, a fact which is evident

from the list of plants given at the end. The effect of frost is probably

not very severe in the plants growing on the plateaux and other open areas.

But usually it kills the saplings and other secondary growth and this

causes delay in the recolonisation of the grass-lands and forest-cleared

432 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3) -

areas by trees and shrubs. As the frost is not so severe as to inhibit

growth completely, young seedlings become slowly established under the

protection afforded by the larger trees along the fringe of the closed

‘forest, thus gradually extending their range.

Another factor, which cannot be entirely overlooked and which

also adversely affects the process of recolonisation, is the high winds

that sweep across the plateau lands and the barren hill-tops at certain |

periods of the year, particularly during the months of March and April

and also during the cyclonic months October and November. The

high winds that blow during the hot season, with their dessicating

effect on the vegetation that grows on the hill-tops with only thin soil-

covering and little soil moisture, give no chance at all for the plant

growth and are thus responsible to some extent for the development of

barren hill-tops along the Dummakonda and other neighbouring ranges.

Biotic FACTORS

The people inhabiting these Agency areas are mostly ‘ Konda-

Reddis’ and ‘ Konda Doras’ (Koyas), the two hill tribes found on

either side of Godavari from the point where the Indravathi joins it

down to the borders of the plains and extending as far as Jeypore Agency

towards the north-east. These tribes have settled down in these areas

and taken to cultivation for many years. During former times, before

the reservation of forests, they indulged extensively in shifting cultivation

called podu by clearing and burning the forests. The two methods

of cultivation followed by them are the ordinary (or chalaka) podu

and the hill (or konda) podu. The former consists in cultivating

certain cleared areas for a year or two, then allowing the forest to

grow again for a few years and again burning and cultivating those

areas. Under the latter, the clearing is not returned to for a much

longer period, and is sometimes deserted for ever. By this method

of making clearings in the heart of the forest by felling and burning

the trees, cultivating them for a year or two until their first fertility was

- exhausted and then moving on to new ground, and also by the fires lit

for burning these patches spreading over surrounding areas, extensive

tracts of the forests were ruthlessly destroyed. Many deserted villages

were observed along the track followed by the Botanical Survey of

India’s field party. It is only after the strict enforcement of forest rules

and reservations that this destructive method of raising crops has been

controlled to some extent. Due to the conflict between the interests of

the tribes and those of forest conservation, and also due to the violent

rebellion in Rampa and Gudem Agencies, some of the well-recognised

podus and certain cultivable areas were excluded from reservation and

handed over to the people for rotation and extension of cultivation.

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS. 433

But there are certain zones in the Gudem vadley appearing to be prac-

tically uninhabited and also unreserved and thus remaining as primeval

forests uninterfered with by the human agency.

Another important factor with a considerable influence on the

vegetation of the area is the grazing of cattle brought by professional

graziers, particularly during the summer and monsoon months, in the

~Rampa area adjoining the plains. Such grazing is less common in

the interior.

The effect of these two main factors, namely podu cultivation

and seasonal grazing on the original vegetation coupled with denudation

of the soil by heavy rains on certain cleared hill slopes, has been

sufficient to reduce a great part of the forest to mere grass-lands or to

an open dry deciduous jungle. Some of the plateaux and uplands in

between the plains and the actual hilly tracts which were once subjected

to destructive methods of raising crops and which are now seasonally

~attacked by grazing cattle or by fires created by graziers present

a deserted appearance with dry eroded soil, huge weathered rocky

boulders, and a few spiny bushes and stunted trees here and there.

The villages of ‘ Doras’ (Koyas) and ‘ Reddis’ are mostly situated

in the valleys or on the uplands adjoining the hills. The rice cultivation

- in flood plains and other areas with black cotton soil occurring along the

tributaries of Pamuleru and Eleru Rivers, mostly depends on rains. A

few pulses, like arhar (Cajanus cajan), mung (Phaseolus radiatus), green

gram (Phaseolus angularis), are also cultivated on and along the rice fields

as a second crop. In other areas with laterite soils where only dry

cultivation is possible, small millet (Panicum miliare), ragi (Eleusine cora-

cana), jonna (Andropogon sorghum), ganti (Pennisetum typhoideum), are

- mostly grown. In the villages a few climbers of Papilionaceae and

Cucurbitaceae such as ‘ bean’ (Dolichos lablab), dosa (Cucumis sativus),

and other allied species are grown. Tobacco is cultivated on the dry

patches near about the rice fields of Yarlagadda village. Tamarind

(Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees are very commonly

- grown in and around the villages. Particularly in regions near Rama-

varam and Yarlagadda, there is abundant growth of tamarind trees

which yield quite a good revenue to the villagers. Jak trees (Artocarpus

integra) are also grown in this area. At Gujjumamidivalasa and the

neighbouring areas, ‘ kamala’ (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and musambi

(Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) are well grown. As early as 1898, one

_ Mr. Brodie tried to introduce coffee (Coffea arabica) plantations in the

middle Pamuleru valley and supplied seeds to the local people, but the

results were not favourable. There are a few plantations still near

Pullangi which are only of subsistence type. Similarly near Gudem in

the Visakhapatnam district, coffee plants are grown on a small scale

434. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

round about the villagese Sago palms (Caryota urens) Were once very

abundant in the Rampa and Ramavaram areas, but most of them were

cut down for removing the soft delicious pith which was used as the

main food by the hill tribes during the famine years.

Sugary sap extracted from these palms is usually fermented and

used as an intoxicating drink. Such drinks are also prepared from ragi

(Eleusine coracana) and sometimes from rice. Higher up in the Bhadhra-

chalam area and towards the north-east, in the Jeypore Agency, ‘ippa’

(Madhuca latifolia) grows in abundance and the sweet fruit is used

mainly for the preparation of a delicious intoxicating drink.

A BrigF NOTE ON VEGETABLE RESOURCES OF THE AREA

Various species of Terminalia, Xylia, Dalbergia, Anogeissus, Ptero-

carpus, Lagerstroemia, Adina, and a few others yield a useful type of

timber, and there is some possibility of cultivation of Tectona grandis in

certain localities of the region. A few minor forest products, such as

fibre from leaves of Caryota, Agave, Sanseviera, Sterculia, Helicteres,

Bauhinia, and a few others, floss from Salmalia and Cochlospermum,

tans and dies from Cassia and Terminalia species, gums from Pterocar-

pus (‘ Gum kino ’) and Cochlospermum (‘ Katira gum’), and a few drug

plants including seeds of Strychnos have been of considerable utility.

Along the edges of streams and the surroundings of Rampa hill, aroma-

tic grasses, such as Cymbopogon coloratus with a characteristic smell of

Citronella oil, and Vetiveria zizanoides producing the well-known

khus-khus roots, are available, and these can be economically exploited

for the development of essential oil industry in that area. Further,

experiments to cultivate other grasses, such as Cymbopogon nardus the

typical ‘ Citronella oil grass’, and other allied species yielding different

essential oils, in order to find out the suitability of the area for extensive

cultivation of such species are worth trying. Besides these grasses, wild

growth of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis in the Rampa area and also in different

areas towards the north-east (between Yarlagadda and Gurtedu), whose

deliciously scented flowers are well known for their essential oil contents,

is an important feature worth study in connection with the development

of the essential oil industry in this area.

It appears that the excellent resources of dense growth of bamboos

particularly Dendrocalamus strictus all along this region have not been so

far utilised in the best interests of paper manufacture, which is being

carried out by the paper mill at Rajahmundry the nearest city to this

area. A general survey of the distribution of different species of

bamboos in this region should be carried out and the introduction of

better types of bamboos best suited for good paper production should

be tried on the various hill slopes of this region. The means of trans-

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 435

port by land and by water can be worked out when this area becomes

a suitable land for such large-scale cultivation of better varieties.

An interesting item of cottage industries can be developed among

the women folk of the hill tribes by utilising the commonly growing

grasses such as Saccharum spontaneum and Pollinidium binatum for

making attractive mats, baskets, chiks, and other similar articles which

will have a good market in neighbouring towns.

Further, introduction and systematic cultivation of Cape Gooseberry

(Physalis peruviana Linn.), a promising bush-fruit which has already been

found to be very successful and profitable in Araku valley (3000 ft.)

adjacent to the Gudem Agency, and also other hill fruits and beverage

crops like coffee and cocoa, spices like pepper and ginger in the hilly

tracts, and mango, citrus, banana, jak, guava, sapota, and cashewnut on

the surrounding plains, and several medicinal plants indigenous to this

hill country, and also planning for the exploitation of other horticultural

resources of Agency areas should form the important aspects of the eco-

nomic programme envisaged by the Government of Andhra for the up-

lift of the tribal people of the Rampa and Gudem Agency tracts.

VEGETATION

The vegetation of the region under study, i.e. the region starting

from the dry cultivated laterite plains to the hills extending up to the

Sileru River as the northern boundary, can be divided on the basis of cli-

mate, topography, and soil into two major vegetational zones : (i) the

transitional zone with a mixture of thorny-scrub and dry deciduous

forest types of vegetation, and (ii) the deciduous forest zone. (Map 2).

(i) The Transitional Zone: This zone comprises the transitional

vegetation, showing a mixture of the thorny-scrub type and the dry

deciduous forest type with, however, a few laterite fields here and there

which are under dry cultivation. In this zone, there is a gradual deve-

lopment of different species of shrubs and trees which at the beginning

form into a thorny-scrub jungle consisting of xerophytic species, such as

Zizyphus mauritiana, Z. xylopyra, Alangium salvifolium, Randia brandisii,

Dodonea viscosa, Maba buxifolia, Cassia occidentalis, C. auriculata,

Acacia sundra, Jatropha curcas, Annona reticulata, and grasses like

Aristida setacea, Eragrostis unioloides, Themeda triandra, and climbers

like Derris scandens, Acacia caesia, and a few others. Subsequently, the

thorny species are replaced by plants which are bushy and stunted thus

giving an appearance of the formation of an open dry deciduous forest

here and there. This zone occupies a considerably small region beyond

Tunnuru Reserve Forest, Musurumilli Reserve Forest, Chodavaram, and

Addatigala to Kota and Ramavaram. The vegetation exhibits a sparse

growth of scattered bushes of Dendrocalamus strictus, Diospyros pere-

436 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3).

grina, Strychnos nux-vomica, Cochlospermum religiosum, Garuga

pinnata, Grewia tiliifolia, Euphorbia neriifolia, Casearia tomentosa,

Holarrhena antidysenterica, Morinda tinctoria, Semecarpus anacardium,

Webera corymbosa, Woodfordia fruticosa, climbers such as Capparis

zeylanica, Atylosia scarabaeoides, Bauhinia racemosa, B. purpurea, and

grasses like Aristida setacea, Themeda tremula, T. trianda, and such.

others. The soil in this region is mostly laterite mixed with gravel and

sand and the rainfall is about 45”. Approximately the 1500-foot-contour

can be considered as the northern boundary of this zone.

(i) The Deciduous Forest Zone: This zone can be con-

veniently divided into (a) dry deciduous forest which covers the various:

hilly tracts ranging between 1500 feet to nearly 3000 feet, and (6) moist

deciduous forest which occurs here and there as pockets in the northern-

most part of the region under study where the altitude increases beyond

3000 feet with warm moist valleys.

Dry deciduous forest: The region starts from Pedda-

gaddada, Maredumalli, Palakonda, and Devarakonda through Rampa

and Bolagonda Reserve Forests and proceeds towards the north-east

covering the villages Gunjagudem, Kota, Ramavaram, Yarlagadda

(1072 ft.), Sesharayi (2000 ft.), Mattam-Bhimavaram (2000 {t.);

Gurtedu (1840 ft.), to as far as Dharakonda (1500 ft.), with various

hill-tops such as Palakonda (2518 ft.), Peddakonda (2991 ft.),

Devarakonda (2800 ft.), Kappakonda (2832 ft.), Ethakonda (3000 ft.),

and Dharakonda Falls (2500 ft.), none of which exceed 3000 ft. (except

Dummakonda hill-tops and a few others). It comprises dry deciduous

forest with a variety of trees, shrubs, climbers, and epiphytes, among

which the Xylia-Terminalia-Anogeissus-Dendrocalamus association pre-

dominates.

The region starting from Chodavaram (560 ft.) and proceeding

northwards through Pedda-gaddada (750 ft.), Devarapalli (1000 ft.),

Maredumalli (1285 ft.), and Etukuru (1467 ft.), along the river

Bodipettavagu, flanked on either side by various hill-tops such as

Palakonda (2518 ft.), Peddakonda (2991 ft.), and Devarakonda (2800 ft.),

consists of dense mixed jungle with various bamboo bushes scat-

tered all over. Rainfall is comparatively less and evaporation is

great in this region, and hence the vegetation in general presents

a. dry appearance excepting at few points where a collection of

small streams along the narrow valleys creates a humid atmosphere

allowing a few ferns to grow like Adiantum lunulatum, Drynaria

quercifolia, Lastrea filix-mas, Hemionites arifolia, and others. General-

ly speaking, the whole vegetation presents a dry bushy appearance

with Dendrocalamus strictus as the prominent species. Trees

such as Pterocarpus_ marsupium, Aglaia roxburghiana, Strychnos

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 437

potatorum, Dalbergia and Terminalia species, Tectona grandis (often

cultivated), and shrubs such as Polyalthia suberosa, Grewia abutilifolia,

Olax scandens, Zizyphus rugosa, Desmodium triangulare, which are

covered by various climbers, Bauhinia vahlii, Ampelocissus tomentosa,

Thunbergia fragrans, Cissampelos pareira, and others, and Orchids like

Cymbidium aloefolium, Vanda parviflora, and others comprise the upper

canopy of the vegetation. The lower canopy comprises the various —

grasses such as Paspalum scrobiculatum, Hackelochloa granularis,

Cymbopogon nardus, Chloris incompleta, and herbs like Hibiscus

urcatus, Indigofera linifolia, Desmodium and Moghania species, etc.

Similarly, there is not much difference in the vegetation of the region

from Rampa to Bolagonda Reserved Forest and from there to

Ramavaram through Gunjugudem, Narasapuram, Kota, Annampalem,

Pulusumamidi, and Erragondi which comprises trees such as Terminalia

species, Dillenia pentagyna, Pterospermum heyneanum, Chloroxylon

swietenia, Anogeissus latifolia, Garuga pinnata mixed with huge bushes

of Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa bambos, and shrubs like

Grewia hirsuta, Woodfordia fruticosa, Erythroxylon monogynum, and

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, the last named shrub growing wild covering

wide tracts of the hilly slopes. (Transect Fig. 1.)

The various climbers commonly observed are Celastrus paniculata,

Ventilago calyculata, Cayratia auriculata, Cissampelos pareira, Argyreia

nervosa, and others. The lower region is covered by various grasses,

Isachne miliacea, Paspalidium flavidum, Cymbopogon coloratus (covering

large areas.on Rampa hill slopes), and other cultivated millet species

and herbs such as Hybanthus suffruticosus, Hibiscus vitifolius, Canavalia

virosa, Galactia longifolia, and others. From some of the humid

corners and rocky edges near the streams a few species of ferns, such

as Adiantum caudatum, Cheilanthes tenuifolia, Pteris pellucida, Lygodium

pinnatifidum, Selaginella barbata, and a few more, have been collected.

In the Rampa hill country various food grains, such as Panicum

crusgalli var. frumentaceum, the staple food of the hill tribes (Tel. name

—shama), Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana, are commonly

cultivated at the foot of the hills.

Now coming to further north-east, the hilly region surrounding the

villages Ramavaram and Yarlagadda, with a considerable area of

cultivated land around, shows typical deciduous forest. The common

weeds in the surrounding dry and wet fields with jonna (Sorghum

vulgare), rice (Oryza sativa), and tobacco (Nicotiana tobaccum) under

cultivation are Leucas linifolia, Caesulia axillaris, Eriocaulon quinquean-

gulare (near swamp), Melochia corchorifolia, Siegesbeckia orientalis,

Sphaeranthus indicus, and Heteropogon contortus. Proceeding towards

Ethakonda, which was visited twice first in 1920 and again in 1947, on

438 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

the way to Pasaruginni (1250 ft.) and Chintalapudi (1500 ft.), plants

such as Justicia betonica, Woodfordia fruticosa, Acacia concinna,

Argyreia nervosa, Flacourtia jangomas, Aganosma caryophyllata,

Hemidesmus indicus, Pupalia atropurpurea, Casearia tomentosa,

Andrographis ovata, and Phaulopsis dorsiflora are common. At the

base of Ethankonda, a tangled undergrowth with huge lianes of Acacia,

Caesalpinia, and others intertwining each other, and trees such

as Strychnos potatorum, Pongamia pinnata, Terminalia belerica, and

others. Higher up beyond 2000 ft. Xylia xylocarpa is comparatively

amore common tree and the vegetation becomes more dense with

humid atmosphere, giving a chance for the lichens to grow well. But

epiphytic orchids and mosses are not common, though dried up

specimens of Funaria were observed on tree trunks and in moist corners

of rocky boulders. The forest becomes more tangled with a variety of

climbers like Bauhinia vahlii, Mucuna florida, Caesalpinia crista,

Dioscorea alata, Asparagus racemosus, twining among the various trees

and shrubs, such as Xylia xylocarpa, Kydia calycina, Garuga pinnata,

Polyalthia cerasoides, Helicteres isora, Murraya_ koenigii, Mangifera

indica, Pterospermum acerifolium, Moghania strobilifera, Colebrookea

oppositifolia, and herbs and grasses, like Dicliptera roxburghiana

(very common all along the way), Pimpinella heyneana, Blumea virens,

Rubia cordifolia, Apluda varia, Thysanolaena procera, Heteropogon

contortus, Oryza meyeriana (wild paddy), Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum, and

Brachiaria kurzii. Interestingly enough, near the humid, shady corners

and along the small hill streams at an altitude of about 2000 ft. to

3000 ft., rare specimens of a few Himalayan plants(*), tree ferns, and

other members of Polypodiaceae such as *Drymaria cordata, *™Vitex

peduncularis var. roxburghiana, *Linociera malabarica, Cinnamomum

zeylanicum, Cyathea spinulosa, Angiopteris erecta, Lygodium flexuosum,

Gymnopteris variabilis, Trichomanes bipunctatum, and several others.

The region on the northern side of Ramavaram and Yarlagadda,

extending towards Sesharayi (2000—2500 ft.) and Dumma Konda (4464

ft.) is mostly covered by open deciduous forest with occasional dense

humid patches near about ravines and shady corners along the narrow

stream, allowing profuse growth of ferns and other plants and giving an

appearance of almost semi-evergreen forest of the humid regions.

Throughout the deciduous forest of this region, having an altitude of

2000—2500 ft., Xylia xylocarpa, Anogeissus latifolia, and Terminalia

tomentosa form the dominant species of the vegetation with huge bushes

of Dendrocalamus strictus covering wide areas at certain places near

about Sesharayi after crossing Viswanatha Swami Temple on the way.

Occasionally pure associations of either Yylia or Anogeissus have also

been observed along the hill slopes on the way. Near about the temple,

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 439

one of the mountain slopes which is exposed to direct sun for a greater

part of the day presents a very dry appearance with Euphorbia neriifolia

and Dendrocalamus strictus growing prominently. Gnetum ula, the

common robust climber of Gymnosperms, makes its first appearance in

this region beyond 2000 ft. altitude. The vegetation in general comprises,

apart from the common species above mentioned, huge trees of Ficus

tomentosa, F. mooniana, Garuga pinnata, Mangifera indica, with climbers

such as Aristolochia roxburghiana, Clematis smilacifolia, Tetrastigma

lanceolarium, Smilax macrophylla, and other plants, such as Diospyros

sylvatica, Pogostemon plectranthoides, Macaranga indica, Grewia

tiliifolia, and many other species. Grasses are few and _ they

are Panicum brevifolium, Cyrtococcum trigonum, Eragrostis unioloides,

Thysanolaena procera, Centotheca lappacea, etc. Similarly the orchids,

which are all epiphytic, are very poorly represented by Aerides.

multiflorum, Vanda tessellata, Dendrobium aqueum, and a few others.

(Transect Fig. 2.) Very interesting plants which are recorded for the

first time from this area, namely Spilanthes acmella, Linociera

malabarica, Glochidion assamicum, Begonia malabarica, Abelmoschus

manihot var. pungens, and other plants such as Rubia cordifolia,

Phyllanthus urinaria, Pleomele terniflora, Cyclophorus adnascens, and

ferns like Dryopteris urophylla, Pteris pellucida, Hemionitis arifolia,

and others are some of the common species growing along the small

hill streams.

Round about Sesharayi and the hill slopes on the way to

Gurumanda, the forest is dominated mostly by Xylia xylocarpa mixed

with Terminalia species, Anogeissus latifolia, Kydia calycina, Adina

cordifolia, Sterculia villosa, Tamarindus indica, and a few others.

Climbers like Bauhinia vahlii and Flagellaria indica, which is the first

record of this area, and ferns such as Lygodium flexuosum, Pteris

pellucida, Nephrolepis cordifolia, Dryopteris urophylla were observed and

collected. Of these, a few plants of this area such as Grewia species,

Musa rosacea, huge plants of Costus speciosus, Dysophylla quadrifolia,

and Vitex peduncularis var. roxburghiana, a rare medicinal plant

recorded for the first time from this area, need special mention.

The vegetation of the area observed while returning from Sesharayi

to Yarlagadda via Nulakamaddi and Pasaruginni is almost similar to that

of the region mentioned above and mostly consists of the mixed associa-

tion of Anogeissus and Terminalia with various plants like Hibiscus

vitifolius, Peperomia dindigulensis, Phyllanthus debilis, Tylophora dal-

zellii, Jussiea suffruticosa (a new record), and many others, climbers such

as Zehneria hookeriana, Clematis gouriana, and others, epiphytic orchids

such as Cymbidium aloifolium, Aerides multiflorum, and a few others,

grasses such as Oplismenus compositus, Eragrostis unioloides, and a few

3 Ge

440 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3) —

more, and ferns such as Adiantum lunulatum, Hemionitis ariola, and a

few others.

The area between Sesharayi ail one of the hill-tops of the Dumma-

konda Range covering an altitude of 2500 ft.-4000 ft., comprises mostly

secondary forest zone along various hill slopes where paddy cultiva-

tion was once very prevalent. The most dominant and robust species

among the forest trees is Xylia xylocarpa, which on certain slopes forms

into pure association covering an extensive area. Similarly Dendrocala-

mus species also cover a wide area, forming at certain places into pure

association. Members of Podostomaceae growing on the stones in the

bed of torrential mountain streams have been collected. The forest all

along the way comprises various other trees such as Emblica officinalis,

Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia odoratissima, Terminalia bellerica,

Chloroxylon swietinia, Diospyros tomentosa, Gardenia latifolia, Casearia

tomentosa, Glochidion velutinum, with huge climbers like Tinospora cordi-

folia, Argyreia nervosa, Bauhinia vahlii, and grasses like Oplismenus

compositus, a very common undergrowth, Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum,

Apluda varia, and Thysanolaena procera, which are very adaptable in

covering quickly the open areas of the forest zone. As already mentioned

in the earlier pages, the vigorous tree-growth, which is prominent along

the slopes, stops at about 4000 ft. and only very few stunted trees with

_ bushy appearance and a few herbs grow along the weathered rocky

boulders as a result of which all the hill-tops on this range present a

characteristic bald appearance. While climbing to the top, it is felt as

though one emerges all of a sudden from a dense forest into an open

area from where all the surrounding hill-tops and even the Bay of Bengal

are visible. The stunted trees on this hill top are Phoenix palludosa,

Emblica officinalis, Ptercocarpus marsupium, and herbs such as Phyllan-

thus narayanaswami, Osyris arborea, Tephrosia roxburghiana, Pogostemon

plectranthoides, Dysophylla myosuroides, Vicoa indica, Hamiltonia

suaveolens, and the grasses Apluda varia and Thysanolaena procera are

extremely common covering the whole barren top. Strangely enough,

epiphytic orchids and ferns are not so common as in the lower ranges.

The track from Yarlagadda to Gurtedu passes along Kakulumamidi

River and Yeleru Vagu, covering the valley in between the two hills

Ganga-konda (4160 ft.) and Kappa-konda (3539 ft.). Many villages

such as Chintakaripalem, Jajigadda, Marakota, and Mattambhimavaram

of Gudem Taluk and, crossing the river Pamuleru, other villages like

Irlavada, Daragadda, Edlakonda are situated on the way. Most of the

forests round about these villages are replaced by the podu cultivation

and there are many deserted villages (padu) on the way where mostly

forests of secondary type are gradually developing. The forest of the

region after Jajigadda and near about the deserted village of Degalakota

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 441

is dominated by mostly bamboo bushes of which Dendrocalamus

strictus is the most common species. Beyond Marakota along the deep

valley in between Kappa-konda and Ganga-konda, the place of ups and

downs with seven turnings commonly called Edu Vampula Ghat, some of

the typical deciduous forests of the area with Cochlospermum religiosum

as the most common tree have been observed. After Mattambhimavaram,

proceeding towards Pamuleru River the dark valley known as Bhusi

Gandi with its very humid atmosphere develops a dense original forest

with a variety of plants like Musa rosacea, Caryota urens, Costus

speciosus, and many other species along the stream. A few specimens of

Hydrobryum have been collected from the bed of the Pamuleru River.

The rest of the area up to Gurtedu (1840 ft.) consists of scattered jungles

with species Anogeissus, Terminalia, Lagerstroemia, Woodfordia, and

several others. Some of the common species collected on the way are

Casearia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Gardenia turgida, Eriolaena

hookeriana, Machilus macrantha, Schrebera_ swietenioides, Grewia

hirsuta, G. glabra, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Abutilon polyandrum, A. indi-

cum, Floscopa scandens, Dioscorea oppositifolia, Teramnus labialis and

also a new record of Abelmoschus cancellatus.

The region between Gurtedu (1840 ft.) and Dharakonda (1599 ft.)

is covered by some of the best original forests of the area most of which

are not under reservation by the Forest Department. The track followed

is along the dense valleys watered by the chief tributary of the Gumma

Revu stream and the other streams, Manipa Revu and Madimadlu Revu

and its tributaries, covering an altitude between 1400 to 2000 ft.

Though the area surrounding the various villages on the way is under

normal and also podu cultivation, most of the original forest appears

to be undisturbed. The vegetation comprises the tall trees of

Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia tomentosa, T. arjuna, Emblica officinalis,

Dolichandrone falcata, Schrebera_ wallichii, and Diospyros peregrina,

mixed with shrubby and herbaceous species of Woodfordia, Grewia,

Clerodendrum, Nyctanthes, Wendlandia, Desmodium, Triumfetta, Randia,

Flacourtia, Gnaphalium, and huge climbing species of Bauhinia, Gnetum,

and Dioscorea. Bamboo bushes are very commonly mixed up all along

the forest and at certain places along the Madimadlu River, bamboo

growth is so dense that it covers the entire area forming the most domi-

nant species among the other tree species of Terminalia, and Anogeissus.

Near about the higher elevations of the valley Xylia xylocarpa makes its

appearance here and there mixed up with the species of Anogeissus and

Terminalia, the most dominant species of this valley forest (Transect

Fig. 3). While crossing Madimadlu River, which was flowing with

considerable force with knee-deep water, a few specimens of Hydrobryum

and other members of Podostomaceae growing on the rocky boulders

442 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

lying at the bottom of the stream, were collected. The moist banks of

the stream are well suited for the profuse growth of Adiantum and a few

other members of the Polypodiaceae. An epiphytic orchid Cymbidium

aloifolium growing on a mango tree was also collected. The region at

the foot of the hills on either side of the track just before crossing Madi-

madlu Revu is quite open and though well suited both for dry and wet

cultivation, has not been properly cultivated and is desert-like. The open

region on either side of the path after crossing Madimadlu Revu

covered by tall grasses and scattered bamboo bushes develops, interest-

ingly enough, a large number of small trees of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

growing extensively in wild form.

Most of the hill-slopes round about Dharakonda are under podu

cultivation. Some of the common trees on the neighbouring hill-slopes

are Terminalia tomentosa, Anogeissus latifolia, Mitragyna parvifolia,

Xylia xylocarpa, Bischofia javanica, Kydia calycina, Machilus macrantha,

and others, covered with climbers such as Méilletia, Acacia, Dolichos,

Bauhinia, and Gnetum. The common herbs are Trichodesma zeylanicum,

Crotalaria albida, Laggera pterodonta, Lepidagathis hyalina, Dysophylla

myosuroides, and others. .Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is also quite common

in this area. The wild awnless paddy Oryza meyeriana has also been

collected. Near the waterfall on the southern side of the village the

atmosphere is quite humid and mosses have been observed growing on

tree trunks and rocky boulders as distinct green patches.

The track from Dharakonda to Gudem passes through one of the

most dense primeval unreserved forests of this area covering an altitude

between 1500-3500 ft. The gradual ascent from Dharakonda (1500 ft.)

leads to high hill slopes and mountain tops with an altitude ranging

between 3000-3500 ft. which continues for a considerably long distance.

At certain spots on such altitudes, where there is a network of small

streams making the atmosphere highly humid, the vegetation appears to

be changing from deciduous to almost semi-evergreen type, producing

suitable habitat for the development of very interesting subtropical and

temperate species. In this humid and dark valley with an altitude of

about 3000 ft. plants such as Pygeum acuminatum, Peperomia reflexa,

Curculigo recurvata, Ophiopogon intermedius, Wendlandia gamblei,

Smilax orolifera, and ferns such as Lycopodium cernuum, Gleichenia

linearis, Botrychium daucifolium, Blechnum orientale, Cheilanthes farinosa,

Dryopteris cochleata, Stenoloma chusanum, and tree ferns Cyathea

spinulosa, and Alsophila glabra, and many others, all of them typical

species of subtropical and temperate regions, have been collected. Due

to the favourable humid surroundings, epiphytic orchids are very

common in this area. To mention a few, Dendrobium pierardi, Eria

bambusifolia, Luisia teretifolia, Oberonia ensiformis, Pholidota imbricata

ist. Soc.

Journ. Bombay Nat.

DISTRIBUTION OF DOMINANT SPECIES ALONG THE TRANSECTS

Fig. 1

1000*

4000!

3000!

2000!

( YANO WANN) :

BtTTAX—

sy uTyned

snue[eooupu 6d

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( IGQVNVY VIAN)

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(VdWVH)

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S.W. -N.E

4000!

5000*

2000?

1000!

From Rampa to Dummakonda top.

Fig. 1.

Fig.-2

Oo Oo

2000!

1000%

( vaNOM VAWOC)

STTBuTwW aL

Beyuyyuned

( TQGVWVH VIAN )

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(NOL Vd VIVSYNVd)

etsothay

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SNIOTT SW

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et [ euywMseL

(SIT vd VAVE)

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= SUT GIAO TOH

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= lwivo LLvadv~

———— >

Oru es 4, Semi les «

4000!

3000!

2000?

1000!

Fig. 2. From Addatigala to Dummakonda top.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

DISTRIBUTION OF DOMINANT SPECIES ALONG THE TRANSECTS

( VANOMVUVHC

BTHOOIgeTOD—

goyque sAN—

snue[t e00 Jpuodg

Bert hx

snssj edsouy

snufteT 800 upueg

eT eulwsed,

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(nadaLyny)

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BT P10 JpPOom—

Dea ny 4 in al,

GNETUM

XYLIA

ANOGEISSUS

TERMINALIA

Gudem

BURSERM

ALBIZZIA——

BAUHINIA

RA PHI DOPHO

HELICTERIS

EMBLICA

XYLIA

ANOGEISSUS

TERMINALIA

DENDROCALA

ANOGEISSUS

(Dhara oa

Or es a les,

(W31VdIGIHO)

snudfkztZ

BI mary

snpuyusuey,

BIPIOJpoon

Bhotsey)

( VaNOMVuNa)

BT PIO Spoon

snueT[ edo rpueg

et Teuzwsze

sns sft oesouy—__

(NT VY vd INYVW)

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et T£X

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Fig. 4. From Dharakonda to Gudem.

Fig. 3. From Datepadu to Dharakonda.

Fig. 5. From Gudem to Chidipalem.

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 443

may be quoted. During the ascent from Dharakonda from 2000-2500

ft., bamboo forest mixed with Terminalia, Anogeissus, and Xylia, and

with the undergrowth of Triumfetta, Dicliptera, Sida, Desmodium, and

Nyctanthes is the common sight. On certain slopes Xylia is the most

common tree mixed up with a dominant growth of Dendrocalamus and

Bambusa species. Shrubby growth of Zizyphus, Helicteres, Nyctanthes,

Flacourtia, and a tall bushy growth of grasses such as Apluda, Themeda,

Heteropogon, and huge leaves of Bauhinia climbing over the trees

give a dense appearance to the deciduous forests at certain places along

the path. On some slopes the bamboo forests are so dense that

they may rightly be termed primeval. As there are no villages

along this valley, the trees of Caryota urens are quite common and

undisturbed. Mosses and crustaceous lichens are also common on

wet rocky boulders. As the altitude increases to 3000 ft. and

above, the density of the forest also increases, presenting a humid

atmosphere where the bamboo forest is replaced by the YXylia-

Terminalia-Emblica-Cassia-Anogeissus association. Gradually, as the

deserted village of Saparlu is approached, the forest becomes more

dense and dark with high humidity and a network of small streams of

Sapar kalava, the main tributary of Madimadlu River, where several

interesting plants of subtropical and temperate climates, already men-

tioned, have been collected. Liverworts and mosses with male and

female ‘flowers’ are very well developed and quite common, covering

the moist soil and rocks along the small puddles and streams and also on

tree trunks. Ferns and epiphytic orchids are numerous in this area.

Climbers like Raphidophora and Smilax are common. Along the moist

banks of streams Musa rosacea, Costus, tree ferns, Cyathea, and Also-

phila with a height of 15-20 ft., and several other tender herbs have been

collected. The valley with such a dense forest, appearing almost of

semi-evergreen type, covers a very wide area and, as the altitude falls

from 3000-2800 ft. towards the approach of Gudem, the humidity

gradually decreases and the narrow path enters into an open dry decidu-

ous forest with exposed mountain slopes. Some of the hill-tops along

the way have been observed to be very similar so those of Dummakonda

group, presenting a barren, rugged appearance with huge weathered

rocky boulders, covered by tall grasses, a few herbs, and stunted trees of

Phoenix.

Round about Gudem, the country is very picturesque with huge

mountain peaks around. Of these, the Sambarikonda with its peak

reaching an altitude of 5009 ft. is the highest in the region under study

and is also one of the highest peaks in the Eastern Ghats range. The

region towards the deserted village of Nilavaram and the Ebul Reserved

Forest with an elevation of about 2500 ft. is covered by the common

444 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

species characteristic of these forests namely Terminalia and Anogeissus

with other trees such as Albizzia odoratissima, A. marginata, Eriolaena

hookeriana, Bursera serrata, and Casearia graveolens, shrubs such as

Gymnosporia bailadillana, Grewia tiliifolia, and G. abutilifolia, and the

herbs of Commelina salicifolia, a few members of Cyperaceae near the

watery edges, Alysicarpus, Rhynchosia, Laggera, Leucas, and others.

The common climbers covering the trees are Zizyphus xylopyra, Gnetum

ula, Thunbergia fragrans, and Cryptolepis buchanani. The orchids parti-

cularly species of Saccolabium are very common, epiphytic on the forest

trees. An interesting terrestrial orchid Satyrium nepalense from moist

soil and a member of Charales (algae) Nitella furcata from the bed of a

small tank have also been collected. Several grasses, some of them

growing profusely to nearly 6-8 ft., covering the lower regions of the

Ebul forest have been collected, e.g. Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum, Apocopsis

wightii, Themeda triandra, T. tremula, Cymbopogon martini, and many

others. Carex stramentitia, a member of the family Cyperaceae, collected

from a few places of this region is the first record for south India.

The hilly region towards south-east Gudem along the route to

Sambarikonda with an altitude starting from 2700 ft. is covered with

typical deciduous forest with species of Terminalia, Anogeissus, and

Albizzia, mixed up with trees such as Macaranga peltata, Litsaea

polyantha, Embelia tsjariam-cottam, and others, covered by climbers

such as Aganosma dichotoma, Clematis smilacifolia, Dioscorea glabra,

and also Gnetum ula, which is the most common and robust climber in

this region (Transect Fig. 4). Shrubs like Memecylon gracile, Paramignya

scandens (new record for peninsular India), Grewia glabra, and others,

and herbs such as Plectranthus, Anisomeles, Begonia, Phrynium,

Boehmeria, and many ferns species of Asplenium, Diplazium, Leptochilus,

and grasses such as Microstegium monanthum, Apluda, Oplismenus,

and several others cover the lower regions of the forest. Interesting

collections of Balanophora indica with male and female inflorescences,

and rhizomes and pinnae from the small trees of Angiopteris evecta

were made at an altitude of about 4000 ft. The region above 4000 ft.

in Sambar Hill (Sambarikonda) could not be explored as the upper

part is so steep and rugged that it could not be climbed ordinarily

without any special arrangements. ) |

The region from Gudem to Marripakalu along Gangadevi Ghat

proceeding down from an altitude of about 3700 ft. to 1500 ft.

comprises one of the richest vegetation of the area similar to

Gudem valley, unreserved by the Forest Department and undisturbed

by the hill people. The track runs along the main tributary of Bodda

Revu River flowing down from the Sambar Hill range, and hence the

area is watered well by a network of small streams. At certain spots as

VEGETATION OF THE. RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY. TRACTS 445

in the Gudem valley, the forest is so dense with a dark and humid

atmosphere that it appears to present a primeval almost semi-evergreen

type of vegetation with abundant growth of ferns, including tree ferns

such as Alsophila glabra and A. latebrosa, and orchids, and with

profuse undergrowth of shrubs and herbs and closely developed huge

tall trees covered by lianes and climbers. Besides the common species

of Xylia, Terminalia, and others, which form the dominant plants of the

forest, the other interesting plants observed and collected are Elaeoden-

dron glaucum, Glochidion malabaricum, Canthium dicoccum, Pouteria

tomentosa, Zizyphus glabra, Pimpinella monoica, huge bushes of Calamus

yiminalis, Musa rosacea, tufted grasses like Pennisetum hohenackeri,

Setaria palmifolia, and many others.

Proceeding down from Marripakalu (1324 ft.) to Rayapalle throiigs

Errakonda (1086 ft.) and Chidipalem (906 ft.) typical open deciduous

forest with the common species of Anogeissus, Terminalia, Careya,

Woodfordia, and others covering almost plain region with low hills on

either side has been observed (Transect Fig. 5).

FREQUENCY OF FAMILIES

Although tie collections made in this region are not so exhaustive

as to offer any conclusive remarks, a very fair indication of the

numerical strength of the most important families can be obtained

from an analysis of the collections comprising about 800 species including

cryptogams. The eleven families of Angiosperms with a fairly good

representation of species are listed below, together with the corresponding

sequences of families for the Madras province and for Bihar and

Orissa (the surrounding regions of the area under study) as given in

Gamble’s FLORA OF MADRAS and in Haines’s BOTANY OF BIHAR AND

ORISSA and also for the whole of India as given in Hooker’s

SKETCH OF THE FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA for the sake of comparative

study :

Sequence for Rampa Sequence for Sequence for Bihar Sequence for

~ and Gudem Area. Madras Province. and Orissa Provinces. — India.

Families No. of

species.

-.[. Leguminosae 85 — Leguminosae — Leguminosae — Orchidaceae

II. Gramineae 72 — Gramineae — Gramineae — Leguminosae

Ill. Euphorbiaceae 38 — Rubiaceae — Cyperaceae — Gramineae

IV. Acanthaceae 30 — Acanthaceae — Compositae — Rubiaceae

V. Compositae 30 — Euphorbiaceae — Euphorbiaceae — Euphorbiaceae

VI. Rubiaceae 26 — Orchidaceae — Acanthaceae — Acanthaceae

VII. Orchidaceae 26 — Compositae — Orchidaceae — Compositae

VIII. Malvaceae 21 — Cyperaceae - -—= Rubiaceae — Cyperaceae

IX. Labiatae 20 — -Labiatae — Labiatae — Labiatae

X. Cyperaceae 19 = Asclepiadaceae - — Scrophulariaceae-- Urticaceae

XI. Urticaceae 19

—— —_—=

446 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Convolvulaceae (XII) with 17 species, Commelinaceae (XIII) with

14, Scrophulariaceae (XIV) with 13, and Tiliaceae (XV) with 11 follow

the above sequence. The number of Dicotyledons is almost three

times that of the Monocotyledons, and there is only one species of

Gymnosperm. Comparing the sequence of families for the Rampa

and Gudem Area and for the Madras Province, the most noticeable

changes are the fall of Rubiaceae from third to sixth place, the

advance of Euphorbiaceae from fifth to third, and the securing of

the eighth place by Malvaceae which has no place at all in the sequences

given for the other three regions.

There is quite a good number of plants, which have been collected

for the first time from the Rampa and Gudem Agency tracts and which

were not recorded by Gamble in FLORA OF MADRAS for these areas.

Besides these, there are a few interesting collections given below which

are new records: (I) for the Northern Circars, (II) for the Eastern

Ghats running along the east coast, (III) for the whole of peninsular

India, and (IV) for India.

I. NEw RECORDS FOR THE NORTHERN CIRCARS

Note : Previous records are given after the name of the plant and

its family.

1. Gymnosporia bailadillana Narayanswamy & Mooney. Celas-

traceae.

Bailadila Hill, Bastar & Kalahandi (Mooney).

2. Galactia longifolia Bth. Papilionaceae.

W. Ghats (Gamble) ; Orissa Ghats (Mooney).

3. Jussiea suffruticosa Linn. Onagraceae.

W. Ghats and West Coast (Gamble) ; Orissa (Haines).

4. Flagellaria indica Linn. Flagellariaceae.

Deltaic forests of Mahanadi (Haines).

5. Curculigo recurvata Dryand. Hypoxydaceae.

Forests of Singbhum and Puri (Haines).

6. Bupleurum mucronatum Wt. & Arn. Umbelliferae.

Western Ghats and Nilgiris (Gamble); South Kalahandi

(Mooney).

7. Drymaria cordata Willd. Caryophyllaceae.

W. Ghats from S. Kanara, Mysore (Gamble); Parasnath

(Haines) ; Kalahandi, etc. (Mooney).

8. Abelmoschus cancellatus Wall. Malvaceae.

Chota Nagpur, Santal Parganas, Sambalpur (Haines).

II. New RECORDS FOR THE EASTERN GHATS

1. Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens Hochr. Malvaceae.

Orissa hills (Mooney).

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 447

2. Begonia malabarica Lam. Begoniaceae.

Nigiris, Annamalai, and Pulney hills up to 6000 ft. (Gamble).

3. Ludwigia prostrata Roxb. Onagraceae.

W. Ghats, Annamalais at 2000 ft. in swamps (Gamble) ;

supposed to be in Orissa but not collected (Haines).

4. Schefflera stellata Haines. Araliaceae.

| Nilgiris and Pulneys up to 6000 ft. (Gamble).

5. Balanophora indica Wall. Balanophoraceae.

Nilgiris—Travancore hills up to 5000 ft. (Gamble); Maha-

bleshwar and Khandala (Cooke).

III. RECORDS FOR PENINSULAR INDIA

1. Nervilia crispata Schltr. Orchidaceae.

Sikkim. First collected by Pantling in 1895 from Lachung

valley (7000 ft.), Sikkim and there is only one sheet in Calcutta

Herbarium. Subsequently Narayanaswamy collected it from

Devarakonda (2000 ft.) on 7 October 1920.

IV. New RECORDS FOR INDIA

1. Alocasia decipiens Schott. Araceae.

Burma and the Andamans. This plant was first collected by

Ramaswamy on 8 July 1914 from Rampa hill slopes and was

wrongly identified by Fischer as A. macrorhiza and recorded

as such in the FLORA OF MADRAS.

SUMMARY

The forests of the Rampa and Gudem Agencies located along the

Eastern Ghat ranges of Godavari East and Visakhapatnam districts of

Andhra State (long. 81° 30’-82° 15’ E. and lat. 17°.15’-18° N.) have

been very little explored. The vegetation of this area with an average

rainfall of 45-55 inches can be divided into two major zones: (i) the

Transitional Zone with a mixture of thorny-scrub and dry deciduous

forest types of vegetation (from the 500-foot contour to the 1500-foot

contour), and (ii) the Deciduous Forest Zone (from 1500-foot contour

upwards). The first zone comprises mostly arid, scattered, thorny, scrub

jungle with many xerophytic species. The Deciduous Forest Zone

comprises the dry deciduous forest ranging between 1500-3000 ft.

(450-910 m.) altitude, and the moist-deciduous forest from 3,000

ft. (910 m.) upwards. Xylia-Terminalia - Anogeissus - Dendrocalamus

association predominates in various parts of the region under study.

Most of the hill-tops of the various ranges present, beyond 4000 ft.

(1220 m.) altitude, a characteristic bald appearance with no tree-growth

and are covered by dry weathered rocky boulders, allowing stunted

448 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3) _

growth of a few shrubs and herbs. The Gudem Valley at an altitude of

about 3000-3600 ft. (910- 1070 m.) develops one of the most dense

primeval, unreserved forests of the area with a few pockets of highly

humid, dark corners, presenting almost semi-evergreen type of vegetation

where several Himalayan species of Lycopodium, Gleichenia, Botrychium,

Alsophila, Peperomia, Pygeum, Curculigo, and a few other sub-tropical and

temperate species have been collected. The region along the Ganga-Devi

Ghat also presents similar primeval forests, with patches of almost semi-

evergreen type of vegetation. Occurrence of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis and

essential oil grass species of Cymbopogon in wild condition, covering large

tracts of the hill-slopes, is one of the interesting features of the vegetation

worth studying in detail. Further, there is great possibility for the

development of fruit-growing and other allied industries and also for the

exploitation of various other horticultural resources of these Agency

tracts.

Several species belonging to such distant regions as the Himalayas,

Assam, Burma, and the Andamans have been newly recorded from this

area and this indicates the necessity of exploring vast tracts of India for

the many unknown species and their newer localities. Various aspects

of the region and its vegetation, such as Geology, Climate, Biotic

factors, Vegetable resources of the area, types of forests and their floristic

composition and frequency of families are given in the pepe along with

lists oe new Sago collected.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to express his grateful thanks to Rev. Father

H. Santapau, Ss. J., formerly of the Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta,

for kindly going through the paper and making valuable suggestions and

to Dr. J. C. Sen Gupta, Chief Botanist, Botanical Survey of India, Shri

V. Narayanaswami, formerly of the Botanical Survey of India, and

Dr, V. L. S. Prakasa Rao, University Geography Department, Madras,

for their kind interest and suggestions.

REFERENCES

1. Bhujanga Rao, C. (1954): The im- 6. Gamble, J. S. (1885): Progress

portance of fruit growing and _ allied

industries in the Andhra State. Andhra

Agri.. Jour. 1: 152-156.

2. Cooke, T. (1903-1908): The Flora

of the Presidency of Bombay. Vols. 1-2.

3. Dasaradhi, T. B. (1954): The horti-

cultural resources of the Andhra State.

Andhra Agri. Jour. 1: 146-151.

4. Duthie, J. F. (1903- -1920): Flora of

the Upper Gangetic plain. Vols. be 3.

-- 5, Gamble, J. S. (1884): short

account of the forests of the ore

Forest Circle, Madras Presidency. Ind.

Forester 10: 543- 553.

Report of Forest Administration in the

Northern Division, Madras, for the year

1884-85. 207-331.

(1886): Forest Conser-

vancy in Madras 1884-85. Ind. Forester

12: 299-314.

——— (1915-1936): Flora of

Presidency of Madras. Parts 1-11.

9. Haines, H. H. (1922-25): The

Botany of Bihar and Orissa. Parts 1-6.

10. Hemingway, F. R. (1907) : Madras

District Gazetteer—Godavari, 1-302.

11. Hooker, J.D. (1875- 1897): Flora

"of British India. Vols. l-7 ee

eee ee

VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS 449

12. Hooker, J. D. (1904): A Sketch of

Flora of British India. 1-55.

13. Hora, S. L. et al. (1949): Sym-

posium on Satpura Hypothesis of the

distribution of Malayan Fauna and

Flora to Peninsular India. Proc. Nat.

Inst. Sciences 15: 307-422.

14. Kanjilal, U.N. et al. (1934- 40) :

Flora of Assam.. Vols. 1-5.

15. Khan, A. A. (1954) : The Andhra

Forest. Ind. Forester 80: 753-758.

16. Kurz, S. (1877): Forest Flora of

British Burma, Vols. 1-2.

72 Mooney, H. F. (1944): A List of

Plants recorded from the parts of Ranchi

and Palamau districts and the States

of Jashpur and -Surguja. Jour. Roy.

Asiat. Soc. Bengal 10: 59-118.

18. —— — (1950): Supplement to

the Botany of Bihar and Orissa. 1-294.

19. Parker, R.N. (1918): A Forest

Flora for the Punjab with Hazara and

Delhi.

20. Parkinson, C. E. (1923): A Forest

Flora of the Andaman Islands.

21.4Prain;, D; a: Bengal Plants.

Vols. 1, 2.

- Reports of

22. Puri, G.S. (1949): Physical Geo-

logy and Forest distribution. Sci. and

Cult. 15: 183-186.

23. — — — (1950) : Surface Geology,

Vegetation, and Plant Succession. Ind.

Forester 76: 199-209, 254-262.

24. Ramanadham, V. V. and- Prakasa

Rao, V. L.S. (1949) : Economic Atlas of

Andhra Desa, 1-37.

25. Rama Rao, M. (1914) : Flowering

Plants of Travancore.

26. Ramasomayajulu, M.V. (1954) :

Cape Gooseberry-A promising bush fruit

for the Agency tiacts of the Andhra

State. South Ind. Horticulture 1: 145-147.

27. Santapau, H. (1953): The Flora

of Khandala on the -Western Ghats of

India. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 16: 1-396.

28. Talbot, W. A: (1909-1911): Forest

Flora of the Bombay Presidency and

Sind. Vols. 1-2.

29. Witt, D. O. (1908-1911) : Forest

Flora of the Berar Circle.

30. (1890-1903 and 1907-48) : Annual

the Botanical Survey of

India.

31. (1908) : The Imperial Gazetteer of

India 12: 281-297.

Some Biometrical Observations on the

Common Rats of Bombay

P. J. DEoRAS and M. S. GOKHALE

Haffkine Institute, Bombay

The study of rats in relation to plague epidemiology has been made

for the last many years!,2. Bombay rats have been studied in the past by

the Indian Plague Commission and other workers. Recently, it has been

observed in Bombay that the erstwhile carriers of plague, namely Rattus

rattus and Rattus norvegicus, are becoming immune to plague while the

Lesser Bandicoot or Indian Mole-Rat bandicota bengalensis, normally

an inhabitant of fields, is becoming more susceptible to the disease.

Some significant changes in the percentages of the different species of

Bombay rats collected are also noticeable in recent years.

Considering the present state of affairs an attempt was made in 1954

and 1955 to study the common Bombay rats with special reference to

certain biometrical measurements, breeding seasons, and some morpho-

logical characters which would help in increasing existing knowledge

regarding the general classification of these rodents of Bombay.

A large number of rats (both alive and dead) are received at the

Haffkine Institute daily from different parts of the City for examination.

From this central pool of rats about a dozen (whenever available) were

taken every day for the present investigation. The rats were etherised

before measuring. Body measurements were taken with a measuring

tape. Rings on the tail and vibrissae were actually counted.

For studying the pads and the rings on the paws the specimens were

placed under the binocular microscope. Actual counting of hairs was

done for the density of fur in the particular measured area. The number

of rats used are given in Table I.

Each form of rat in Bombay has its own characteristic percentage in

the rat population. During recent years, a definite shift has been

observed in the percentage of the different forms. Table II gives the

percentage of different rats brought to this Institute during different

years. It will be seen that the percentage of R. norvegicus is more or less

constant, while that of R. rattus shows a definite decrease during

* Hossack, W.C. (1907): An account of Rats of Calcutta. Mem. Ind. Mus.

1: 1-80.

? Reports of Haffkine Institute, 1947 to 1955.

BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE RATS OF BOMBAY 451

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452 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

TABLE II:

SHOWING THE PERCENTAGES OF DIFFERENT RATS RECORDED IN THE RAT

CATCHES BROUGHT TO THE INSTITUTE |

Year R. (LEN c | ite | 7 = penga ae bees ae

1947 38.0 OP es SE 0.2 ee ee 8.0 2.9

1948 | 3) 36.6 + 018.8 31.8 0.4 8.5 3.9

1949 23.3 20.0.1 . \472 04 -|4 o94 5.0

i990 | 23.9 | 1.6 | 393 | 07 11.0 75

1951 j| + 2ta 16.5 36.7 0.8 13.1 11.8

1952 22.6 Whi 38.1 1,0° 3] $93.0 7.6

1953. Ai ez3 16.7 39.9 1.0 14.3 5.8

1954 247 "7,8 - (3810 0.9 13.0 5.6

1955 23.4 17.5 43.9 | 0.7 10.2 4.3

recent years?, Bandicata bengalensis shows a greater increase as com-

pared with R. rattus. This form, originally to be found in fields, is now

coming nearer human habitation. The percentage of B. indica is very

low in the total population. Mus musculus and Suncus murinus show a

slightly increased percentage in recent years.

Table III summarises the observations made on the weight, length of

body, length of tail, head, ear, number and characteristics of rings on

tail, number of vibrissae, nature of fur on the body, number of mammary

glands, structure of paws, droppings, and other characteristics. It is

intended to serve the general public as a handy guide for identifying

Bombay rats ; therefore, details are omitted. Biometrical observations

help in giving definite information as regards the measurements of

different body parts in the various species. Study of fur is important

from the point of host specificity. Ectoparasites, especially fleas, like a

fur of thick density and of a texture that will suit their movements on the

host’s body. R. rattus; which carries the largest number of fleas, has fur

of thick density and of smooth texture. But the fur is comparatively

thin in the case of R. norvegicus which carries a smaller number of

fleas. Fur of B. bengalensis is of harsh texture and thick density ;

B. bengalensis carries more Xenopsylla astia than X. cheopis.* It appears

that X. astia likes fur of thick density and harsh texture while X. cheopis

1 Report of Haftkine Institute, 1947. to 1955.

2 Deoras, P. J. and Tonpi, K. V. (1956) : The Journal of Bombay University 25

(B)r213.0

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BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE RATS OF BOMBAY 455

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SOME DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE COMMON RATS OF BOMBAY

No.

10.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Character |

Head and

snout ..

Rings on tail ..

Ears

Mammary

glands

Fur

Between fore

legs 5

Between hind

legs

dorsal

Posterior

dorsal

No. of pads on

forepaws

|Shape and ave-

| rage weight

of faecal

| pellets

Noise

The month

when more

pregnant fe-

| males were

| Soft blackish brown

. | 0.0521 gm.

379.8 per sq. cm.

343.3 do. |

388.4 do.

366.3 do. |

5 on tips of digits,

3 interdigital,

1 hypothenar, |

1 thenar

Scattered,

sausage-shaped,

Chew-Chew

June to August

received,

Soft, brownish,

white on belly

348.2 per sq. cm.

332.6 do.

367.6 do.

5 on tips of digits,

3 interdigital,

1 hypothenar,

1 thenar

In groups,

spindle-shaped,

0.0808 gm.

Squeaks

July to August

Thick, round, black- | Very thick, coarse,| Fine short hairs, | Smooth

ish brown, promi- |

spines|

nent

present

412.5 per sq. cm.

396.2 do.

431.3 do.

406.4 do.

5 on tips of digits,

3 interdigital,

1 hypothenar,

1 thenar

Scattered, oval,

0.0417 gm.

Grunts

July to August

dark brown,

long spines

436 persq.cm.

| 420.5 do.

| 443.5 do.

415.1 do.

5 on tips of digits,

3 interdigital,

1 hypothenar,

1 thenar

| Scattered, big

| spindles,

| 0.064 gm.

Khur-Khur

smooth in tex-

ture

159.1 per sq. cm.

141.2 do.

172.7 do.

146.3 do.

5 on tips of digits,

3 interdigital,

1 hypothenar,

1 thenar

Fine spindles,

0.0212 gm.

Chur-chur

R. rattus R. norvegicus B. bengalensis B. indica M. musculus S. murinus

3.54 cm. 4-4.2 cm. 4.5-4.7 cm. 5-5.4cm. 2-2.3 cm. 3-3.4 cm.

Short, long and} Wide and sharp Short, stumpy, Broad, slightly} Small in size Less broad.

sharp Pig-like longish Pointed

snout

225—240 rings, 165-170 rings, 160-170 rings, 230-240 rings, 35-40 rings, | No rings.

well marked faintly marked clearly seen. not clear not very clear. Small, very

\ Scaly tail fine hairs.

| 2.4-2.5 cm. |2.0-2.2 cm. 2.5-2.6 cm. 2.5-2.8 cm. | 1.1-1.3 cm. 0.5 cm.

Translucent. No} Opaqueandthick.| Thick andopaque} Short and| Smallandtrans-| Very small

hairs. Ears Ears do not opaque. Ears | lucent and of a

reach the eye reach the eyes do not reach rounded ,

when stretched | the eyes. shape like |

| forward a human

| ear

5 pairs, 6 pairs, 9 pairs, 10 pairs, 4 pairs, 3 pairs,

2 pectoral, 2 pectoral, 2 pectoral, 3 pectoral, 1 pectoral, 0 pectoral,

3 inguinal 4 inguinal 7 inguinal 7 inguinal 3 inguinal 3 inguinal

grey,

faint on belly

127.7 persq.cm.

113.3. do.

| 146.3 do.

124.6 do.

5 on tips of

digits,

4 interdigital,

1 hypothenar,

1 thenar

Scattered,

small,

longish,

0.0258 gm.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

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BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE RATS OF BOMBAY 457

TABLE V

AVERAGE No. OF EMBRYOS PER LITTER

(Average of 45 rats)

coated (alg dale

R. rattus 6 8

R. norvegicus 6 8

B. bengalensis 8 | 10

B. indica 10 12

M. musculus 2 4

S. murinus 2 4

prefers fur of thick density and smooth texture such as is found on

R. rattus. Fleas are seen more in the region between the limbs. It may

be that in this region they can conceal themselves more effectively, and

or the skin is more suitable for making an incision.

Burrowing habits differ with different rats. B. bengalensis and

B. indica are the most important burrowers. The House Rat, R. rattus,

if left in an enclosed place, tries all ways and means of escape and, if it

fails, then only does it take to burrowing. Field rats, or bandicoots on

the other hand, start burrowing as soon as they are let loose. Burrows

made by them are generally ‘W’ shaped. The breeding season varies

from place to place, depending upon the climate. Bombay rats breed

more during the months July to September. A proper study of the habits

of rats tells us when they breed at their maximum during the year,

knowledge that helps in drawing up a control programme.

The following are some general observations on the different rats

found in the local collections.*

Rattus rattus (Linnaeus): The House Rat

A very common rodent in Bombay. A clean, neat-living creature.

It is a small and slender animal of elegant build. Muzzle sharp ; ears

almost naked and translucent and so large as to cover the eyes comple-

tely when turned forwards ; tail slender, often considerably longer than

the head and body together. Head more long than broad. Fur brownish,

paler on the belly ; spines not present in the fur.

*The nomenclature is according to Ellerman, J. R. and Morrison-Scott, T.C.S.

(1951) : CHECKLIST OF PALAEARCTIC AND INDIAN MAMMALS 1758 to 1946 Brit. Mus.

(Nat. Hist.)

458 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

In Bombay this is essentially a house rat. It is so confiding that it

may almost be said to be domesticated. It takes up its abode in human

dwellings and even breeds in living rooms amongst little disturbed

accumulations of rubbish. Although typically a climbing rat, it is also

able to burrow. R. rattus appears to be more particular in its choice

of food than the other forms. The proportion of R. rattus trapped

increases in grain and seed godowns, and diminishes in non-food

godowns.

Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) : The Brown or Drain Rat

This rat lacks the elegant build of Rattus rattus. It has a longer

and sharper snout, small ears, less bristly fur, and a more hairy

bi-coloured tail. The tail is shorter than the head and body together.

Colour of the fur brownish grey on the back and lighter grey on the

belly. Feet large, heavy, and flesh-coloured..

As is well known, this is a rat which lives for the most part outside

houses. It is found in Bombay City where drains and sewage exist,

but it has also been noticed in houses to a certain extent. It feeds on

garbage of any kind. R. norvegicus is shy and timid in manner,

shunning the society of man but living upon the refuse he leaves. This

rat shows a remarkable power of burrowing, gnawing through such hard

material as bricks and cement ; it is also a good climber.

Bandicota bengalensis (Gray & Hardwicke): The Lesser Bandicoot or

Indian Mole-Rat

This is the third form which adds to the rat population of Bombay.

In the past its occurrence was overlooked owing to its superficial resem-

blance to R. norvegicus. Bandicota bengalensis is an animal of heavy

build, with a short, stumpy, pig-like face, broad forehead, large ears,

rough bristly fur, and a short, comparatively hairless tail. The tail

is shorter than the head and body together, having well marked rings.

Bandicota indica (Bechstein) : The Large Bandicoot Rat

Another member of Bombay’s rat population, but rather scarce. This

rat is a very heavily built and ferocious-looking animal. The muzzle is

similar to that of Rattus norvegicus, but stouter in size. The tail is

shorter or nearly equal to the head and body together. The fur is

greyish brown in general, but light grey on the sides. There are long

spines on the body which stand out when the animal is enraged.

The damage caused to agriculture godowns due to this rat is

considerable. It has big powerful teeth and is a good burrower.

Mus musculus Linnaeus: The House Mouse

The fifth common rat of Bombay, is a small animal looking like a

miniature R. rattus with a notch on its upper incisors. Its body is

BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE RATS OF BOMBAY 459

clothed with fine fur having a brownish colour. _The tail is almost as

long as the combined length of head and body. The percentage of

this formis not large in the collections, but it is destructive to household

material.

Suncus murinus (Linnaeus): The Grey Musk Shrew

Actually this is a rat-like insectivore, not a rodent at all, found near

human habitation. It is an ugly looking, grey, soft-furred creature,

with a pointed snout, and tiny eyes. The tail is short and pointed, ears

small and of a very peculiar rounded shape rather like human ears. It

eats baby rats, mice, frogs, and insects. It is often found inside houses

and is never affected by plague.

The Biology of the Weevil

Alcidodes mysticus Faust

(Coleoptera: Curculionidae)’

T. R. SUBRAMANIAN, M.SC.

Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore

(With two plates)

INTRODUCTION

The weevil Alcidodes mysticus Faust was first noticed by the

author attacking a variety of cotton known as Sea-island cotton

(Gossypium barbadense) at Pattambi (south Malabar) early in

October 1951. This variety, cultivated on a few islands in the West

Indies, is considered to be the world’s finest and costliest cotton.

It was then newly introduced on the west coast of Madras State by

the Madras Agricultural Department for experimental purposes. ‘The

occurrence of this weevil was noted immediately after the introduc-

tion of this cotton in the locality. It was unrecorded here previously.

The grubs of the weevil were found to bore the stem, making the plants

stunted in growth and reducing their yield considerably. The flowers

dropped off in large numbers during the flowering period as a result

of the damage done by this insect. Literature shows no reference to

the biology or occurrence of this weevil in a pest form previously in

India or elsewhere and this appears to be the first record of such.

In view of this circumstance and of the seriousness of the pest on

the newly introduced cotton, a detailed study of its biology was made

by the author, and the results are presented in this paper.

HISTORY AND SYSTEMATIC POSITION

Alcidodes mysticus Faust belongs to the subfamily Alcidodinae of

the family Curculionidae. The species was first described by Faust

in 1894 from specimens collected in Burma. Later Heller (1911)

gave a short description of the same species. As far as the author

is aware, there appears to be no other reference to this species until

1953 when Tirumal Rao mentioned its discovery by the author

1 Part of thesis submitted for the M.Sc. degree of Madras University.

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 461

in a pest form on cotton at Pattambi. The author (1957) has given

a short account of its occurrence at Pattambi.

DISTRIBUTION

The weevil has been collected previously from Pusa and Chapra

(Bihar) and from Saidapet (Madras) as seen from the labels of speci-

mens in the National Pusa collections. At present its distribution in

south India is known to be only south Malabar, where for the first

time it has been found as a pest. In his original description Faust

mentions the place of collection as Burma.

Host PLANTS

On the specimens in the National Pusa collections the host

mentioned is cotton. At Pattambi the weevil was noted attacking

the varieties of cotton known as Sea-island (Gossypium barbadense),

Cambodia CO2 (Gossypium hirsutum), and also the hybrid of these

two cottons. A vigorous search was made for alternate hosts

of this weevil in the surrounding places near Pattambi. Although

it was not found breeding on any other plant, a few adults were

collected on Urena lobata L., Urena sinuata L., and Malvastrum

coromandelianum G.

NATURE AND SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE

The adult weevils feed on leaf buds, petioles, and tender

terminal portions. They make small pits during the process of

feeding and egg-laying on tender shoots. The damage done by the

adults is very insignificant. It is the grubs that do serious damage

to the crop by boring the stem and petioles. The adult weevils

lay eggs in petioles of leaves and at the terminal portions. The grubs

that hatch out bore into the petiole and gradually reach the main

stem, and from there they bore downwards. At frequent intervals

the grubs make exit holes at the sides of the stem and petiole to

send out the frass. A large number of grubs bore the stem and

feed on the contents, causing a stunted growth of the crop. In the

early stages of the crop the attack can be made out by the wilting

of tender leaves which in course of time gradually dry and fall off.

In an infested field during the earlier stages of the crop a large

number of plants with such wilted and drooping leaves can be seen.

In a later stage the attack can be easily made out by the presence of

small exit holes in the stem and petioles plugged with brownish

powdery frass. Attacked plants look stunted and sickly. At the

flowering stage, a number of flowers drop off reducing the yield

considerably. A single attacked plant may harbour as many as 16

462 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

grubs. In one single plant about 27 grubs were collected in November

1952. In severe attack more than 80% of the plants were found

infested with the insect. A loss to the extent of 12 to 15% in the

yield was noted due to the damage of this weevil at Pattambi.

LIFE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIOUS STAGES

There is no literature on the biology and life-history of this weevil.

Hence the detailed life-history was studied for the first time in the

years 1951 and 1952 by the author.

The entire life-history is completed on the plant itself.

Copulation. The weevil is very rarely seen in copulation in

the field. However, they were found freely copulating under labora-

tory conditions. The copulation in several cases was found to last

for 20 to 30 minutes. The time from emergence to copulation

varied with individuals and the minimum period was noted to be

three days and the maximum six days. Several males were observed:

to copulate with the same female during the course of the day.

Pre-oviposition period, period of oviposition

and fecundity. The pre-oviposition period was found to vary

from 8 days to 14 days with an average of 10.4 days for 25 individuals.

The weevils were found to lay very few eggs in captivity. The

maximum of eggs laid was 38 in the course of 33 days. The daily range

was found to be 1 to 3 eggs. The period of oviposition was noted

33 days. The total number of eggs laid varied from 9 to 38 with an

average of 20. Under field conditions probably the rate of egg lay-

ing may be higher.

Place and method of oviposition. Eggs are usually

laid at the tender terminal portions of the plant and under the leaf

petioles; sometimes also on the thick veins of big leaves. The weevil

makes excavations, the depth of which is as long as the rostrum, and

lays eggs in them. In very many cases it was found that three such

excavations were made close to each other at a particular place, and

that in all cases only the centre one contained the eggs. As a rule

only one egg is laid in an excavation, and in no case were two eggs

noticed in a single hole. After finishing egg-laying the hole was

covered with the material that was scooped out by the weevil. The

time taken for laying a single egg was noted, in several cases, to

range from 15 to 18 minutes.

EGG

Pale white, chorion smooth, glossy, broadly oval. A freshly laid

egg measures on an average 0.99 mm. in length and 0.59 mm. in

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I

ALCIDODES MYSTICUS Fst.

1¢

Fig. 1. Adult ; 2. Side view of head; 3. Antenna: 4. Front femur and tibia; 5. Tarsus ;

6. Maxilla (adult) ; 7. Labium (adult) ; 8. Mandible; 9. Grub ; 10. Mandible (grub) ; 11. Spiracle

(grub); 12. Head capsule (grub); 13. Maxilla and Labium (grub); 14. Labrum (grub) ;

15. Epipharynx (grub); 16. Pupa (dorsal and ventral views).

PLATE II

Fig. 2. Infested Stems

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Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 463

width, the length ranging from 0.96 to 1.1 mm. and width from 0.56 to

0.61 mm. Newly laid eggs are white, fragile, while older eggs are

harder with brittle chorion. As it develops the egg swells up slightly

and the brown mandibles of the embryo become visible after three

days. No change in colour is noted until hatching.

Incubation period. Under laboratory conditions when the

average maximum and minimum temperatures and humidity were

87.2° F., 78.1° F., and 77.6% respectively, the incubation period of

50 eggs was found to vary from 6 to 7 days, with an average of 6.5

days.

GRUB

The number of the larval instars, the moulting activities, and the

duration of each instar were studied in detail. The grub was noted to

pass through eight instars in the laboratory. The description and

duration of each instar with reference to 25 individuals are given

below. There is not much difference in general characters between

these instars, except in the measurements of the body and head

which vary, and also a slight change in the coloration of the head

capsule.

First instar: Length of body 1 to 1.5 mm.; width 0.55 mm.;

length of head 0.45 mm.; width 0.45 mm.

Colour pale yellow. Body curved and sparsely baset with hairs;

slightly broader anteriorly. Apodous. Head pale brown, smooth;

frons with a small median dark line on the posterior end; mandibles

dark brown and prominent and bifid.

The duration of the first instar was found to be six days for all

the individuals.

Second instar: Length of body 1.8 to 2.2 mm.; width 0.75

mm.; length of the head 0.58 mm.; width 0.53 mm. Characters

similar to previous instar.

The duration of the second instar varied from 6 to 7 days with

an average of 6.1 days.

ina wnstar. Cencth of body 2:5 to> 3.2. mm-.;° width 0:8

mm.; length of head 0.72 mm.; width 0.63 mm. Head light brown,

smooth. Pronotum pale testaceous. Other characters similar to the

previous instar.

The duration of this instar varied from 6 to 7 days with an average

of 6.1 days.

Fourth instar: Length of body 3.5 to 4.5 mm.; width

0.8 mm.; length of head 0.84 mm.; width 0.78 mm. Colour pale

yellow as in previous instars. Head deep brown and finely punctate.

464 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 C)

Prothorax testaceous brown. Other characters similar to the previous

instar.

Fifth instar: Length of body 4.5 to 5.0 mm.: width 1.2

mm.; length of head 1.1 mm.; width 0.92 mm. General characters

similar to fourth instar. :

The duration of the fourth and fifth instars varied from 6 to 7

days with an average of 6.3 days.

Sixth instar: Length of the body 5.0 to 5.5 mm.; width 2.0 mm.:

fength of head 1.26 mm.; width 1.15 mm. Colour as in previous instars.

Head dark castaneous and coarsely pitted. The testaceous colour

of the prothorax is very distinct.

The duration of this instar varied from 6 to 7 days with an average

of 6.4 days.

Seventh instar: Length of body 5.5 to. 7.0 . mm: width

2.0 mm.; length of head 1.4 mm.; width 1.34 mm. Colour creamy

yellow. Head dark castaneous, coarsely pitted. The tesiaceous colour

of pronotum very prominent. Other characters similar to previous

instars.

The duration of this instar varied from 6 to 8 days with an

average of 6.9 days.

Eighth instar: (Full-grown grub).

Length of body 7.5 to 10 mm.; width 2.4 mm.; length of head

2.1 mm.; width 1.50 mm. ,

Larva apodous. Colour creamy yellow. Body stout, cylindrical,

moderately curved and wrinkled. Head capsule chitinised, dark

castaneous, entire mouth frame and mandibles much darker, subcir-

cular, length slightly exceeding width, surface deeply pitted; cheeks

broadly rounded. Epicranial suture distinct, slightly exceeding half

cranial length. Frontal sutures distinct, each arm slightly exceeding

epicranial suture in length, sinuate; each side of epicranium provided

with seven setae. Frons sub-triangular with some transverse sculpture

on the surface and a dark streak on the posterior end which extends

forward to about one-fourth length of frons, one and one-fourth times

as broad as long, length equal to epicranial suture; provided with

five pairs of setae. Ocellus one pair on each side along with a

smaller posterior spot. Antenna small, two jointed, apical segment

conical and longer than wide. Clypeus about twice as wide as long

with two pairs of setae on the posterior margin. Jabrum transverse,

length about half of width and three-fourths of clypeus, posterior

margin prolonged into clypeal zone, upper surface carrying three

pairs of setae, the median pair longest. Epipharynx with a pair of

slender and slightly converging rods which extend into the clypeal,

zone, the anterior margin with six median setae and three lateral

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 465

setae on each side; between the rods are two pairs of small setae, the

anterior pair much stouter and more widely separated than the posterior

pair; in addition a pair of tripartite pores are found between the

rods. Mandibles strong, subtriangular, bluntly bidentate, shorter than

basal width and dark brown in colour. Maxillae elongate, terminated

by a two jointed palpus and a setose lacinia; Cardo smooth; stipes

longer than broad with a basal latero-ventral setae and two setae

in the palpiferous region; palpus two jointed, basal joint as long as

wide and twice as long as the apical joint with a pair of sensory pores.

The apical joint is one and a half times longer than wide and

provided with one small sensory pore at the base and small sensory

pegs at the tip; mala simple, with 9 to 10 long dagger-like setae

and another small seta at the posterior end. Labium as long as wide,

posteriorly limited by a Y-shaped chitinised band and with one pair

of long setae on each labial stipe; palpus two jointed each with one

small sensory pore, basal joint slightly wider than long, apical one

equal in length to the basal joint and one and half times longer than

broad and provided with sensory pegs; ligula with two pairs of setae

anteriorly; subfascial area entire with three setae on each side.

Thorax. Prothorax strongly transverse, dorsally not divided

but the two areas prescutal and scutal are roughly indicated by rows

of setae; pronotum testaceous brown. Meso- and meta-thoracic region

divisible into two distinct areas dorsally, namely prescutum and scuto-

scutellum; the prescutum provided with two small setae and scuto-

scutellum with four setae in a straight line. Pedal lobes prominent

and provided with four or five hairs.

Abdomen. Ten-segmented, segments 1 to 8 similar in shape and

size with three distinct transverse folds namely prescutum, scutum, and

scutellum; a weakly formed inter-segmental fold is also visible. The

prescutum is provided with one pair of setae, scutum with one tiny

seta, scutellum with four setae in a row; alar area provided with

two setae. Each epipleural lobe of abdomen is provided with a

single seta and each hypopleural lobe with two setae; the last two

abdominal segments simple with a number of setae. Spiracles

present, one between pro- and meso-thorax and eight in the abdominal

segments 1 to 8 on each lateral side, size moderate, circular, air

tubes irregular and short and do not project far beyond peritreme,

posterior spiracles placed more dorsally.

The duration of the eighth instar varied from 6 to 8 days with an

average of 6.9 days.

The total larval period for the 25 individuals varied from 48

days to 52 days with an average of 50.5 days in the laboratory.

466 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Larval habits. Soon after hatching the grub _ starts

feeding on the tissue immediately around the hole in which the

egg was laid. Then it starts boring downwards in the case of the

main stem, whereas if the egg is laid in petioles, the grub starts

horing the petiole and gradually reaches the nodal region from where

it travels downwards into the main stem. It makes, at intervals, small

exit holes on the petiole and stem as it advances. The distance

varies between each hole, usually being shorter at the beginning

and gradually increasing as the grub advances in growth. Through

these holes it throws out the frass. By nature the grub is very

sluggish. Before pupation it prepares a small cavity inside the stem,

just bigger than the length of the pupa.

PREPUPA

This stage is characterised by the shortening of the grub in length,

and the slight swelling in the thoracic region. The length of this

stage is about 8.9 mm., and the period lasts for about 48 hours.

PUPA

Average length of the body 8.9 mm.; width 2.5 mm.

General colour creamy yellow, but turns still darker before its

transformation into adult. Body soft, beset with moderately long

hairs which are concolorous with the body. Head as long as broad,

and provided with five pairs of setae originating from minute tubercle

as follows: one pair near the base, two pairs immediately behind the

eyes, and two tiny pairs between the eyes. Rostrum about one-fourth

total length of body and three times as long as its greatest width,

pressed against thoracic sterna, bears two pairs of setae in small

tubercles, the posterior pair close to the eyes, and the anterior pair

between the position where the scape is inserted. Antennae geniculate,

concolorous with the body, with-indistinct segments, inserted in the

middle of the snout.

Prothorax occupies one-fifth total length of the body. about one

and a half times as wide as long, provided with nine pairs of setae

raised on tubercles consisting of two anterior pairs, three median pairs,

and four posterior pairs. Mesothorax half as long as _ prothorax;

width about twice its length; bears two pairs of setae. Metathorax

one and a half times as long as broad, and provided with three pairs

of small setae. |

Abdomen twice longer than broad, nine segmented; segments 1-8

have dorsally a transverse row of six pairs of setae on small tubercles

on the posterior margin which consists of two median pairs, four

lateral pairs; in addition one pair on the pleural region. The ninth

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 467

segment is provided with a pair of slender, pointed, curved pleural

process.

Pupation takes place inside the larval burrow in the stem. The

duration of the pupal stage varied from 9 to 11 days with an average’

of 10.4 days for 25 individuals.

The total life cycle from egg to adult for this weevil varied from

64 to 70 days with an average of 68.4 days.

ADULT

The original description of the adult by Faust (1894) is as follows:

‘Elongatus, subcylindricus niger; fronte rostro parum angustiori,

medio foveola abbreviata impressa, antice carinulato rostro subrecto,

basi densius fortiterque punctato; prothorace latitudine nonnihil

breviore, basi profunde bisinuato, apice subtruncato, lobis ocularibus'

rotundato-productis,, basin versus subparallelo; antice sinuato

angustato, supralongitudinaliter convexo, minute granulato; elytris

prothorace haud latioribus, fasciis duabus transversis abbreviatis

cinereosquamosis, a basi usque ad fasciam secundam striato-fovegc

jatis, interstitiis angustis irregulariter punctatis pectore rugosepunctato

hinc inde granulis parvis immixtis. Long 7-10, lat 2-2.6 mm. Bhamo.’

Since Faust’s original description is brief, and based on only a

very few specimens, the species is redescribed here in greater detail

based on a larger number of male and female specimens collected.

Female

Form subcylindrical, integument piceous, not very densely

clothed with small pale scales, more or less dusted with rust red

powder. Elytra with pale markings formed of small short greyish

white plumose scales, one small patch just beyond the middle

extending from stria 3; another narrow oblique and extending from

the suture to the lateral margin just above the apical region and in

addition an indefinite preapical band which is broadly interrupted on the

suture. :

Head closely punctate, a little broader than long; forehead with a

shallow median fovea, and with an impressed line round the upper

edge of each eye. Rostrum elongate, subcylindrical, shorter than front

femur, longer and slender, slightly widened at the insertion of the

antennae and again at the apex; coarsely punctate at the basal half,

but much finner apically. Mandibles dark brown, tridentate, as long as

broad. Maxillae elongated, freely exposed; palpus three segmented,

segment 1 twice as broad as long, 2 about twice as broad as long,

apical segment half as long as basal segments and as long as broad,

small and bluntly conical; palpifer stout, longer than broad, as long,

468 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

as the first two segments of palpus; stipes as long as first segment

of palpus; cardo stout and curved posteriorly, as long as all the three

segments of palpus put together; lacinia with prominent bristles and

lacinial teeth. Labium with three segmented palpi, segment 1 longer

than broad, 2 about twice longer than broad, 3 very small, length half

of segment 2 and twice longer than broad. Mentum stout, twice

longer than broad. Submentum pedunculate. Antennae inserted in

the middle; the scape as long as funicle which is 7 jointed, joint 1 as

long as 2 plus 3, 3 to 6 bead like and transverse, 7 as long as the first

two segments of club; club conical, twice as long as broad, 4 seg-

mented and covered with grey hairs.

Prothorax broader than long, widest at the base, subconical,

parallel sided from the base to the middle, roundly narrowed and

broadly constricted at the apex; the post ocular lobes rather feeble, the

dorsal outline slightly convex, the whole prothorax being tilted upwards

anteriorly; dorsum set throughout with separated and much flattened

granules except the apical area which is closely and shallowly punctate;

Scutellum small not enclosed in front, pyriform, broadest behind, bare

and with a shallow median impression. Flytra cylindrical, not

broader at the shoulders than the prothorax, with a broad shallow

transverse impression at the base behind scutellum; about three and

half times longer than broad, apices separately rounded; striae con-

taining large deep punctures each containing a seta but most of them

more or less filled up with scaling or powdering, which are reduced

behind the narrow pale band, intervals rather narrower than striae,

rugosely punctate with small setiform scales. Hindwings about four

times as long as broad, hyaline with light brown veins. Legs dark

piceous with coarse shallow punctures each of which contains a scale;

the front femora with an elongated vertical tooth in the middle and

three indistinct denticulations in front of it, that on the posterior ones

having only one simple tooth; the front tibiae gently curved externally

and with an obtuse-angled tooth behind the middle and a sharp

prominent tooth at the apex, the posterior ones with a tooth only at

the apex, tarsi four segmented, joint 3 bilobed, 4 curved and ends

in four small spines; the hind pair of legs distinctly smaller than the

other two. Sternum with front intercoxal space narrower than

median one, the sculpturing of the metasternum concealed by the

scaling. Abdomen about one and half times longer than broad, sur-

face reticulate and covered with minute hairs.

Measurements (in millimetres): Length of body with rostrum 9.2,

width 2.2, rostrum 2.1, antenna 1.8; prothorax 1.9, width 2.2; elytra

5.1, width 1.5; hind wing 6.8, width 1.8; abdomen .2.7, width 1.8

(average of 25 specimens).

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 469

Male

The male is similar in general characters to female. Differences

are found only in the following: the rostrum of male is short and

more stout, and further coarsely punctate throughout; average size

of male is shorter than female.

Measurements (in millimetres): Length of body 8.8, width 1.9;

rostrum 1.8; antennae 1.5; prothorax 1.6, width 1.9; elytra 3.5, width

1.2; hind wing 5.2, width 1.4; abdomen 2.1, width 1.4 (average of 25).

EMERGENCE

The adults emerge through the holes made by the full-grown

grubs on the stem before pupation. As soon as they emerge they

are very soft and delicate but get hardened in one or two days.

HABITS

The adults are generally less active. They are often found clinging

to the terminal branches, especially at the axils of leaves in the fields.

If approached they try to hide beneath the leaves and a slight dis-

turbance makes them fall down and feign death and in this posture

they remain for about 20 te 30 minutes. They are rarely seen in the

field in copulation. They feed on tender portions of the stem. Though

provided with fully developed wings they are not often found to fly

from place to place.

LONGEVITY

The length of life of adults of both males and females were studied

under laboratory conditions with and without food taking 25 indi-

viduals under each sex. The length of life of both the sexes was

short under captivity. Unlike in the case of a number of other

weevils this weevil was found to die soon under captivity. The

duration of life with food varied from 8 to 37 days with an average

of 23.2 days in the case of males, and 15 to 38 days with an average

of 23.0 days in the case of females. Without food it varied from

4 to 12 days with an average of 6.6 days for females, and 3 to 13 days

with an average of 6.3 days for males.

SEX RATIO

The exact sex ratio has not been ascertained but throughout the

period of the investigation individuals of both sexes were available

in large numbers and males were roughly as numerous as the females.

470 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

NATURAL ENEMIES

During the course of this study a few grubs were found to be

parasitised by the Braconid Bracon greeni Ash. in the field. The

parasitism was, however, very low. This was the only parasite noted

during the study. Apart from this, the small red ants Solenopsis sp.

were found to enter through the exit holes on the stem and destroy

the grubs in a few plants.

SEASONAL HISTORY

The seasonal history of this weevil was studied at Pattambi. The

Sea-island cotton is sown in mid-June at the break of monsoon, and

removed by the end of December. Only one generation of the weevil

was noted during this period. The egg laying commences by the

end of July and continues up to October (maximum in August and

September). The adults emerge towards the end of November and

in December. The small and medium sized grubs are seen from the

middle of August to the end of October, and the full-grown grubs and

pupae in November. Most of the adults emerge by the middle of

December. The weevils continue to feed as long as the twigs are

green but when the crop is pulled out, they enter into hibernation

and remain in that condition up to the end of June. They have been

found hibernating in all sorts of locations—beneath debris. under

bark of trees and on shoots of other wild plants like Urena lobata and

Urena sinuata. Mortality during hibernation is high. Early in July

the weevils emerge from hibernation, and start egg laying and feeding

during the middle of July on the cotton.

In 1951 the crop was left in the field after picking was over in

December as a ratoon crop. In this case a second generation of

the weevil was noted from May to August 1952 affecting the ratoon

crop. Egg laying was noted in fresh shoots which developed in May

after the receipt of summer showers. The second generation adults

emerged in the middle of July and early in August, which in turn

attacked the newly raised main season crop.

INTENSITY OF ATTACK ON DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COTTON AT

PATTAMBI

Observations were made on the intensity of damage done to four

varieties of cotton, namely Sea-island, Cambodia CO2, Hybrid of

Sea-island x Cambodia, and Moco, in the year 1952. Under each

variety a plot of equal area was marked out in the field and the

number of infested and healthy plants were recorded in each month

from September to December. The details are furnished in the

following table:

THE BIOLOGY OF ALCIDODES MYSTICUS F. 471

Infestation of Alcidodes mysticus F. on different varieties of cotton at

Pattambi during the year 1952

a a

Total number of plants infested |

during |

Name of the No. of plants %

variety in the plot 5 eo | “Infestation

| Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec.

1. Sea-island 212 68 94 eee GT aa e SZ | 85.8

2. Hybrid of CO2 and |

Sea-island | 216 63 87 142 160 74,1

3. Cambodia CO2 232 31 52) 98 134 She

4. Moco | 178 — 8 24 32 18.0

It was found that the infestation was more on Sea-island and the

hybrid Sea-islandxCO2 cottons the percentage of attack being 85.8

and 74.1 respectively. The next variety that showed high infestation

was Cambodia CO2, the percentage being 57.7. Moco showed the

least incidence the percentage being only 18.0. This indicates thati

Sea-island cotton is more susceptible to the attack of this weevil than

other varieties.

SUMMARY

The weevil Alcidodes mysticus Faust is recorded for the first

time as a pest in India. It attacks a variety of cotton known as

Sea-island cotton at Pattambi (south Malabar) where the crop has

been recently introduced by the Madras Agricultural Department.

The grubs of the weevil bore the stem of the plant with the result the

crop becomes stunted in growth and the yield is also considerably

affected.

The detailed life history and various aspects of its biology were

studied. The weevil lays eggs in excavations made on terminal shoots

and leaf petioles. Eggs are laid in 8 to 13 days after emergence. The

period of different stages of the weevil are found to be 6 to 7 days

for egg, 48 to 52 days for larva, and 9 to 11 days for pupa. The

duration of adult life in captivity varies from 8 to 37 days for males

and from 15 to 38 days for females. This weevil has a very poor

egg laying capacity in captivity, the maximum eggs laid being only

38. The period of oviposition is also very short being only 33 days.

The grubs have the peculiar habit of making exit holes at the sides of

the stem to throw out the frass.

The weevil attacks apart from Sea-island cotton, other varieties

of cotton also, namely Cambodia CO2, and hybrid Sea-island x

re]

472 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Cambodia CO2, though Sea-island is the more susceptible. Adults

have been collected on other plants like Urena lobata, Urena sinuata,

and Malvastrum coromandelianum.

The grubs are parasitised by a Braconid Bracon greeni Ash, the

parasitism being very low in fields. The ‘seasonal history has been

fully described; there is only one generation in the crop of Sea-island

cotton at Pattambi.

* ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is indebted to Shri K. P. Ananthanarayanan, M.A.,

retired entomologist, Coimbatore, for his guidance and suggestions

in this study. He also wishes to express his grateful thanks to Dr.

Guy A. K. Marshall, British Museum, London, and the Head of the

Division of Entomology, LA.R.I.. New Delhi, for kindly confirm-

ing the identity of the weevil. His sincere thanks are also due to

Mr. Eric Gowing Scopes, Kent, for furnishing the original description

and reference pertaining to this species, and to Mr. Van Emden,

British Museum, London, for giving valuable advice in the study of

larva.

He is also indebted to the Cotton Specialist and the Assistant

Cotton Specialist, Winter Cambodia Scheme, Coimbatore, and the

Superintendent, Agricultural Research Station, Pattambi, for giving

facilities for taking up this study.

REFERENCES

Faust, J. (1894): Alcidodes mysticus. Subramanian, T. R. (1957): Insects

Ann. Mus. Nat. Genova 14 (34): 246. affecting Sea-island cotton in Malabar.

Heller, K. M. (1911): Eine neue Madras. agric. J. 44 (3) : 97.

Alcides Art als Plantagen Schadling. Tirumal Rao, V. -T. (1953): Some

Deutch. ent. Z. Berlin: 314. new records on pest incidence in Madras

State. Indian. J. ent. 40 (1) : 52.

Catla Fishing in Powai Lake,

Greater Bombay

F. R. GOLDSCHMIDT

(With five text figures)

To anglers, who would like to specialise in Catla fishing, I am

giving my views for what they are worth. They are based on

personal experience over 12 years, but restricted to Powai. The

reader will soon find that the subject on which I am elaborating is

quite controversial. But it is the object of these lines to interest

others in trying out new and better methods in circumventing the

Catla.

The fry of catla were first introduced into Powai Lake along with

rohu, mrighil, and calboos in 1937. Today there are many more

of these fine fish in the Lake than is commonly believed. When the

water is calm like a millpond one can watch them rising. A pair of

binoculars is useful. They can be identified easily by their dark grey-

green back breaking the surface like a porpoise, and splashing the

water with their colossal tail rudder as they dive.

It is said that catla never take the baited hook and that all of

them are foul-hooked. This is not true because I have landed them

with one or both hooks in the mouth. This, to be sure, happens

rarely. Usually he is foul-hooked either outside the lips, under the

‘chin’, or in the fins or tail. Because of such foul-hooking 9 out of

10 fish are lost at Powai. Most disappointing indeed; but it leads to

one conclusion: our method of catla fishing is wrong. Either the

type of bait is not attractive enough or the tackle is wrong, or both.

I shall revert to this later.

Let me however at this stage say that, contrary to general opinion,

I consider this fish is a very cunning, moody, and unpredictable.

customer. There is very little information available in _piscatorial

literature on its ecology and feeding habits, from which the angler

could draw conclusions.

It is mentioned [Chacko and Kuriyan (1950): The Bionomics of

the Carp Catla catla (Cuv. and Val.) in the South Indian Waters, Proc.

Zool. Soc. London 120: 38-42] that catla is mainly a surface and mid-

water feeder; that his food consists of vegetable matter and plankton.

474 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Examination of the stomach contents also revealed presence of

crustacea. Reference is also made in their paper to Mookerjee,

H. K. (1945): Life-Histories of some major Carps of Bengal (Sc. and

Cult. 10: 400-402) reporting that ‘crustaceans formed the major

portion of its diet, but sometimes, though rarely, it browses along the

marginal substances and feeds on molluscan shell’. Chacko and

Kuriyan further report that catla swims with its mouth wide open,

straining the water through the gill opening and retaining micro-

plankton in its buccal cavity.

I think catla is a pure vegetarian and feeds mainly on the algae

suspended in the water, or on the ‘moss’ which grows on submerged

rocks. He is built for this, the disproportionately large mouth with

the lower lip protruding like a spoon.

Catlas have quite a different diet as compared with our other

game fish at Powai, i.e. rohu, mrighil, and calboos. This is borne

out by the fact that the weight of catla has increased year by year,

while the other major carp have not grown satisfactorily during the

last eight years no doubt due to lack of food. I have observed a

catla grazing on moss from the rocks and the body was at an angle

of about 45 degrees. The sloping position probably assists in scrap-

ing the moss off the rocks with the lower jaw working like a dredger

bucket.

The catla does not or cannot pick up the baited hook from the

bottom without difficulty because of the structure of his mouth. This —

difficulty increases if the bottom is not completely clean. Stones will

prevent him from getting at the bait with his bulky lips. He there-

fore has to suck in the bait along with the water. The conclusion

to be drawn is that the bait, in addition to being acceptable, should

be as small and light as possible to be easily sucked up with the

inhaled water. He may succeed on occasions, but usually he does

not because the bait is too heavy. He will then leave the bait or try

to shift it by pressing against the line with his head or body.

The question arises: Why then should the bait rest on the bottom?

Why can it not be suspended an inch or more higher? I have tried

this and fixed one hook 3 inches above the other and arranged it as

shown in fig. 1. I have hooked—and lost—catla this way but

the only fish I brought to gaff in this manner was caught on the lower

hook: There it is! It may have been by chance, but I have not

entirely given up fishing this way. I would also say: in years past,

when I fished mainly for rohu and mrighil, I used a single small

hook (Mustad No. 4) on 8 Ib. Monofil. Nylon, never any lead.

Whenever I hooked a catla that way, I am quite sure that he was

hooked in the mouth because I played him for a long time and did

CATLA FISHING IN POWAI LAKE, GREATER BOMBAY — 475

LEAD

eee, sare eee

Be 17 i Ori

Fig. 1. Second hook suspended about 3 inches above the first

which is shown lying on bottom.

not lose him because of foul-hooking. I lost him nevertheless.

Either the small hook opened out or the leader broke after some

time. So, there is food for thought!

Now let us go to the practical side and try to explain failure or

success in the light of what I have theorised above. I have hooked

catla in most parts of the Lake, though I have never had a bite in

the ‘Pipe Line Bay’ and to my knowledge only one catla of 12 Ib.

was ever caught there. I have had bites at all times of the year:

in December, January and September in the Lobo Bay, from February

up to the beginning of July between the Dams (old raft sites) and in

the Clubhouse Bay and below the Powai Club, and during and after

the rains in Brighton Beach and Everglades.

The most suitable depth is 5-7 feet, but I hooked a catla in

January 1958 in Brighton Beach in less than 3 feet of water and this

was a good fish of over 50 lb., which broke around a tree after

55 minutes. The most important factor in my selecting a site has

always been to fish over a clean bottom, free of large stones; a little

slope is an additional advantage. |

Now to the tackle: I have already warned my readers that I

do not consider the tackle which others and myself are using at the

Lake as the ideal outfit. In any case, some of my gear is correct.

The first item is a stiff rod of about 8 feet, a reel with adjustable

brake (Windex are unbeatable) and at least 350 yards line.

A home-made peacock float (bazar floats are clumsy and useless)

is of course a MUST. But now the trouble starts: lead or no lead?

Fishing without lead is a great advantage. Not only is the bite more

pronounced, but the bait can be taken by the fish more readily.

The problem however is how to get the bait down without a lead

476 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

before it is eaten up by Chilwa and Olive Carp. And there is more

trouble to come: single hook or two hooks? And _ the trace?

Mugga silk or monofil? My answer to this is: unless I learn of

something better (most certainly there is) I shall be using two medium,

size long-shank hooks (Kantu No. 17 or 18). The testing of hooks

with pliers is essential. The hooks may be mounted on mugga silk

and arranged (as in fig. 2)

to keep the baited hooks apart:

Fishing should be with a slightly

sloping line. If the depth is say

<—_—_—_——._ 5 feet fix the float 6 feet high

and cock it by taking up line.

And now we are coming to

the all important point of

ground-baiting. As I have

attracted catla regularly to my

swim I think my groundbait is

good. It has been changed, ex-

Fig. 2. Two hooks mounted on perimented with and improved

Mugga silk and arranged as in figure to h d

keep the baited hooks apart. The arrow UPON Over the years, and now

points to the copper wire of aboutimm. consists of three types, all of

thickness. :

them being used together:

(a) MUD BALLS: Two parts earth (mutti}; one part mustard

oil cake (fried in Dalda) powdered; one part boiled rice; a pinch

of hingh (asafoetida) and huldi (turmeric); } part of roasted and

powdered methi seed. Mix with a little water into a dough. Then

add a little ghee and form into balls of about golf ball size. If

the mixture is correct it smells like Italian Salami Sausage.

(b) SWEET MEAT: One part boiled rice; one part mustard oil

cake, as above, } part ghee. Knead and make balls of walnut size.

Ten balls should last for eight hours fishing.

the lake-side. Soak them in ghee and keep them in the sun for

some time, so that the ghee can properly penetrate into the stone.

(The idea is that the Olive Carp cannot eat stones though, otherwise,

they consume anything.) This completes the ground bait.

The preparation of hookbait is simpler: fresh white breadloaf

is. kneaded into a dough together with a little ghee. It is then kept

in a glass jar for three to four days when it develops a sweetish smell.

Just before commencing fishing mix with a little boiled rice. I add

a little dry bread, ata, or milkpowder, if the paste has become too

soft. If it has become dry a little ghee should be added. That’s all.

This of course is not the catla’s natural food, but I have still to come

CATLA FISHING IN POWAI LAKE, GREATER BOMBAY 477

across a better bait. I have mentioned already that the bait should

be light and smali. It is quite sufficient if the lower part of the

hook is covered. Lumps of walnut size are absurd! Fig. 3 will

illustrate the required actual size.

And now, at last, we commence fishing: The boat is tied securely

so that I am not bothered with the poles again after an hour. Get

eer mewNRe

—=— == ae

=e —

Fig. 3. Actual size of ideal bait and the hook for catla.

the correct depth and put the unbaited hooks at the place where

you intend groundbaiting. An unbaited pair of hooks is good

- for investigating the bottom for stones and other obstacles. If the

place is clean, commence groundbaiting and throw in a couple of

“mudballs’. Only a few to begin with. If Olive Carp are there

in strength they will clear the place in 15 minutes even if you throw

in a whole bucketful. Groundbaiting therefore has to be continued

by throwing in 2 to 3 balls every half an hour till the carp biting

stops. In addition the place has also to be baited with “pebbies’ as

they cannot be consumed and therefore keep the ghee scent for some

time. In between a ball of ‘sweetmeat’ is thrown in. As soon as

the Olive Carp are gone I throw in 4 to 5 ‘sweetmeat’ balls.

One has to sit it out till Olive Carp and other small fish leave.

If my paste is not touched any more, I keep the rod in my hands al!

the time. The bite of a catla lasts only a second or two. By the

time you snatch your rod and strike it’s all over! It happens

occasionally that one has a catla bite between carps. But as a rule

the sudden disappearance of carp is a sure indication that there is,

something ‘fishy’ about. One has to be ready for a strike then though

it may only be a rohu who has driven off the small fish.

Quite often the catla gives his presence away. He may be

rolling in front of you; the Chilwa may jump to all sides; he may

be making a swirl below the water causing a circular movement: or

he may let off that famous huge ‘bubble’. All these signs are warn-

ings to be on guard. But there is no guarantee that a bite will

follow ‘in due course’. Anyhow, once he is around you, the first

thing is dead quietness. I have on many occasion observed that

478 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HiST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

anglers strike at the slightest movement of the float, even if it is a

clear carp bite. I consider this definitely wrong if there is a real

customer around. ‘The strike produces a noise and movement which

may scare away the fish you are after. I strike only if I am reason-

ably sure that it is not a carp, even at the risk of not striking if a

catla imitates a carp (which also happens).

To identify a catla bite is quite easy in calm water. But it is not

always recognizable in choppy water, unless the float is ball But

then it is usually too late.

= Que

Fig. 4. a, b,andc. Outline drawings of the gape of mouth

of ‘mrighil, rohu, and catla respectively.

©) @

Fig. 5. Outline drawings of the anterior part of the head (lateral

and ventral views) of: (a) rohu; (6) mrighil; (c) catla, showing the

position and nature of the mouth opening.

There are five typical catla bites:

(a) float, without perceptible warning, is slowly going down. This

is the most common bite and the chances are you hook him foul and

he is off immediately or after his first run.

CATLA FISHING IN POWAI LAKE, GREATER BOMBAY — 479

(b) float makes one or two slow bobs. [I strike to the first bob

if I am quick enough. |

vice versa, several times. This is the best bite. Strike immediately.

(d) float begins to quiver. It is a sort of trembling, not to be

mistaken with the bobbing of a rohu, which is much more pronounced!

and slower. When you observe this quiver, don’t wait for further

development but strike.

(e) float is taken down in stages. It starts with a slight depression.

After a few seconds there is a further depression by perhaps an inch.

You feel the next pull will take the float under water. I do not

strike to that. I have done it many times but did not connect. But

when the depressed float, without further pull, moves like a crab-bite

a few inches to one side, you must strike.

These are the ‘standard’ bites. Strike always with a resolute kick

with both hands and not with a half-hearted long pull. Never mind

if it was a crab or catfish which fooled you. There are several other

variations in a catla bite, such as raising the float like a rohu, or

jerking it like a carp. But such bites are rare and quite exceptional.

As already mentioned, to observe a bite in windy water is very

difficult. Without fear of contradiction I would say that in disturbed

water most catla bites are never noticed.

If you hook a catla you usually know immediately what you are

in to. For a second you feel you have hooked a wooden log or

gunny bag. But then there will be water swirl and off he moves

gaining speed. It is just the opposite of a rohu run. Rohu goes off

in top gear, slows down and comes to the surface or he jumps. The

catla moves of in first gear before he goes into top gear. He will

always keep to the bottom unless he is forced to the surface.

Playing a well-hooked catla is grand sport and to land him [|

follow this golden rule: he will tire himself out as long as he runs.

He will make a first long run of 100 to 200 yards, often more. Reel

in with pressure on the line the moment the run is over or follow up

in a boat. He will make his second and third run. Now comes the

critical point: The moment he refuses to run again, sulks on the

bottom, jerks the line by hitting it with his tail, or ‘walks’ slowly

along, you have to force him to the surface at the risk of breaking

him. He cannot run at full speed for more than fifteen minutes with-

out losing his breath. But he can ‘walk’ for ten hours and will go

on doing that once he has got his second wind! The finest fish in

Powai Lake have been lost by not observing this rule. (On one

occasion I played a fish from 9.45 a.m. till 3 p.m. and finally lost

him). Once the fish is on the surface, one has to keep him there under

480 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

full pressure on the line. One has to move the boat to where he is

on the surface or bring him alongside the raft or boat. But he must

not be allowed again to ‘walk’ along on the bottom. The main point

of course is that he is properly hooked. If not, you will lose him

anyhow. | 3

Once on the surface, he puts up little fight. One can easily gaff

or net him. The safest way is to put the gaff into his mouth and

hook him through the lower jaw. A landing net will do as well if

big enough to take the head and part of the body. He does not

splash about or turn when seeing the net as a rohu does.

Looks quite simple and will work alright but for the three big IFs:

as I have just said, he must be securely hooked; secondly, there

should be no trees, sunken logs, or other obstacles around, where he

is sure to go in order to break the line; and thirdly, the tackle must

be all sound. A breaking strength of 15 lb. for line or trace is quite

sufficient and it is anyhow more than a normal rod can stand. A 15

lb. pull can force to the surface a fish which has lost his wind after

a couple of fast, big runs. But anglers seem to believe that a line

or trace remain sound and intact for an indefinite period. This is

not so. Mugga silk traces in particular should not be used more

than once or twice. They lose most of their strength if they have

been in the water for a day and break then easily at the knot. Monofil

has a tendency of getting damaged upon severe stress. One can

detect the minute transverse cracks in the structure with a magnifying

glass. Such cracks, which look like a thin white ring around the

the line, reduce the breaking strength by about 50%. By the way a

foolproof knot for monofil has still to be invented. The best to my

knowledge is the sailors’ sling knot. One has to test the gear re-

gularly, at least the first 30 to 40 yards of the line complete with trace

and hooks. The weakest part of your outfit is usually the rod.

Hence if you lift a played out catla of 50 lb. and over to the surface

and the line snaps but the rod remains intact, your line was damaged

and had a strength of less than 15 Ib.

And now I wish my reader to hook and successfully land one of

the granddaddy catla of 100 Ib. and over of which there are quite a

few at Powai. Tight Lines!

New Plant Records for Bombay—V

H. SANTAPAU, S.J., F.N.I., R. R. FERNANDES, M.SC., AND

Z. KAPADIA, B.SC.

(With five plates)

(Continued from Vol. 53: 216)

In the course of our intensive studies on the flora of Bombay, we

have come across several plants that, though not new to science, have

never previously been recorded for Bombay State. We present several

of our new finds here in this series, with the hope that the descrip-

tions and illustrations will be of help to other Bombay botanists.

Family ALISMATACEAE

Alisma oligococcum F. Muell. Frag. Phyt. Austr. 1: 23, 1859; Hook.

f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 560, 1895.

A water plant, growing in fairly shallow water, the roots attached

to the ground, the leaves and inflorescence above the water surface.

Leaves simple, radical, petiolate, up to 13 in number; petiole up to

30 cm. long, trigonous; lamina 15-207-15 cm., at first submerged,

then floating, acute, entire, in the lower leaves elliptic, in the higher

ones ovate-oblong, base cordate, the sides overlapping; main nerves

about 7, convergent. JInfiorescence paniculate, pyramidal, much

branched, 20X30 cm., branched in whorls of three, becoming

shorter upwards, bracteate; the whole scape up to 60 cm. long, erect,

strongly ribbed; bracts linear-lanceolate to ovate, acute or acuminate,

clearly parallel-veined, green, 1-8X0.4-0.8 cm., becoming smaller

upwards. Flowers white, 8 mm. diam., hermaphrodite, pedicellate,

bracteolate, in whorls of three; pedicels up to 4 cm. long. Sepals

orbicular-ovate, green, hooded, persistent, marked with 6 brown lines,

3 mm. long. Petals obovate, deciduous, 5X4 mm. Stamens 6, free;

filaments as long as the petals; anthers dark. Ovary 6-carpellary,

carpels green, ovoid, 1-ovulate; style slightly lateral, shorter than

the ovary; stigma indistinct. Fruit an etaerio of achenes, which are

more or less reniform, muriculate, 4 mm. long; embryo horseshoe

shaped. (Plate [).

Flowers and Fruits: September-October.

482 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Occurrence in Bombay: We have only seen this plant in the

National Park, Borivli, near Bombay; it is still a rare plant in the

district. (Fernandes 1566-1572).

Family SCROPHULARIACEAE

Lindernia multiflora (Roxb.) Mukerjee in J. Indian Bot. Soc. 24: 131,

1945.

Torenia multiflora Roxb. Fl. Ind. 3: 96, 1832.

Vandellia multiflora G. Don, Gen. Syst. 4: 549, 1838; Hook. f.

Fl. Brit. Ind. 4: 280, 1884.

Annual, erect herb, 8-15 cm. high, glabrous, profusely and

regularly branching from near the base. Leaves simple, opposite

and decussate, glabrous; the lower ones larger, ovate, obovate, or

oblanceolate, tapering into a short petiole; higher leaves broadly ovate,

sessile or nearly so, the margins of all the leaves crenate or serrate;

larger leaves 2.5-4.5X1.2-1.7 cm., the smaller ones 1.2-2X1-1.3 cm.

Wnflorescence racemose, often corymb-like, terminal, occasionally

branched. Flowers small, bracteate, pedicellate, bluish purple in

colour; bracts minute, triangular, persistent, herbaceous; pedicels

slender, 5 mm. long, enlarging to twice this length in fruit. Calyx

green, 2 mm. long enlarging to 3-4 mm. in fruit, divided almost to

the base into 5 subequal, linear acute lobes. Corolla 4 mm. long,

2-lipped to a little below the middle; upper lip short and narrow,

shallowly divided at the apex into two lobes; lower lip 3-lobed.

Stamens 4, all fertile, didynamous, included; anther cells somewhat

divaricate. Ovary ovoid, glabrous; style 2 mm. long; stigmas 2.

Capsule glabrous, green, ovoid, apiculate, slightly exserted beyond the

calyx. Seeds minute, yellow, oblong or cylindrical, sparsely granulate.

(Plate IH). :

Flowers and Fruits: Monsoon period until October. .

Occurrence in Bombay State: We have found this plant as a

weed in Victoria Gardens, Bombay (Saldanha 1301); also at Waghai'

in the Dangs Forest, along forest paths. where it was abundant

(Santapau 19988; Saldanha 1930).

Family ORCHIDACEAE

Obeyronia iriditolia Lindl. var. denticulata Hook. f. in Fl. Brit. Ind. 5:

675, 1885; Fischer in Gamble, Fl. Madr. 1404, 1928.

Oberonia denticulata Wight, Icon. t. 1625, 1851.

This species seems to be widely distributed in India. from Sikkim

and Bhootan to Assam and southwards to the Nilgiris; so far neither

the typical species nor its varieties have been reported from Bombay.

The present variety differs from the typical plant, as illustrated and.

described by King & Pantling (in Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE |

Alisma oligococcum F. Muell. A. Whole plant to show the habit; B. Achene.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. . Pcate Il

Lindernia multiflora (Roxb.) A.*Whole plant showing habit; B. Calyx; C. Corolla ;

D. Pistil; E. Capsule; F. Seed.

NEW PLANT RECORDS FOR BOMBAY—V 483

8: 8, 1898) in the following particulars: (a) The scape is bracteate;

(6) The lip is much less deeply lobed; (c) The lip is more triangular-

quadrate in appearence, not orbicular. The detailed description of

our plant follows.

Perennial, epiphytic, erect or pendulous herbs; roots small, slender,

clustered at the base of the plant and spreading outwards. Stem

small. Leaves distichous, sessile, fleshy and broadly ensiform; lamina

oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, entire, glabrous, laterally com-

pressed, 4-14X1.5-2.5 cm. Jnflorescence scape 7-24 cm. long,

decurved, arising from the centre of the uppermost leaves and. longer

than them. Pedicels very short or 0, the flowers densely crowded

towards the upper part of the scape; bracts on the lower part of scape

few; floral bracts up to 2X1 mm., slightly reflexed at the apex, ovate

or oblong to elliptic, subacute, irregularly crenate or toothed, longer

than the subsessile ovary. Sepals subequal, broadly ovate to sub-

orbicular, subacute or obtuse and even sometimes slightly retuse,

one-nerved. Petals 1X0.6 mm. ovate-oblong, obtuse, occasionally

somewhat retuse, margins irregularly toothed, one-nerved. Lip

1.5X2 mm., broader than long, triangular to quadrate in outline, more

or less deeply 3-lobed; lateral lobes pectinately erose; terminal lobe

entire or 2-lobulate with a broad sinus, the lobules denticulate or

entire; nerves of the lip 3, the central one straight or nearly so, the

lateral sinuous. Column very small, 0.25X0.5 mm., but stout for its

size. Anther opercular, greenishwhite, transversely oblong-orbicular:

pollinia 4, broadly comma-shaped, brownish yellow. Capsule 5x2

mm., shortly stalked, broadly ovoid. (Plate III).

Flowers: September. Fruits: October onwards.

Occurrence in Bombay: We have found this plant epiphytic on

Tectona grandis Linn. f. in the neighbourhood of Tansa Lake (Santapau

16030; Kapadia 1638, 1711); we have also found it on the banks of

the Kali Nadi in North Kanara at Gundh, about 45 km. from

Dandeli. ?

Habenaria furcifera Lindl. Gen. Sp. Orch. 319, 1835; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. Ind. 6: 149, 1890; King & Pantling in Ann. R. Bot. Gard.

Calcutta 8: 313, t. 410, 1898; Haines, Bot. Bih. Or. 1157, 1922:

Duthie, Fl. U. Gang. Pl. 3: 225, 1925.

This Orchid is of widespread occurrence in the northern and north-

eastern parts of the country; but until recently it had not been found

in peninsular India south of Orissa. This is the first record for

Bombay State. |

A ground orchid perennating through one or more underground

tubers, which are ovate or ellipsoid, up to 3X1.5 cm. Stem stout,

484 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

up to 40-46 cm. high, glabrous, with several sheaths below the leaves.

Leaves 13-17 X3-6 cm., clustered together below the middle, gradually

passing into bracts above, sessile or subsessile and somewhat narrowed

at the base, glabrous, broadly ovate or obovate or oblanceolate or

elliptical, entire at the margins or minutely denticulate, acute at the

apex. Inflorescence stout, lax, racemose, many-flowered, 25-40 cm.

long; scape bracteate, glabrous, occasionally longitudinally ribbed;

lower bracts 6-7X3-6 cm., ovate-lanceolate, acute, gradually becom-

ing smaller upwards. Flowers small, green, subsessile; bracts 1.30.3

cm., ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, about as long as the ovary, margins

entire or minutely denticulate. Sepals unequal; the dorsal one 4.5 x3

mm., concave, ovate oblong, obtuse, entire; the lateral sepals narrower,

oblong-lanceolate, 3-nerved, somewhat falcate, subacute to acute,

gland-dotted. Petals 4X2.5 mm., broadly oblong, obtuse or slightly

retuse and forming a hood over the column with the dorsal sepal.

Lip 6X6 mm., trilobed to the base; lateral lobes filiform, divergent,

much longer than the stout blunt mid-lobe. Spur slightly longer than

the ovary, laterally compressed and involute at the base. Anther

cells 2, touching, rather short, caudicles slightly curved; glands small

and narrowly oblong. Staminodes 2, elliptic, blunt, stalked, one on

each side of the entrance to the spur. Rostellum a thickened, horny

rim just above the orifice, from the centre of which a small, ligulate

projection is given out, which forms a flap over the mouth of the spur.

Capsule 1.5-0.55 cm., fusiform, turgid, decurved, with strong, broad

ribs; beak of capsule short, about 4+ as long as the body of the capsule.

(Plate IV).

Flowers: August and September. Fruits: October.

Occurrence in Bombay: We have found this plant to be common

in the undergrowth at Waghai and Ahwa in the Dangs Forest

(Santapau 19204, 19143, 19343; Kapadia 681, 1438).

Dendrobium peguanum Linn. in J. Linn. Soc. 3: 19, 1853.

D. pygmaeum Lindl. in Wall. Cat. no. 1999, 1829, nom. nud. et

Gen. Sp. Orch. 25; King & Pantling, loc. cit. 43, t. 58,

1898; Kranzl. in Pfreich. 45: 83, t. 3 L-O, 1910; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. Ind. 5: 717, 1890 (non Smith ex Rees, 1808).

Perennial, epiphytic herbs. Pseudobulbs 1-7X0.9-2 cm., pear-

shaped, ovoid or subglobular, sheathed, generally one- or two-,

occasionally three-noded. Leaves 2-4, caducous, rarely persistent,

fleshy, coriaceous, alternate and distichous, 1.5-6 X0.8-2 cm., sheathing

at the base, sessile, linear-oblong or oblong, subacute or obtuse, entire;

midnerve depressed above, prominent below, with 4-6 faint lateral

nerves. Racemes 1-13-flowered, apical or subapical, up to 5 cm.

long; peduncle short, terete, 1-1.5 mm. in diam., purplish green with

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE III

Oberonia iridifolia Lindl. A. Entire plant ; B. Lateral view of flower ; C. Calyx

and corolla dissected; D. Floral bract; E.Ovary and column; F. Fruit;

G. Anther ; H. Pollinia (G and H highly magnified). |

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE IV

Habenaria furcifera Lindl. A. Entire plant, B. Lateral view of the flower ;

C. Calyx and corolla; D. Floral bract; E. Front view of column; F. Fruit;

G. Pollinium.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE V

0 , ek aes

Eien Scarerench coment | :

Dendrobium peguanum Linn. A. Clump of pseudobulbs with inflorescence ; B. Leafy

shoot ; C. Flower; D. Calyx and corolla; E. Floral bract; F. Column showing

anther, stigmatic surface, and foot with nectary ; G. Anther; H. Pollinia.

Ph ot Sh

. oe MSE =

eer tec Ti ta OC star ea

NEW PLANT RECORDS FOR BOMBAY—V 485

a few oblong-lanceolate membranous sheaths at the base. Flowers

bracteate and pedicellate; bracts unequal, becoming smaller upwards,

4-6 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, pale brown, membranous, about as

long as the ovary or a little shorter, acuminate, lanceolate, entire,

glabrous, l-nerved; pedicels together with ovary 5-6 mm. long, straight

or slightly curved, deep green. Sepals subequal, white tinged with

green or purplish towards the base, acute, entire, glabrous, 1-nerved;

the two lateral sepals 7-9X1-2 mm., the dorsal one 7-9X1-3 mm.,

oblanceolate. Mentum 3-5 mm. long, cylindrical or subconical,

obtuse. Petals 7-9X1-2 mm., white, falcate, spathulate, narrowly

linear at the base, suddenly dilating a little beyond the middle, obtuse

or subacute, glabrous, 3-nerved. Lip 8-105 mm., shortly clawed at

the base, dilating cuneately and 3-lobed; lateral lobes 6X1 mm.,

erect, parallel with the column, narrowly oblong, obtuse, entire, deep

green with slightly swollen reddish nerves on the inside; midlobe 3 x4

mm., deflexed, broadly triangular or triangular ovate, acute, crisped,

deep amethyst in colour. Disc ridged, 3-nerved, greenish-white, end-

ing in a truncate or slightly retuse, upturned callus. Column 2 mm.

long, green, deep amethyst at the top; foot 6 mm. long, deep green

with deep amethyst markings on the inner subconcave side, with a

nectary at the base, which is 2 mm. long, pouch-like. Anther small,

deep mauve or amethyst, oblong-conical, firmly affixed on the top of

the column; anterior tip minutely denticulate. Pollinia 4, minute,

golden-yellow, narrow-oblong. Stigmatic surfaces quadrately orbi-

cular, deep green with amethyst margins. Capsule 15X7 mm.,

obovate-globular, greenish brown with broad maroon bands. (Plate V.)

Flowers: Monsoon season.

Occurrence in Bombay: Common on Tectona grandis Linn. f. in

the neighbourhood of Tansa Lake; common also along the road

between Kasara and Igatpuri on Tectona; common at Pimpri and

Ahwa in the Dangs Forest, epiphytic on the same support (Kapadia

897, 1104, 1375, 1600).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The junior author, Z. Kapadia, wishes to place on record that

some of the work here presented was done with the help of the subsidy

given to him by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust through the Bombay Natural

History Society.

Some Observations ey

on the Fauna of the Maldive Islands —

Part V—FISHES

G. PALMER

Dept. of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History).

(With a plate)

[Continued from Vol. 55 (2): 220]

"The small collection of fishes made by Major W. W. A. Phillips from

the Maldive Islands is of some interest as, with the exception of Derani-

yagala’s publication in 1956, little has been published on-the fishes of

this area for almost fifty years.

121 species had previously been recorded from these Islands and this

figure is now increased to 128, seven of the eleven species here reported

on being new records for this area. |

In this paper, Major Phillips’s notes are placed in square parentheses

at the end of the systematic matter and are initialed ‘W.W.A.P.’” All

the specimens were taken in North Malé Atoll.

APODES

MURAENIDAE

Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw & Nodder): Moray Eel

Shaw & Nodder 1795 Nat. Miscell. 7; A2 pl.220.

1 specimen, 235 mm. total length.

Widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific including the Red

Sea. Attains a length of about four feet. New record.

[Common on the southern reef of Malé Island ; the principal food

of the Eastern Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea rectirostris)—W.W.A.P.]

Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl): Painted Moray Eel

Ahl 1789 Spec. ichtyol. de Mur. et Ophich. Inaug. Dissert. Uppsala : 6.

1 specimen, 350 mm. total length.

Widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and has been

recorded from the Red Sea. Reaches a length of two to three feet .

[Caught on the southern reef of Malé Island at low tide.—W.W.A.P. ]

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 487

Gymnothorax brummeri (Blkr.) : Brummer’s Moray Eel

Bleeker 1858 Nat. Tijdschr. Ned. Indie 17: 137.

1 specimen, 535 mm. total length.

Indo-Pacific. This species is apparently quite rare in the Maldives.

Attains a length of two to three feet. New record.

[The only specimen seen; caught while fishing in the Fishery

Harbour. Reported by the Maldivians to be a rare species—W.W.A.P.]

Gymnothorax boschi (Blkr.): Bosch’s Moray Eel

Bleeker 1853 Verh. Bat. Gen. 25: 52.

1 specimen, 330 mm. total length.

Occurring generally throughout the Indo-Pacific and reaching a length

of over two feet. New record.

[Taken on the southern reef of Malé Island, at low tide.—W.W.A.P.]

OPHICHTHIDAE

Myrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert) : Serpent Eel

Boddaert 1781 Neue Nord. Beitrage 2: 56 pl.2 fig. 3.

1 specimen, 460 mm. in total length.

This species is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific, inclu-

ding the Red Sea. The striking colour pattern of the alternate light

and dark vertical bands is subject to considerable variation. Attains

a length of three feet.

[Caught inside the reef of Hululé Island, North Malé Atoll; not

so common as the following species—W.W.A.P. |

Leiuranus semicinctus (Lay & Bennett): Half-banded Serpent Eel

Lay & Bennett 1839 in Beechey’s Voyage ; 66 pl. 20 fig. 4.

7 specimens ranging in length from 236-480 mm.

Widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. This is an agile

fish, which frequently burrows in the sand. Reaches a length of one to

two feet. New record.

[Moderately plentiful on the southern reef of Malé Island. Seen

moving slowly amongst the low-growing sea-weed, in pools left by the

receding tide.—W.W.A.P. |

SOLENICHTH YES

SYNGNATHIDAE

Corythoichthys fasciatus (Gray) : Banded Pipe-fish

Gray 1830-32 Illustr. Indian Zool. 1: 89 figs. 2 and 2a.

4 specimens, ranging in length from 68-99 mm.

488 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

This is a small species, reaching a length of six to seven inches, found

generally throughout the Indo-Pacific. Has been recorded from the Red

Sea. New record.

[Plentiful in small pools, with sandy bottoms, on the southern reef

of Malé Island, at low tide.—W.W.A.P.]

PERCOMORPHI

SCOMBROIDEA

ISTIOPHORIDAE

Istiophorusgladius Bloch : Sail fish

Bloch 1793 Nat. ausl. Fische 7: 81 pl. 345

Maldivian Name: Fung Hibar

Recorded from photographs of specimens, taken by W.W.A.P.

Open water fishes, found in most warm seas. Attains a length of about

1 tect.

[Plentiful in the seas around Malé; frequently brought to the fish

market for sale-—W.W.A.P. |

Makaira marlina Jordan & Evermann: Black Marlin

Jordan & Evermann 1926 Occ. Pap. Acad. Sci. Calif. No. 12: 59

WE:

Maldivian Name: Hibar

Recorded from photographs of specimens, taken by W.W.A.P.

Open water fishes, widely distributed in most warm seas. Attains a

length of about 14 feet.

[Plentiful in the seas around Malé ; frequently brought in to the fish

market.—W.W.A.P. |

BLENNIOIDEA

CARAPIDAE

Encheliophis (Jordanicus) gracilis (Blkr.) : Fierasfer

Bleeker 1856 Nat.Tijdschr. Ned. Inde. 11: 105.

2 specimens.

Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and has also been recorded

from. the Red Sea. These interesting fishes normally live in the body

cavity of a host, usually a holothurian. This particular species has been

reported as inhabiting the body cavity of a starfish. It reaches a length

of about nine inches. New record.

SPM d “FMM ¢ 0204

IPI YON Jo uoosey] oy} ul yysneo (ds snuurayjuy) oyuog OPI ‘JONTLW-YSl.f VY} UL YSY-[res

‘0S “LSIH “LVN AvaWog ‘Nyno[

—

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 489

SCLEROPAREI

SCORPAENIDAE

Dendrochirus brachyptera (C.V.): Scorpion Fish

Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829 Hist. nat. Poissons 4 : 368

4 specimens, 91-120 mm. in total length.

Widespread in tropical Indo-Pacific waters.

These fishes are brightly

coloured and should be handled with care, as a wound from one of the

sharp spines can be extremely painful.

inches. New record.

Attains a length of about seven

[Caught on the reef of Malé Island by fishermen, who regard them

as very poisonous.—W. W. A. P.]

Arnold, D. C. (1956): A systematic

revision of the fishes of the teleost family

Carapidae (Percomorphi, Blennioidea),

with descriptions of two new species.

Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) 4: Zool.:

245-307.

Chabanaud, P. (1955): Sur cinq espéces

du genre Symphurus, dont trois sont

inédites. Bull. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris

(2) 27: 368-370.

REFERENCES

Deraniyagala, P.E. P. (1956): Zoolo-

gical collecting at the Maldives in 1932.

Spolia Zeylan. 28: 7-12.

Regan, C. T. in Gardiner, J. S. (1901-

1903); Fauna and geography of the

Maldives and Laccadives Archipelagoes

1: Pt. IIT Rep. No. 4: 272-281.

(1908): Report on the

Marine Fishes collected by Mr. J. Stanley

Gardiner in the Indian Ocean. Trans.

Linn. Soc, 12; Rep. No. 14: 217-255.

Part VI — INSECTS

W. W. A. PHILLIPS

I am greatly indebted to the various specialists at the British Museum

(Natural History), who have worked out the collections that I brought

back from the Maldive Islands and have identified the material. Also

to Dr. W. E. China, M.A.,Sc.D., the Keeper of Entomology, for all his

assistance in connection with them. The collections themselves have

been donated to the British Museum (Natural History).

Morus — LEPIDOPTERA NOCTUA

All the Moths, listed in the following pages, were taken on islands

within the North Malé Atoll; the majority of them were collected

on Malé Island, the seatof the Maldivian Government. For a

description of the locality and the Maldivian Archipelago reference

should be made to JBNHS Vol. 55(1): 1-3. Against each species is given

the name of the island, upon which it was taken.

Most of the specimens were captured amongst low vegetation and the

lower branches of trees, by the beating method. Some were, however,

taken by night. Sugaring was tried on the trunks of large trees growing

in the Guest-house compound, at Malé, but without success.

490 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

The whole of the collection was made between the end of November

1956 and the middle of February 1957. As many species as possible were

collected but a few species were seen, especially amongst the Spee:

that evaded capture.

The insect fauna as a whole, and the Lepidoptera in particular, of

the Maldives, appear to be very similar to the corresponding fauna of the

Indian peninsula and Ceylon but the known ranges of many species

will be extended by this paper.

The following is a list of the specimens collected :

293

! | SEX |

NAME OF SPECIES | |

Ig | 2 |

Arctiidae

Utetheisa pulchelloides Hampson subsp. .. | 14 | 20 | Fujoadee I.

The Maldive subspecies is closely

related to U. p._ pulchelloides

occurring in the Seychelles Is. |

and the Chagos Archipelago. |

Utetheisa l. lotrix Cramer .. ealD. | tial Male: 1:

Hypsidae

Deilemera lacticinea Cramer me) Peer | Hululay I.

Noctuidae

Leucania albistigma Moore Fra eae | At sea, near Kuda

Boudos I.

| : Sc 1 | Male I.

Calogramma festiva Donovan 5 Malé I.

Chasmina candida Walker 1 1 | Malé I.

99 99 > 1 Gardu I,

Amyna punctum Fabricius 1 Gardu I.

29 oe) 39 1 Hululay I.

Bombotelia jJocosatrix Guenée 1 1 | MaléI.

Xanthodes graellsii Feisthamel 1 Male I.

Grammodes hyppasia Cramer 1 | Malé I.

Euclidisema mygdon Cramer 7 | Malé I.

” ” 9 1 Hululay I.

os 9 Ae 1 | Hulule I.

Ericeia pertendens Walker 1 | Malél.

Gesonia obeditalis Walker 1 Malé I.

Cosmophila flava Fabricius 1 | Male I.

Cosmophila sabulifera Guenée 6 | Male I.

Hypena ignotalis Walker 1 Malé I.

Hyblaeidae |

Hyblaea | puera Cramer 7 4 | Hulule I.

Sphingidae

-Macroglossum | gyrans Walker 4 Hulule I.

99 955) 3

Malé I.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS 49}

Geometridae.

Thalassodes

Scopula

H 'yperythra

Limacodidae.

Macroplectra

Thyrididae.

Striglina

Pyralidae.

Bradina

Nymphula

Earrhyparodes

Sylepta

Dichocrocis

Margaronia

Tortricidae

Argyroploce

NAME OF SPECIES

immissaria Walker

caesaria Walker

39 99

lutea Stoll

nararia Moore

scitaria Walker

admixtalis Walker

acrospila Meyrick

9:9 99

stagnalis Zeller |

tricoloralis Fabricius

derogata Fabricius

39 99

99 993

punctiferalis Guenée

suralis Lederer

99 99

39 99

caesalis Walker

aprobola Meyrick

(det. J. D. Bradley)

——,

SW Oe QAOoOeNe he

Three Pyralidae (Phycitinae) remain indeterminable.

HEMIPTERA

BNN NN AI B.A

Maleé I.

Male I.

Hulule I.

Willinggillie I.

Male I.

| Hululay I.

Male I.

Malé I.

Lankcumfurri I.

Male I.

Hululay I.

Hulule I.

Gardu I.

Malé I.

Male I.

Gardu I.

Hulule I.

Hululay I.

Lankcumfurri I.

Male I.

| Maleé I.

Male 1.

All the species, given in the attached list were taken in Malé Island

or on the islands close by, in the North Malé Atoll.

I am greatly indebted to Miss G. M. Day for making the

identifications.

Piezodorus rubrofasciatus Fabr.

Suborder HETEROPTERA

PENTATOMIDAE

(India, SW. China, Philippine Is., Japan, Society Is., Samoan Is.)

492

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. .55 (3)

Plautia fimbriata Fabr.

(Indo-China, China, India, Malaya)

Acrosternum graminea Fabr.

(India and Ceylon)

PyRRHOCORIDAE

Dysdercus cingulatus Fabr.

(India, Burma, Malaysia, Australia)

REDUVIIDAE

Triatoma rubrofasciatus de Geer

(S. China, Siam, W. Indies, Burma, India, Ceylon,

Philippine Is.)

MIRIDAE

Creontiades pallidifer Walk.

(Ceylon, China, India, Malaya, Christmas Is.) .

Eurystylus bellevoyei Reut.

(Africa, India, and Ceylon)

Suborder HOMOPTERA

FLATIDAE

Melicharia obtusangula Dist.

(India and Ceylon)

CICADELLIDAE

Parabolocratus arcuatus Motsch

(India, Ceylon and Queensland)

Borneo,

Freshwater Diatoms from Kolhapur

and its immediate Environs

H. P. GANDHI

M,N. College, Visnagar, N. Gujarat

(With fifty-one figures)

INTRODUCTION

There are no records available of the freshwater diatom flora of

Kolhapur, except for one on soil diatoms by the present author (1956).

It is, therefore, considered desirable to survey the freshwater flora of the

said area. This account is based on extensive collections made by the

author during 1951-56, from many permanent, temporary, and epheme-

ral bodies of water in and around the city. :

Kolhapur is a prosperous city and a vital hub of commerce to many

towns and villages extending far beyond the Western Ghats. It lies on

latitude 16° 42’ N. and longitude 74° 16’ E. at the terminus of the

Miraj-Kolhapur section of the Southern Railway, on a plateau approxi-

mately of 1500 feet elevation. The annual average rainfall is 35 inches,

the bulk of which is received during the monsoon. The climate is mode-

rate. The geology is essentially of the Deccan Trap...

Material collected practically from all possible wet situations in and

around the city was examined at the Rajaram College, Kolhapur, during

1953-56. While examining the material, it became evident that many

forms found here are also recorded from Bombay and Salsette (Gonzal-

ves and Gandhi, 1952-54), some of them widely distributed.

The classification and indentification of the forms has been done

according to Hustedt’s (1930) and Cleve-Euler’s (1951-55) monographs.

Besides these major works, Van Heurck’s TREATISE ON DIATOMACEAE and

several other works and papers have been referred to in preparation of

this paper.

The dimensions given for the individual forms are those actually

recorded. At the end of this paper a table is given suggesting the

distribution of these diatoms in the said area and elsewhere in India as

recorded by Dremons workers.

apAtticle 35 of the International Code oF Botanical Nomenclature, 1956 einen

reads as follows : ‘ Publication on or after 1 Jan. 1958 of the name of new taxon of

recent plants of the rank of order or below is valid only when the nomenclatural

type is indicated (see Arts. 7—10).’? Accordingly the various new forms published

in this paper, even when the Latin description is supplied, must be considered as not

yalidly published,—Ebs. |

494. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Family COSCINODISCACEAE

1. Melosira granulata (Ehr.) Ralfs (Figs. 1-2)

Van Heurck, Treat. Diat. 444, t. 19, f. 621; Hustedt, Bacil. 87,

f. 44: Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—I: 25, f. 15 a-b (=M.

granulata v. typica A. Cl.).

Frustules 6-10 « in diameter, semi-cell 12-14 wu high, cylindrical,

united in short or long chains. End cell with spines and furrows, and

straight rows of areoles, 8-10 in 10 ~«; other cells have 9-11 rows in

10 «, spirally disposed.

2. Melosira granulata v. muzzanensis Meister (Fig. 3)

Hustedt, Bacil. 88, f. 47 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

I 25 aes f.

Frustules 14-16 « in diameter, semi-cell 10-11 « high, short-cylindri-

cal or discoid, otherwise like the type. Rows of areoles 9-10 in 10 xz.

3. Cyclotella meneghiniana Kitz. f. binotata Grun. (Fig. 4)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—I : 48, f. 63 c (=C. meneghi-

niana Vv. genuina A. Cl. f. binotata Grun.).

Valves 13-16 « in diameter, discoidal. Central field inconspicuously

punctate with two distinct dots. Striae 8-9 in 10 ,, thick and radial.

The varietal epithet ‘ v. genuina’ which refers to the type proper is

eliminated since it is out of vogue.

Family FRAGILARIACEAE

4. Fragilaria rumpens (Kiitz.) Carlson v. familiaris (Kiitz.) A. Cl.

(Figs. 5-6)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—II: 42, f. 352 c-e ; Hustedt,

Bacil. 156, f. 176 [= Synedra rumpens Kitz. v. familiaris (Kiitz.) Grun.].

Valves 69-96 « long and 2.7-3 « broad, narrowly lanceolate, walls

twice constricted in the middle with ends produced and somewhat

capitate. Pseudoraphe narrow. Central area present. Striae 17-19 in

10 yu, fine.

The form agrees well with the type except that some forms found in

this region were definitely longer than those recorded in the literature.

5. Synedra ulna (Nitz.) Ehr. v. subaequalis Grun. (Fig. 17)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—II: 61, f. 382 f-i.

Valves 300-495 w long and 6.5-8 « broad, linear, slightly bent with

narrowed, constricted, produced broadly subcapitate ends. Pseudo-

raphe narrow, linear ; central area present or absent, Striae 8-9 in 10 y,

coarse,

FIGURES 1-16

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

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4. Cyclotella

; 5-6. Fragilaria rumpens (Kiitz.) Carl. v. familiaris (Kiitz.)

8-9. Cocconeis placentula Ehr. ;

; 11-12. N. cayptocephala v. subsalina Hustedt ; 13. N. pygmaea

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Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

FIGURES 17-31

MUL

i a

deere

oe Bf

ace

eoe®

ese

Veovete

eBeeayre

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ve .

eoslow Parr Gor enced eee Goy seeng,,

Fig. 17. Synedra ulna (Nitz.) Ehr. v. subaequalis Grun. ; 18. S. ulna v. biceps Kiitz. : 19. Eunotia

major (W. Sm.) Rabh. v. indica (Grun.) A. Berg; 20. Anomoeoneis sphaerophora (Kiitz.) Pfit.;

21. Pinnularia kolhapurensis sp. nov. ; 22. P. notata (Perag. & Hér.) A. Cl. v. rostrata A. Cl.;

23. P. biceps Greg. v. amphicephala (May.) A. Cl.; 24. Cymbella kerkevarensis A. Cl.: 25,56

tumidula Grun.; 26. Gomphonema subapicatum Fritsch & Rich.; 27. G. lanceolatum Eht. ;

28. G. spicula sp. nov.; 29. G. olivaceum (Lyng.) Kiitz.; 30. Epithemia zebra (Ehr.) Kiitz. ;

31. E. zebra v. proboscidea (Kiitz.) Grun.

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 495

6. Synedra ulna v. biceps Kiitz. (Fig. 18)

Hustedt, Bacil. 154, f. 166 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

fe 6258, 382, 1:

Valves 250-425 « long and 6-7 w broad, linear, bent in the middle,

with swollen, broadly subcapitate ends. Pseudoraphe narrow. Striae

7-8 in 10 «, very coarse.

Family EUNOTIACEAE

7. Eunotia major (W. Sm.) Rabh. v. indica (Grun.) TN, Berg (Figs. 7, 19)

Berg. IN Bot. Not. 1939 : 452; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed.

Finn.—II: 120, f. 456 r.

Valves 38-68 » long and 7.7- 104 broad, sublinear, arcuate with

ventral side concave and dorsal side convex, ends constricted on the

dorsal side, obliquely capitate-wedge-shaped. Polar nodules small.

Striae 9-10 in the middle and 12-14 in 10 uw, at the ends.

Family ACHNANTHACEAE

8. Cocconeis placentula Ehr. (Figs. 8-9)

Hustedt, Bacil. 189, f. 260 a-b; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed.

Finn.—Ill : 8, f. 492 a-b (= C. placentula v. genuina Mayer).

Valves 15-30 « long and 10-16 w broad, elliptical. Valve with raphe :

raphe thin and straight ; axial area very narrow; central area small,

roundish ; striae 27 in 104, finely punctate, marginal rim distinct.

Valve without raphe : pseudoraphe narrow, linear ; striae 23-25 in 10 wu,

interrupted by many closely placed longitudinal, somewhat wavy hyaline

bands.

Family NAVICULACEAE

9. Mastogloia recta Hustedt (Fig. 32)

Voist, M:,-J; roy. microsc. Soc, 75; 191. 2; f. 3.

Valves 41-47 » long and 13-13.5 « broad, linear-elliptical with

slightly constricted, produced obtusely rounded ends. Raphe thick,

complex with slightly unilaterally bent central pores. Axial area narrow,

linear ; central area fairly large, roundish. Belt of loculi arcuate,

slightly away from the margins ; loculi 9-10 in 10 », each loculus 1-1.3 «

long and 2-3 » broad. Striae 12-14 in 10 », radial throughout or some-

times inconspicuously convergent at the extreme ends, coarse and clearly

punctate, 1-2 median striae smaller or deformed.

This form agrees well with the type (photomicrograph) given by

Voigt, except that the margins are feebly convex and the ends slightly

produced,

496 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

10. Mastogloia recta v. pulchella Voigt (Figs. 33-35)

Voigt, M., J. roy. microsc. Soc., 75: 191, t. 2, f. 4.

Frustules epiphytic on Chara, united in short ribbons, broadly rec-

tangular in girdle view with two longitudinal belts of loculi. Valves

24-35 « long and 11-13 » broad, broadly lanceolate with slightly con-

stricted, produced obtuse ends. Raphe, central and axial areas as in the

type. Loculi 8-9 in 10 «, each loculus except the end ones, 1-1.2 long

and 2-3 » broad. Striae 13-14 in 10 radial throughout or at the

extreme ends 2-3 striae either perpendicular or convergent, coarse and

clearly punctate, punctae 22-23 in 10, 1-2 median striae smaller or

somewhat deformed.

11. Anomoeoneis sphaerophora (Kiitz.) Pfitzer (Fig. 20)

Hustedt, Bacil. 262, f. 422 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

Ill: 202, f. 928 a (=A. sphaerophora v. genuina A. Cl.).

Valves 50-55 « long and 17-18.5 « broad, sub-elliptical to elliptical

lanceolate with narrowed, produced, slightly capitate ends. Raphe thin

with curved central pores. Axial area very narrow ; central area large,

unilaterally widened. Striae 16-18 in 10 «, coarsely punctate, towards

the axial part interrupted by broad, irregular, longitudinal wavy hyaline

bands.

12. Navicula cuspidata Kiitz. f. brevirostrata f. nov. (Fig. 36)

Valvae 58.8-68 « longae atque 18-20 u latae, elliptico-lanceolatae,

apicibus constrictis ac brevi-rostrato-subtruncatis. Raphe tenuis et

recta, poris centralibus hamo-similibus. Area axialis angustissima,

linearis ; area centralis vix evoluta. Striae transversales 14-16 in 10 yu,

plerumque perpendiculares ad lineam mediam, striae longitudinales

tenuissimae, indistinctae, circa 26-28 in 10 wu.

Valves 58.8-68 « long and 18-20 u broad, elliptic-lanceolate with

constricted, shortly rostrate subiruncate ends. Raphe thin and straight

with central pores hook-like. Axial area very narrow, linear ; central

area scarcely formed. Striae transverse 14-16 in 10 », mostly perpen-

dicular to the middle line, longitudinal striae very fine, almost indis-

tinct, about 26-28 in 10 -.

A few frustules observed in the collection, differed from the type

in being more elliptical-lanceolate with constricted, shortly rostrate-

subtruncate ends. Hence, such specimens have been tentatively regarded

13. Navicula cuspidata v. ambigua (Ehr.) Cl. (Fig. 37)

-Hustedt, Bacil. 268, f. 434; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

V: 18, f. 1353 g (=N. cuspidata Kitz. v. ambigua (Ehr.) Cl. f. crati-

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 497

cularis A. Cl.); Van Heurck, Treat. Diat. 214, t. 4, f. 193 (=N.

ambigua Ehr. f. craticula V. H.).

Valves 81-91 « long and 17-18 « broad, narrowly rhombic-lanceo-

late with constricted, produced feebly capitate ends. Craticular plates

sometimes present. Raphe thin and straight with central pores hook-like.

Axial area very narrow, linear; central area scarcely formed. Striae

transverse 16-17 in 10 «, almost perpendicular to the middle line,

longitudinal striae fine, almost indistinct, about 28 in 10 yz.

This form appears to be slender as compared to Hustedt’s form but

agrees well with others. In some forms craticular plates were also

observed as indicated by Van Heurck and Cleve-Euler in their illustra-

tions and such forms they have regarded as forma craticula and f.

craticularis, respectively. Here, these forms have been included under

N. cuspidata v. ambigua (Ehr.) Cl., since craticular stages are immobile

stages induced under unfavourable conditions of the environment.

(Smith, G. M., Cryptogamic Botany, II : 207).

14. Navicula minuta (Cleve) A. Cl. (Fig. 38)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—III: 142, f. 791 a (=N,

minuta v. genuina A. Cl.).

Valves 19-20 uw long and 7 « broad, broadly lanceolate with constric-

ted, shortly capitate ends. Raphe thin and straight with central pores

closely set. Axial area very narrow; central area small, roundish.

Striae 22-24in 10 , radial and fine.

This diatom agrees well with the type, except that it is

somewhat smaller in dimensions. It also compares well with

N. carassius Ehr., as described by Donkin (Donkin, Brit. Diat. 20, t. 3,

f. 7), in the outline. But as the dimensions are not indicated, the

comparison is difficult. Moreover, the ends are described to be produced

which are here capitate, hence it differs.

15. Navicula cryptocephala Kiitz. (Fig. 10)

Hustedt, Bacil. 295, f. 496; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

Ill : 154, f. 813 a-e (= N. cryptocephala v. genuina A. Cl.).

Valves 27-44 « long and 6-7 « broad, lanceolate with somewhat

constricted produced ends. Striae 14-17 in 10 u, lineate, radial in the

middle and convergent at the ends.

16. Navicula cryptocephala v. subsalina Hust. (Figs. 11-12)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—III: 154, f. 813 1-j, n.

Valves 18-27 u long and 5-6.6 » broad, lanceolate with rounded

ends. Raphe thin and straight. Axial area very narrow, linear ; central

area small, elliptical. Striae 14-17 in 10 », radial in the middle and con-

vergent at the ends, lineate,

498 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

17. Navicula pygmaea Kiitz. (Fig. 13)

Hustedt, Bacil, 312, f. 561; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

IIT: 105, f. 708.

Valves 18-25 w long and 9-10 « broad, elliptical. Raphe thin and

straight with central pores closely set and distinct. Axial area very

narrow; central area small, rectangular. Striae 26-28 in 10 », radial,

interrupted in the axial region by a H-shaped hyaline area.

18. Pinnularia kolhapurensis sp. nov. (Fig. 21).

Valvae 36-40 w longae atque 8.5 » latae, sublineares, apicibus

aliquantum constrictis, productis atque truncato-rotundatis. Raphe

tenuis et recta, ornata poris centralibus unilateraliter inclinatis, fissuris

terminalibus aliquantum curvatis. Area axialis angusta ; area centralis

lata, rhomboidea ad latera perveniens. Striae 11-13 in 10 ~, crassae,

proximae positae, radiales in medio ac convergentes in utroque apice.

Valves 36-40 « long and 8.5 w broad, sublinear with slightly

constricted, produced, truncate rounded ends. Raphe thin and straight

with unilaterally bent central pores and slightly curved terminal fissures.

Axial area narrow; central area wide, rhomboid, reaching the sides.

Striae 11-13 in 10 p, thick, closely set, radial in the middle and conver-

gent at the ends.

This form remotely resembles P. subcapitata Greg. (Hustedt, Bacil.

317, f. 571; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—IV : 64, f. 1090 a-b)

(=P. subcapitata v. genuina A. Cl.); Lund, J. W. G., New Phytol. 45: 90,

f. 10 T-V), in the outline and somewhat in ends. However, the present

form appears to be distinctive, as it is proportionately much broader than

P. subcapitata, besides having closely set striae and rhomboidal central

area. Hence it is tentatively considered to be a new species.

19. Pinnularia notata (Perag. & Hér.) A. Cl. v. rostrata A. Cl. (Fig. 22)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—IV : 56, f. 1075 e-f, k.

Valves 27-35 « long and 8-8.5 , broad, linear with somewhat

abruptly constricted, produced rounded ends. Raphe thin and straight.

Axial area narrow, linear ; central area very large reaching the sides.

Striae 10-12 in 10 «, coarse, radial in the middle and convergent at the

ends.

This diatom agrees well with the type, except that some smaller forms

were also recorded in the area.

20. Pinnularia biceps Greg. v. amphicephala (May.) A. Cl. (Fig. 23)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—IV : 63, f. 1088 1; Hustedt,

Bacil. 319, f. 578 [= P. braunii (Grun.) Cl. v. amphicephala (A. Mayer)

Hustedt].

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 499

Valves 42-45 long and 8.5-9 « broad, sublinear with'slightly convex

sides and constricted capitate ends. Raphe thin and straight with central

pores unilaterally bent and closely set; terminal fissures curved. Axial

area narrow; central area very large, rhomboid, reaching the sides. Striae

10-12 in 10 w, coarse, radial in the middle and convergent at the ends.

The form recorded from this area agrees well with the type, except

that they are slightly broader.

21. Amphora veneta Kiitz. (Figs. 14-15)

Hustedt, Bacil. 345, f. 631 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

III: 96, f. 682,

Frustules 13-24 « long and 8-10 w broad, broadly elliptical with

somewhat subtruncate ends in the girdle view. Valves 4-4.5 jw broad,

strongly convex on the dorsal side and slightly concave on the ventral

margin with inwardly bent rounded ends. Raphe thin, very close

to the ventral margin with central pores dorsally directed. Striae 16-20

in 10 4, in the middle and up to 27 at the ends, median striae clearly

punctate, end striae very finely punctate and rather indistinct, radial

throughout. Ventral margin very shortly punctate.

This form is described by Krishnamurthy (1954) where he indicates

that the frustules have constriction in the middle zone. However, the

present author observed no such constrictions in any of his forms

collected from several places, and he finds no such point mentioned

either by Hustedt (1930) or Cleve-Euler (1953).

22. Cymbella kerkevarensis A. Cl. (Fig. 24)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—IV: 146, f. 1215.

Valves 22-25 « long and 7.7-8 4 broad, asymmetrical with strongly

convex dorsal side and slightly convex ventral side, ends slightly cons-

tricted and rostrate. Raphe thin, slightly arcuate or apparently straight,

excentric and strongly marked. Axial area very narrow; central area

very small. Striae 11-13 in 10 ~, throughout radial and finely punctate.

This form agrees well with the type, except that it is somewhat

smaller in dimensions.

23. Cymbella tumidula Grun. (Fig. 25)

Hustedt, Bacil. 361, f. 669; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

IV : 157, f. 1239 a-b (=C. tumidula v. genuina A. Cl.)

Valves 35-40 uw long and 8.8-9 w broad, asymmetrical, lanceolate

with strongly convex dorsal side and slightly convex ventral side; ends

constricted and produced, rounded. Raphe thick, excentric. Axial area

very narrow ; central area slightly widened towards the dorsal side,

ventral side with two distinct puncta. Striae 12-14 in 10 yx, radial,

indistinctly punctate and somewhat closer at the ends.

500 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 35 (3)

24. Gomphonema subapicatum Fritsch & Rich. (Fig. 26)

Gandhi, H. P., J. Indian bot. Soc. 35 : 205, f. 22.

Valves 55-60 , and 10-11 yw broad, lanceolate-clavate with

constricted, subapiculate apex and attenuated base. Raphe thin and

straight. Central area with an isolated stigma on one side. Striae 10-13

in 10 , radial and distinctly punctate.

25. Gomphonema lacus-rankala sp. nov. (Fig. 39)

Valvae 69-90 »« longae atque 18.5-20 « latae, late lanceolato-clavatae,

apice constricto, late rostrato-rotundato, ad basim concavo, attenuato-

rotundato. Raphe crassa, cum portione centrali unilateraliter inclinata.

Area axialis angustissima, lanceolata; area centralis aliquantum

unilateralis cum unico stigmate in latere opposito. Striae 8-9 in 10 ,,

radiales, crassae atque distincte punctatae, punctis 16-17 in 10 p.

Valves 69-90 uw long and 18.5-20 « broad, broadly lanceolate-clavate

with constricted, broadly rostrate rounded apex and somewhat concave

attenuated rounded base. Raphe thick with central portion unilaterally

bent. Axial area narrowly lanceolate ; central area slightly unilateral

with a stigma on the opposite side. Striae 8-9 in 10 , radial, coarse and

distinctly punctate, puncta 16-17 in 10 vp.

This form bears some resemblance with G. subapicatum Frit. & Rich.

described above, in the outline and constricted apex. However, it

differs from it in having thick raphe with unilaterally bent central part,

conspicuously rostrate apex, very coarsely punctate striae and some other

details. It, therefore, appears to be a distinctive form, hence it is

considered to be a new species.

26. Gomphonema lacus-rankala v. robusta v. nov. (Fig. 40)

Valvae 90-101 , longae atque 18.7 , latae, robustae, longo-lanceo-

lato-clavatae, apice aliquantum constricto, rostrato-rotundato, ad basim

attenuato, rotundato. Striae 8-10 in 10 w, crasse punctatae, ac

aliquantum radiales. In coeteris ut typus.

Valves 90-101 « long and 18.7 » broad, robust, long-lanceolate-

clavate with slightly constricted, rostrate-rounded apex and attenuated

rounded base. Striae 8-10 in 10 w, coarsely punctate and slightly

radial. In other details like the above type.

This form differs from the above type in being elongated, more

lanceolate-clavate, robust with somewhat prominently rostrate apex. It is,

therefore, regarded as a new variety of G. lacus-rankala, with which

it occurred in a good number.

27. Gomphonema lacus-rankala v. gracilis v. nov. (Fig. 41)

Valvae 100-112 longae atque 15 , latae, angustissime-lanceolato-

clavatae, apice aliquantum constricto, tenuissime producto, ad basim

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

FIGURES 32-51

Fig. 32. Mastogloia recta Hustedt; 33-35. M. recta v. pulchella Voigt ; 36. Navicula

cuspidata Kutz. f. brevirostrata f. nov.; 37. N. cuspidata v. ambigua (Ehr.) Cl.; 38. N.

minuta (Cleve) A. Cl.; 39. Gomphonema lacus-rankala sp. nov.; 40. G. lacus-rankala

Vv. robusta v. nov.; 41. G. lacus-rankala v. gracilis v. nov.; 42. G. intricatum Kitz. ; 43.

G. intricatum v. bohemicum (Reichelt & Fricke) A. Cl. ; 44-45. Epithemia zebra (Ehr.) Kiitz. v.

frickei A. Cl. ; 46. E. zebra v. porcellus (Kiitz.) Grun. ; 47. Rhopalodia gibba (Ehr.) O. Miill. ;

48. Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grun. v. densestriata (Font.) A. Cl. ; 49. Nitzschia thermalis

Kitz. v. minor Hilse ; 50. N. commutata Grun. v. pamirensis (Hust.) A. Cl.; 51. N. gander-

Sheimiensis Krasske.

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 501

attenuato rotundato. Raphe, area axialis atque centralis ut in typo.

Striae 8-10 in 10 p, radiales atque punctatae, punctis 20-22 in 10 »,

striae aliquantum proxime positae in utroque apice.

Valves 100-112 long and 15 w broad, narrowly-lanceolate-clavate

with very slightly constricted, much produced narrower apex and attenuated

rounded base. Raphe, central and axial areas as in the type. Striae 8-10

in 10 p, radial, punctate, puncta 20-22 in 10 p, striae somewhat closely

set at the apices.

This form agrees well with G. lacus-rankala, in the outline, apex,

raphe and striae. However, it differs from the same in being slender,

with more pointed apex. Moreover, the striae have comparatively finer

puncta. It is, therefore, regarded as a new variety of G. lacus-rankala

with which it occurred in a smaller number.

28. Gomphonema lanceolatum Ehr. (Fig. 27)

Hustedt, Bacil. 376, f. 700 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Bian —

IV : 184, f. 1280 a-e (= G. fonccolanun v. genuinum A. Cl.).

Valves 60-70 » long and 12 » broad, lanceolate-clavate with distinctly

rounded apex and base, base somewhat narrower. Raphe slightly thick

and straight. Axial area narrow, linear ; central area slightly unilateral

with an isolated stigma on the opposite side. Striae 8-13 in 10 «, radial

and lineate.

29. Gomphonema spicula sp. nov. (Fig. 28)

Valvae 38-58 « longae atque 5.5-8 mw latae, anguste lanceolato-

clavatae, aliquantum arcuatae, apice acutissimo, basi gradatim fastigata.

Raphe crassa, cum portione centrali unilateraliter inclinata, fissuris

terminalibus distinctis. Area axialis angustissima, linearis ; area centralis

quadrata, unilateralis cum unico stigmate in latere opposito. Striae 12-15

in 10 yp, radiales, distincte punctatae, punctis tenuibus sed distinctis.

Valves 38-58 ;« long and 5.5-8 4 broad, narrowly lanceolate-clavate,

slightly curved with very acute apex and gradually attenuated base.

Raphe thick with central part unilaterally bent and terminal fissures

distinct. Axial area very narrow, linear ; central area quadrate and

unilateral with an isolated stigma on the opposite side. Striae 12-15 in

10 yw, radial, distinctly punctate, but fine.

This form does not agree with any of the known types of Gomphonema,

hence, it is considered to be a new species.

30. Gomphonema intricatum Kiitz. (Fig. 42)

Hustedt, Bacil. 375, f. 697 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

IV : 187, f. 1283 a-d (= G. intricatum v. genuinum Mayer).

Valves 39-42 w long and 5.5-6.7 « broad, subclavate with constricted

slightly swollen broadly rounded apex and attenuated rounded base.

502 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Raphe slightly thick. Axial area narrow, linear ; central area unilateral

with an isolated stigma on the opposite side. Striae 8-9 in 10 pu, in the

middle up to 12 at the apices, radial, coarse, punctate, median striae

very small and widely set.

31. Gomphonema intricatum v. bohemicum (Reich. & Fricke) A. Cl.

(Fig. 43)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn. IV: 189, f.2183 v-w ; Hustedt,

Bacil. 377, f. 718 a-c (=G. bohemicum Reich. & Fricke).

Valves 40-45 « long and 7-7.5 uw broad, linear-clavate with broadly

rounded, somewhat thickened apex and acutely rounded base. Raphe

thin and straight. Axial area linear ; central area unilaterally reaching

the side, large with an isolated stigma on the opposite side. Striae 6-8

in 10 » in the middle and up to 11 at the ends, slightly radial and curved,

indistinctly punctate.

32. Gomphonema olivaceum (Lyng.) Kutz. (Fig. 29)

Hustedt, Bacil. 378, f. 719 a-c; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed.

Finn.—IV : 192, f. 1291 f-g (=G. olivaceum Vv. genuinum Mayet)

Valves 20-24 w long and 6-6.5 « broad, clavate with broadly round-

ed apex and attenuated base. Raphe thin and straight. Axial area

somewhat narrow ; central area moderate without an isolated stigma.

Striae 8-11 in 10 yw, radial and curved.

Family EPITHEMIACEAE

33. Epithemia zebra (Ehr.) Kutz. (Fig. 30)

Van Heurck, Treat. Diat. 296, t. 9, f. 357; Hustedt, Bacil. 384,

f. 729 ; Cleve-Euler, A.; Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 37; f) 1409) a-f

(=E. zebra v. genuina Grun.).

Frustules free or were found as epiphyte on Hydrilla and Chara,

rectangular in girdle view. Valves 40-50 long and 8-9 ,« broad, arcuate

with dorsal side convex and ventral side concave, ends very slightly or

not at all constricted, narrow to obtusely rounded. Raphe in the

raphe-canal reaching 3-4 the breadth of the valve. Costae 3-4 in 10 p,

strong and radial, alternating with 3-5 rows rarely 2 rows of alyecls

rows of alveoli 12-13 in 10 p.

34. Epithemia zebra v. frickei A. Cl. (Figs. 44-45)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 37, f. 1409 h; Hustedt,

Bacil. 387, f. 732 (=E. intermedia Fricke).

Frustules were found epiphytic on Chara and Hydrilla, rectangular

in girdle view. Valves 36-49 4 long and 9.7-10 w broad, slightly arcuate ;

dorsal side convex or in larger forms somewhat straight in the middle

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR. 503

part; ventral side more less concave; ends slightly depressed, backwardly

oriented and rounded. Raphe in the raphe-canal very close to the

ventral margin, slightly curved in the middle or sometimes reaching

4 the breadth of the valve. Costae 3-4 in 10 », almost parallel with one

another, alternating with 3-5 rows of alveoli, rows of alveoli 12-13 in

10 yu, fairly well developed.

This form is treated according to Cleve-Euler’s diagnosis, since

it does not show any appreciable difference with E. zebra, in its general

organisation. Here, therefore, Hustedt’s EF. intermedia Fricke is con-

sidered to be the variety of E. zebra.

35. Epithemia zebra v. proboscidea (Kutz.) Grun. (Fig. 31)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 38, f. 1409 m-n.

Frustules were found epiphytic on Chara or Hydrilla, some-

times isolated rectangular in girdle view. Valves 50-53 » long and

8-8 «, broad, linear, arcuate with strongly constricted, produced rounded

ends. Raphe in the raphe-canal reaching 4 the breadth of the valve.

Costae 3-3.5in 10 p, alternating with 3-5 rows of alveoli; rows of

alveoli 12-13 in 10 ,, quite distinct.

A few forms observed in the collection, none showed capitate ends

as indicated by Van Heurck for his specimen (Van Heurck, Treat. Diat.

297, t. 9, f. 358). However, the present form agrees well with

figure ‘1409 m’, given by Cleve-Euler, hence it is so treated.

36. Epithemia zebra v. porcellus (Kiitz.) Grun. (Fig. 46)

Skvortzow, B. W., Philipp. J. Sci., 65: 416, t. 2, f. 3; Cleve-Euler,

A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 38, f. 1409 q.

Frustules were found epiphytic on Chara and Ceratophyllum along

with the type, rectangular in girdle view. Valves 60-71.5 « long and

8.8-10 « broad, slightly arcuate, linear with conspicuously constricted,

broadly capitate rounded ends, sometimes ends slightly backwardly bent.

_Raphe in the raphe-canal reaching the centre. Costae 3-3.5 in 10 uw,

radial, alternating with 3-4 rows of alveoli, rarely 5, rows of alveoli 12-13

in 10 p.

| Hustedt’s E. zebra v. porcellus (Kutz.) Grun. (Hustedt, Bacil. 385,

f. 731) is treated as E. zebra v. proboscidea (Kitz.) Grun., by Cleve-

Euler, since its ends are neither strongly constricted-capitate nor back-

wardly bent.

37. Rhopalodia gibba (Ehr.) O. Miill. (Fig. 47)

Hustedt, Bacil. 390, f. 740 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

V: 44, fig. 1416 a, e (=R. gibba v. genuina Grun.) ; Van Heurck, Treat.

Diat. 296, t. 9, f. 352 (= Epithemia gibba Kiitz.). 3

504. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Frustules free or found epiphytic on Chara and Ceratophyllum, 80-124

uw long and 18-20» broad, elongated, linear with slightly notched inflations

in the middle ; ends subtruncate, slightly swollen with rounded corners.

Valves 7-9 « broad, dorsal side slightly bulged in the middle with a

notch, ventral side straight with a slight depression at the ends which are

acutely rounded. Costae 6-7 in 10 «, becoming strongly radial towards

the ends, alternating with 2-3 rows of alveoli, rows of alveoli 12-14 in

10 «, fine but distinct, crossed by a hazy longitudinal band or fold.

This specimen agrees very well with illustrations given by Cleve-Euler

and Van Heurck, but differs from that of Hustedt’s which shows ends

to be gradually narrowed in girdle view, as in R. gibba v. ventricosa

(Ehr.) Grun. (Hustedt, Bacil. 391, f. 741 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed.

Finn.-—V : 44, f. 1416 c-d).

Family NITZSCIACEAE

38. Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grun. v. densestriata (Font.) A. Cl.

(Fig. 48)

Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 49, f. 1419 n-p.

Valves 35-38 « long and 5-5.5 « broad, slightly arcuate, linear with

constricted, rostrate obtuse ends. Keel excentric with keel puncta 9-10

in 10 », distinct. Striae 23-24 in 10 x, fine but distinct.

39. Nitzschia tryblionella Hantz. v. levidensis (W. Sm.) Grun. (Fig. 16)

Hustedt, Bacil. 399, f. 760 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

V: 51, f. 1430 1-1.

Valves 31-50 « long and 8.7-10.5 » broad, linear with constricted,

slightly produced ends. Keel excentric, notched in the middle, keel

puncta 10-11 in 10 ~. Striae 11-13 in 10 «, coarse and undulate.

40. Nitzschia thermalis Kitz. v. minor Hilse (Fig. 49)

Hustedt, Bacil. 403, f. 772 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

V. 6, 4f. 1445 g-h.

Valves 30-35 « long and 7-7.5 « broad, linear, concave in the

middle with wedge-shaped, constricted rostrate ends. Keel excentric,

keel puncta 10-12 in 10 u. Striae over 30 in 10 p, fine and seen with

difficulty.

41. Nitzschia commutata Grun. v. pamirensis (Hust.) A. Cl. (Fig. 50)

Cleve-Euler, A. Diat. Schwed. Finn.—V : 64, f. 1443 c.

Valves 45-47 « long and 7.7 » broad, linear, concave in the middle

- with wedge-shaped, constricted, shortly capitate ends. ' Keel excentric,

keel puncta 8-9 in 10 u«, distinct. Striae about 24 in 10 y, fine.

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 505

42. Nitzschia gandersheimiensis Krasske (Fig. 51)

Hustedt, Bacil. 417, f. 804 ; Cleve-Euler, A., Diat. Schwed. Finn.—

V: 86, f. 1495 b.

Valves 46-63 « long and 3.4-4.4 « broad, narrowly linear-lanceolate

or lanceolate with somewhat constricted, produced rounded ends. Keel

excentric, keel puncta distinct, somewhat irregularly disposed, 8-11 in

10 «. Striae very fine, indistinct probably over 35 in 10 pz.

In the following table, in addition to the above named diatoms, others

are also included which occurred in the said area. Since these are being

described and illustrated from other places by the author and as they do

not show any special feature of interest, it is therefore considered

sufficient merely to list them and indicate their distribution in this region

and other places in India.

TABLE SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF DIATOMS COLLECTED FROM

KOLHAPUR AND ITS IMMEDIATE VICINITY

ets Previous place of

List of Diatoms Place ees te collection in India

| and its author’

Achnanthes minutissima |

Kitz. .. |Rankala, Kalamba, and other! 17, 28.

tanks; common.

Amphora ovalis Kitz. v.

pediculus Kitz. .. | Widely distributed in pools and| 5, 16, 19.

tanks; frequent.

A, veneta (Kiitz.) Hustedt | Widely distributed; very com-/17, 18, 28, 43.

mon.

Anomoeoneis Sphaepep hore

(Kiitz.) Pfit. Rankala and Kalamba tanks/1, 5, 23, 42.

and pools; occasional.

Caloneis silicula (Ehr.) Cl. |Rankala and Kalamba tanks; | 16,-17.

not common.

Cocconeis placentula Ehr. do. 1,5, 14, 23, 33, 46.

C. — v. euglypta (Ehr.)

Clk .. |Widely distributed; very com-| 1, 16, 17, 19, 22, 42.

mon.

Cyclotella meneghiniana

Kitz. .. | Widely distributed, particularly|1, 5, 16, 17, 19, 22,

in slimy matrix; frequent. 39, 42..

C. — f. binotata Grun. .. | Rankala tank, pools, and filter-| 17, 18.

house drainage; rare.

-4 Numbers in this column refer to the bibliography at the end of this paper.

506.

~ List of Diatoms

Cymbella kerkevarensis A.| —

Cr. .. | Pools, puddles, and tanks; not

C. tumidula Grun.

C. turgida (Gerg.) Cl.

C. ventricosa Kutz.

Diploneis puella (Schum.)

Chk ae

Epithemia zebra (Ehr.)

Kitz. ase

E. — vy. frickei A. Cl. ..

E. — v. porcellus a)

Grun.

E. — v. proboscidea ae )

Grun.

Eunotia

Grun.

lunaris

(Ehr.)

E. major (W. Sm.) Rabh. v.

indica (Grun.) A. Berg ..

Fragilaria intermedia Grun.

F. rumpens (Kitz.) Carl.

if familiaris (KUtz.) A.

l. a

Gomphonema augur Ehr. ..

G. gracile Ehr.

G. intricatum Kiitz.

G. — v. bohemicum (Reich.

& Fricke) A.CL.

Place of collection in

Kolhapur >

common. Also collected

from Sagar and Jog Falls.

. | Rankala tank; rare.

Pools, puddles, and tanks;

frequent but never abundant.

. | Pools, puddles, and tanks; com-

mon.

Stagnant water of drainage,

pools, and puddles; not com-

mon.

Widely distributed in tanks;

common.

Rankala tank; occasional.

Rankala tank; common.

Rankala tank; not common.

Also in Kalamba tank.

Marginal slime of tanks; occa-

sional.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks

and puddles; not common.

Pools, puddles, and _ tanks;

common.

Rankala, Kalamba, and other

tanks; common.

Pools and tanks; not common.

. | Pools, tanks, and ditches; com-

mon.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks;

rare.

“

Rankala tank and paddy fields;

not common.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Previous place of

collection in India

A new record for

India.

do.

, 1651 17; 21,25; 42;

» Sp lOnlis, 28,

—

ee) WAX ont ys Sats

—

ter ee ODT.

A new record for

India.

do.

(45. 12s Ogee

5, 25 = indica

Grun.).

Mie OD, Mb).

22 (= Synedra rumpens

v. familiaris Kiitz.).

D5. (cao

5, °6,. 14. 194 21, 28;

33, 46.

15255228,233,047.

record for

A new

India.

_ FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM .KOLHAPUR 5

‘List of Diatoms

G. lacus-rankala sp.

nov. -

G. — v. gracilis Vv. nov. ..

G. — v. robusta v. nov. ..

G. montanum Schum. v.

acuminatum May.

G. olivaceum (Lyng.) Kutz.

G. parvulum (Kutz.) Grun.

G. sphaerophorum Ehr. ..

G. spicula sp. nov.

G. subapicatum Fritsch &

Rich. an

Hantzschia amphioxys

(Ehr.) Grun. v. denses-

triata (Font.) A. Cl.. ..

Mastogloia recta Hustedt

M. — v. pulchella Voigt ..

Melosira granulata (Ehr.)

Ralfs =

M, — V. angustissima

Mill. es

M. — Vv. muzzanensis

Meister

Navicula cryptocephala

Kitz.

N. — v. subsalina Hust...

N. — cuspidata Kutz.

Place of collection in

Kolhapur

Rankala tank; common.

Rankala tank; rare.

Rankala tank; less common.

Rankala tank and pools; not

common.

Rankala and temple tanks, and

paddy fields; fairly common.

Widely distributed; common.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks,

pools; fairly common.

do. Also recorded

from Bombay.

Tanks, ponds, pools; common

Rankala tank and pools; rare.

Rankala tank; occasional.

Rankala tank; common. Also

recorded from Ahmedabad.

Marginal slime of tanks, pools,

ponds, and filter-house drain-

age pools; very common.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks,

filter-house drainage; rare, .

Rankala and Kalamba_ tanks,

filter-house drainage fairly

common.

Widely distributed ; common.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks

and some _ pools;

common.

Pools, ponds, and tanks ; less

common.

not

507.

Previous place of

collection in India

and its author

A new record.

do.

4, 5, 28.

3 LO; M75 215-25, 34,

42.

ZL A28s

A new record.

Poe N73

-A new record for

India.

do.

550.65) 075, 19; 22.46;

42.

5, 12, 16, 24, 25, 47.

lan

Me 5, 34 age are

SPE SITLL I SE DT ETT SELLE SP EP TEL I IE TE I EI LELES EL IPE IEEE LEELA IE,

508 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Previous place of

collection in India

and its author

Place of collection in

sh é' |

List of Diatoms : Kolhapur

N. — f. brevirostrata

f. nov. .- |Rankala tank; occasional. | A new record.

Also recorded from Lonavla.

N. — v.ambigua (Ehr.) Cl. | Widely distributed ; common. | 16, 24, 46, 47.

N. — v. conspicua Venkat. |Tanks and ponds; not |17, 24, 42.

common.

N. minuta (Cleve). A.Cl. | Rankala tank ; rare. A new record for India.

N. mutica Kitz. .. | Desiccated soils, marginal slime |5, 18, 46, 47.

of tanks ; common.

N. pupula Kitz. .. |Rankala and Kalamba tanks, |5, 19, 24, 46. -

and pools ; common.

N. — v. capitata Hust. .. |Rankala and Kalamba tanks, | 16, 24, 43.

and pools ; fairly common.

N. — V. elliptica Hust. .. |Rankala and Kalamba tanks, | 17.

and pools ; not common.

N. pygmaea Kiitz. .. |Rankala and Kalamba tanks; | 24, 42.

fairly common. -

N. radiosa Kitz. .. |Pools and puddles, tanks; |{1, 5, 43.

not common.

Nitz chia amphibia Grun. | Widely distributed ; common. |5, 6, 16, 17, 34, 42.

N. — v. acutiuscula Grun. | Small drying pools and ponds; | 17.

Jess common.

N. commutata Grun. Vv.

pamirensis (Hust.) A. Cl. | Rankala and Kalamba tanks ; | A new record forIndia.

not common.

N. frustulum (Kiitz.) Grun. | Wet soils, pond, pools, and | 16.

puddles ; fairly common.

N. gandersheimiensis Krass-

ke e- |Rankala and Kalamba tanks, | 16.

and ponds; not common.

N. obtusa W. Sm. v. scal-

pelliformis Grun. .. | Widely distributed ; common. | 16, 17, 34, 42.

N. palea (Kiitz.) W.Sm. .. | Widely distributed, also in wet |1, 5, 17, 18, 34, 42.

soils ; very common.

N. thermalis Kutz. v. minor :

Hilse .. |Marginal slime of tanks, wet | 18.

soils ; fairly common.

N. sublinearis Hust. .. |Pools and tanks ; common. 16, 17.

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR 509

Previous place of

collection in India

and its author

Place of collection in

Kolhapur

List of Diatoms

N. tryblionella Wantz. v.

levidensis (W.Sm.) Grun.| Pools and tanks; not quite

common. 16, 42.

Pinnularia acrosphaeria

Bréb. ..|Rankala, Kalamba, and other| 5, 6, 19, 20, 21, 33,

tanks ; frequent. 42.

P. — v. minor Cleve .. | Widely distributed in ponds| 17, 19, 20.

and tanks ; never abundant.

P. biceps Greg. v. amphi-

cephala (May.) A. Cl. ..| Pools and tanks; not common.| A new record for India.

P.notata (Perag. & Hér.) |

A.Cl. v. rostrata A. Cl.|Rankala tank ; rare. do.

P. kolhapurensis sp.nov. .. | Rankala tank ; rare. A new record.

Rhopalodia gibba (Ehr.) O.

Mill. ..|Kalamba and Rankala tanks} 1, 4, 5, 17, 42.

and some _ ponds; less

common.

R. gibba v. ventricosa (Ehr.) v55))

Grun., .. | Widely distributed ; more fre-| 17, 42.

quent than the above type.

Stauroneis phoenicenteron

Ehr. ..| Tanks, ponds, and puddles;| 5, 6, 21, 23, 27, 31,

fairly common. 34, 46, 47.

Surirella tenera Greg. ..|Kalamba tank; rare. 19, 42.

Synedra acus Kiitz. ot ‘Pools and tanks ; common. 35) Op 75, 28547.

S. ulna (Nitz.) Ehr. .. Widely distributed ; very com-| 1, 4, 5, 16, 19, 21,

| mon. 22,2 42.

S. — v.amphirhynchus | Bia

(Ehr.) Grun. .. | Widely distributed ; frequent. By Ot L615 Oe 22;

| es

S.— vy. biceps Kiitz. .. | Rankala and Kalamba tanks ;| 19.

occasional.

‘

S.— Vv. danica (Kitz)

Grun. Tanks, ponds, and pools ; fairly | 16, 19, 21, 22.

common.

Rankala and Kalamba tanks;| 22, 33, 46.

not common.

S.— v. subaequalis Grun.

510 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

SUMMARY

For the first time the freshwater Diatomaceae of Kolhapur and its

immediate environs are investigated. Of these an illustrated account is

presented in these pages. In a separate table the distribution of forms is

given indicating the places of collection in Kolhapur, previous places of

collection in India and their authors, and new records for science as well

as for India.

In all seventy-nine diatoms are recorded from the said area, of Hin

thirteen are new records for India, and three species, two varieties, and

one form considered to be new.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author wishes to express his grateful thanks to Rev. Fr. Francis

Braganza, S. J.,

Latin diagnoses ;

of St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, for correcting the

and to Profs. J. B. Petersen, A°. Berg, Foged Niels,

J. W. G. Lund, Dr. Hustedt, Mr. M. Voigt, and other friends for

providing the literature.

REFERENCES

1. Abdul-Majeed, M. (1935): Fresh-

water Algae of the Panjab, Pt. I, Bacil-

lariophyta (Diatomeae), Panjab Univ.

Publ., Lahore.

2s Berg, A. (1939) : Some new species

and forms of the Diatom genus Eunotia

Ehr. 1837. Bot. Not. 1939 : 423-62.

3. —— — (1945): Diatomeen von

der Sophia-Expedition im Jahre 1883,

Arkiv. Bot. 32a (1) : 1-34.

4. Biswas, K. (1936) : Common Dia-

toms of the Loktak Lake, Manipur

Assam, J. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 2 (2):

eee

— — — (1949): Common fresh-

i brackishwater Algal Flora of India

and Burma (a catalogue of Indian

Myxophyceae ... Bacillariophyceae—

Diatoms), Rec. Bot. Surv. India 15:

125-69.

6. Carter, N. (1926): Freshwater

Algae from India, ibid. 9 (4) : 262-302.

7. Cleve-Euler, A. (1951): Die Dia-

tomeen von Schweden und Finnland—lI,

K. Sv. V. A. Handl. Fjarde Ser. 2 (1):

1-163.

8. — — (1952) : Die Diatomeen von

Schweden und Finnland—V, ibid. 3 (3):

1-153.

9. —— (1953): Die Diatomeen von

Schyedee und Finnland—II, ibid. 4 (1):

1-158.

10. — — (1953): Die Diatomeen von

Schweden und Finnland—lIII, ibid. 4

(5) 21-255.

11. —— (1955): Die Diatomeen von

Schweden und Finnland—IV, Ibid. 5

(4) : 1-232.

12. Dickie, G. (1882) : Notes on Algae

from the Himalayas, J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.)

19 : 230. a

13. Donkin, A. S. (1871-73) : The

Natural History of the British Diato-

maceae, Pts. 1-3 : 1-74.

14. Ehrenberg, C. G. (1845) : Diatoms

from Calcutta (according to Skvortzow,

B. W. (1935)—Diatoms from Calcutta,

India, Philipp. J. Sci. 58 : 179-92).

15. Foged, N. (1957): 1. Diatoms

from Rennell Island, Natur. Hist. Ren-

nell Isl., Brit. Solomon Islands, 3 : 1-117-

16. Gandhi, H. P. (1955): A contribu-

tion to our knowledge of the freshwater

Diatoms of Partabgarh Rajasthan

J. Indian bot. Soc. 34 : 307-38.

17. —— (1956a) : A contribution to,

our knowledge of freshwater Diatoma-

ceae of S.-W. India—I. Freshwater

Diatoms of Dharwar, ibid. 35 : 194-209.

18. —— (1956b): A __ preliminary

account of the soil Diatom-flora of

Kolhapur, ibid. 35 : 402-8.

19. —— (1957a): Some common

freshwater Diatoms from Gersoppa-falls

(Jog-falls), J. Univ. Poona: Sci. Sect.

1957 : 13-21.

20. —— (1957b) : A contribution to

our knowledge of the Diatom genus

Pinnularia, JBNHS 54 (4) : 845-52.

21. —— (1957c): The _ freshwater

Diatoms from Radhanagari—Kolhapur,

Ceylon J. Sci. (Biol. Sci.) 1 (1) : 45-57.

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR

22. Gonzalves, E. A. & Gandhi. H. P.

- (1952) : A systematic account of the

Diatoms of Bombay and Salsette—lI,

J. Indian bot. Soc. 31 : 117-51.

23. —— (1953): A systematic account

of the Diatoms of Bombay and Salsette,

II, ibid. 32 : 239-63.

account of the Diatoms of Bombay and

Salsette—III, ibid 33 : 338-50.

25. Grunow, A. (1865): Siisswasser-

Diatomeen und Desmidiaceen von der

Insel Banka, Rabh. Beitrage z. Kenn.

Ver. Algen, Heft IT.

26. Hustedt, F. (1930) : Bacillariophyta

(Diatomeae) in A. Pascher’s Stisswasser-

flora Mitteleuropas. Heft 10, Jena.

27. Iyengar, M.O. P. & Subrahman-

yan, R. (1943) : Fossil Diatoms from the

Karewa Beds of Kashmir, Proc. National

Acad. Sci. India 13 : 225-36.

28. Krishnamurthy, V.

contribution to the Diatom-flora of

S. India, J. Indian bot. Soc. 33: 354-81

29. Lund, J. W.G. (1945-46): Obser-

vation on Soil Algae—I. The ecology,

size and taxonomy of British Soil

Diatoms, pts. I-II, New Phytol. 44 (2):

196-219; 45 (1): 56-110.

30. Misra, J. N. (1956): A systematic

account of some littoral marine Diatoms

from the West Coast of India, /BNHS

53 (4): 537-68.

31. Schaarschmidt, J. (1886): Notes

on Afghanistan Algae, J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.)

21: 241.

32. Skvortzow, B. W. (1928): Diatoms

from Khingan, North Manchuria, China,

Philipp. J. Sci. 35: 39-51.

33. — — — (1930): Notes on Ceylon

Diatoms, Ceylon J. Sci. 15: 251-60.

34. — —— (1935): Diatoms from

Calcutta, India, Philipp. J. Sci. 58:

179-92.

35. ——— (1936): Diatoms from

(1954): A.

S11

Biwa-Lake, Honshu Island, Nippon, ibid.

61: 253-96.

36. — — — (1937a): Diatoms from

Kizaki-Lake, Honshu Island, Nippon,

ibid. 61: 9-73.

37, ——— (1937b): Diatoms from

Olhan Gate of Baikal Lake, Siberia,

ibid. 62: 293-377.

38. —-— — (1938): Diatoms from

Kenon Lake, Transbaikalia, Siberia, ibid.

65: 399-424. .

39. Subrahmanyan, R. (1946): A sys-

tematic account of the marine plankton

Diatoms of Madras Coast, Proc. Indian

Acad, Sci. 24B: 85-197.

40. Tiffany, L. H. & Britton, M. E.

(1952): The Algae of Illinois, Univ.

Chicago Press, Chicago.

41. Van Heurck, H. (1896): A Treatise

on Diatomaceae (translated by W. E.

Baxter), London.

42. Venkataraman, G. (1939): A sys-

tematic account of some South Indian

Diatoms, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 10B:

293-368.

43. —— — (1956): Contribution to

our knowledge of freshwater Diatoms of

South India, Govt. Press Madras,

Madras.

44. Voigt, M. (1943): Note sur quel-

ques espéces Chinoises du genre Cym-

bella, Not. Bot. Chin., Musée Heude,

1943 (5): 1-50.

45. ——-— (1956): Some Mastogloia

from Pakistan, J. roy. microsc. Soc. 75:

189-93.

46. West, W. & West, G. S. (1902): A

contribution to the freshwater algae of

Ceylon, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (Bot.)

6 (2): 123.

47. —— — (1907): Freshwater Algae

from Burma including a few from Bengal

and Madras, Ann. roy. bot. Garden,

Calcutta, 6, pt. II.

On the Occurrence of the Eel

_ Neenchelys buitendijki Weber &

de Beaufort in Indian Waters’ —

K. H. MOHAMED

Central Marine Fisheries Research Sub-station, Ernakulam

(With one plate)

While examining a collection of eels from Sassoon Dock—the

principal fish landing place of Bombay City—a few specimens of

Neenchelys buitendijki Weber & de Beaufort were obtained in April

1953. ‘The species not having been recorded from India so far, regular

searches were made in the subsequent fish catches for further material

and relevant data regarding its occurrence. It was revealed that the

species is not rare in this locality, and a large number of specimens

was obtained. Since the original description of this eel (Weber &

de Beaufort, 1916) was based on only two specimens it is thought

desirable to describe the species in greater detail in the light of the

present good series:

GENUS Neenchelys BAMBER

Gill openings separate, lateral. Distance from anus to gill opening

much more than length of head. Body scaleless. Caudal confluent

with anal and dorsal. Nostrils lateral. Pectorals present. Anus in

anterior half of length. Tongue not free. Teeth acute, uniserial.

Branchial openings in pharynx narrow slits. Intermaxillary plate

pointed.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF Neenchelys BAMBER

i. Origin of dorsal fin as far from gill opening

as latter is from angle of mouth. Pectorals

shorter than snout. 7 ..._N. microtretus

ii. Origin of dorsal fin not as far from gill opening

as latter is from angle of mouth. Pectorals

longer than snout. .. NN. buitendijki

1 Published with the kind permission of the Chief Research Officer, Central

Marine Fisheries Research Station, Mandapam.

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NEENCHELYS BUITENDIJKI IN INDIAN WATERS 513

Neenchelys Buitendijki Weber & de Beaufort

Description: D. 335-346; A. 225-228: C. 9: P. 14-16: B. 31-

36. Head 7.6 to 8.5 in total length and more than two in trunk.

Height 19.8 to 24.6 in total length and 2.3 to 3.6 in length of head.

Snout 6.5 to 7.3 in head length. Head and body 1.2 to 1.6 in length

of tail and 2.3 to 2.7 in total length. Diameter of CVE Ss HO. 25.5

in head and 3 to 3.4 in snout.

The body proportions generally agree with the description of

Weber and de Beaufort (1916) but since a large number of specimens

have been examined during the present study the range in variation

has shown some increase. The detailed precision measurements made

from fifteen specimens are given in Table I.

The body is scaleless, sub-cylindrical and posteriorly compressed.

The head is conical and pointed and the eyes are very small without

eyelids. The snout is conical and somewhat prominent due to the

intermaxillary plate being produced forward into a sharp point. The

anterior nostril is in the form of a small opening just behind the tip

of the snout. A small flap of skin, present on either side of this

opening, gives it an apparently tubulate appearance. The posterior

nostril is a small, elongated, slit-like opening in front of the eye,

more or less on a level with its lower half. A few mucilage pores are

present on the nape and snout. The cleft of the mouth reaches far

behind the orbit, for a distance equal to more than one diameter

of the eye. The mouth is inferior, the lower jaw being smaller than

the upper. The throat is silvery and the characteristic arrangement

of the branchiostegals can be seen externally in the fresh condition

(Plate, fig. b). Specimens stained in alizarin revealed 31 to 36

branchiostegals on each side, whereas Weber and de Beaufort (1916)

have observed only 25. Teeth in the jaws are uniserial, acute, long,

and widely set in a slanting backward direction. The number of

teeth in the jaws is variable, but generally number 8 on the maxillaries

and 10 on the mandibles (Plate, fig. d). ‘There are four teeth on the

intermaxillary plate and an equal number on the vomer. On the

anterior end of the intermaxillary plate two teeth are arranged side

by side while all the others including those on the vomer are placed

in a series one after the other. The tip of the intermaxillary plate is

pointed and often appears as a horizontally directed median tooth.

All the four teeth on the intermaxillary plate are depressible and can

be considered as homologous with the mesial teeth of the genera

Muraena, Gymnothorax, etc. The teeth on the front part of the

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

514

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NEENCHELYS BUITENDIJKI IN INDIAN WATERS 515

jaws are longer than those on the posterior part. Those on the vomer

and the intermaxillary are large. |

Lateral line commences from a little distance behind the eye, the

distance being more or less equal to the length of snout. It continues

in the form of a straight line in the dorso-lateral aspect of the body.

This line generally appears to be a dotted line because of the presence

of numerous ossified subcutaneous tubes wherein the sensory nerves

end. These bony elements are seen to take stain very readily when

specimens are treated with alizarin.

The vertical fins are low and are supported by unbranched rays.

The pectoral fins are longer than the snout and they originate from

close behind the gill openings. Branched fin-rays support these fins.

The caudal is continuous with the dorsal and the anal fins. The —

origin of the dorsal fin is more than half as far from the gill opening

as the latter is from the angle of the mouth. The anal fin originates

from close behind the vent.

In the fresh condition, the fish is yellowish pink in colour. The

portion of the body above the lateral line is pigmented with closely

distributed, brown, branching chromatophores. In the tail region the

pigmentation is more intense and uniform. The fins are generally

whitish in colour and are unpigmented, but the posterior end of the

dorsal and anal fins, as well as the whole of the caudal fin are black

in colour due to intense pigmentation.

The size of the specimens in the collection varied from 58.5 mm.

to 273 mm. in total length; the one which is 273 mm. is the largest

known so far as the previous record was only 218 mm. (Weber and

Beaufort). The number of vertebrae generally varies from 145 to

148 of which 53 are preanal.

OCCURRENCE

N. buitendijki is found to occur in fair numbers among the shrimp

catches landed at Sassoon Dock and Versova—the two fish landing

places of Bombay City. They are generally caught in ‘Dol’ nets

(bag nets used with the help of stakes or buoys) from depths varying

from 8 to 10 fathoms. Although there are no data regarding its

quantitative occurrence during any particular season, it appears more

frequently in the catches from December to May, during which period

the majority of the present collection was obtained.

DISTRIBUTION

Bamber (1915) first created the family Neenchelidae to include

a single specimen she had collected from the Sudanese Red Sea.

516. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 35 (3).

This specimen had been named by her as Neenchelys microtretus.

There appears to be no further record of this species from anywhere.

Weber and de Beaufort (1916) added another species (N. buitendijki)

to this family based on only two specimens; one—-the type 218 mm. long

in Amsterdam Museum—-probably from the Moluccas and the other,

129 mm., collected by Mr. Buitendijk from Java. Hardenberg (1931)

noted this species as occurring ‘very rarely’ in the Rokan River

mouth, off Sumatra, but added no further comment on the species.

The present record extends the distribution of N. buitendijki to the

west Coast of India (Bombay) where it is fairly common.

BIOLOGICAL NOTES

The fact that the species was obtained from the ‘Dol’ net catches

indicates that it is a bottom-living form. Specimens above 160 mm.

were found to possess mature or maturing gonads. About 20 speci-

mens were examined for stomach contents and it was found that the

majority of the stomachs were gorged with polychaets while the others

were empty.

The smaller specimens in the collection seem to be newly

metamorphosed elvers of the species. In the smallest, which is 58.5

mm. long, the head is more conical and the upper profile less convex

(fig. c). The olfactory pit still exists in the form of a depression

and the contour of the brain is fairly evident. The full complement

of the adult set of teeth is not seen at this stage, there being only 6

on the upper and 7 on the lower jaw. The tip of the intermaxillary

plate projects out in the form of a large median tooth. In the throat

region four branchiostegal rays are discernible. The pigmentation

of the head is very feeble and consists of only one group of brown,

branching chromatophores on the nape. In the body the most

striking pigmentation is a few (generally 8-9) large pigment cells

distributed at regular intervals along the lower portion of the lateral

line. The brown pigment cells on the upper part of the body,

which are so characteristic of the adults, have just begun to appear

very faintly and the body is more or less transparent in the fresh

condition. The position of the anus is slightly ahead ofthat of the

adult (vide table I). It is seen from the measurements of the pre-anal

distance and the tail that the position of the anus gradually shifts

backwards as the fish increases in length. The diameter of the eye

is greater in the smaller individuals. —

NEENCHELYS BUITENDIJKI IN INDIAN WATERS 517

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My grateful thanks are due to Dr. N. K. Panikkar and to Dr.

S. Jones for their encouragement and guidance, and to Shri. C.

Mukundan for his help in the preparation of the illustrations.

REFERENCES

, a

Bal, D. V. & Mohamed, K. H. (1957): ° Hardenberg, J. D. F. (1931): The fish

A systematic account of the eels of fauna of the Rokan mouth. Treubia 13

Bombay. JBNHS 54 (3): 732-40. (1): 119.

Bamber, C. Ruth, (1915): Reports on Weber, M. and de Beaufort, L. F.

the marine biology of the Sudanese Red (1916): The Fishes of the Indo-Austra-

yee ee Linn. Soc., London, Zoology, 31: lian Archipelago 3: 268-9, Leiden.

77-85.

Identity of the plant Pzyaman or

Madar-jamua

D. CHATTERJEE

Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta

AND

P. C, KANJILAL

Lucknow

(With one map and one plate)

Forest officers and field botanists who are familiar with the sal

forests of India have, no doubt, seen a tree commonly called piyaman,

madar-jamua, rai-jamua, boti-jamb, and dugdugiya. The plant was

hitherto commonly known as Eugenia operculata Roxb., and the

species is frequently met with in grassland near such forests and grassy

Open spaces, where it occurs as a pioneer tree and a nurse to young)

sal plants. Its leaves usually turn bright red in winter before leaf-fall

and, during the cold season, make a characteristic feature of the

landscape. From the silvicultural point of view the species is there-

fore important as it serves as a nurse to sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.)

and helps its regeneration. Although the plant is known to forest

officers and others, it was found that there is considerable confusion

regarding its correct botanical identity. It is proposed here to clarify

and establish the correct identity of the plant.

The species is distributed in the sub-Himalayan region from Uttar

Pradesh to Assam, and is also found in Parasnath, Singbhum,

Mayurbhanj, and Agartala. Outside India, it is found in upper and

lower Burma and Chittagong (E. Pakistan). According to some

authors the species has a wider distribution in south-east Asia includ-

ing Borneo, the Philippines, and Australia. The accompanying map

shows the distribution of this species in India.

Merrill and Perry (J. Arn. 18: 322-343; 1934) in their series

of papers on the revision of the genus Eugenia have preferred to

isolate species with calyptrate calyx, which falls off with the petals,

into the genus Cleistocalyx. In doing so, they accepted the earlier

view of Blume who established the genus in his Mus. Bot. Lugd.-Bat.

1: 84; 1840. Merrill and Perry transferred Eugenia operculata Roxb.

to Cleistocalyx operculata (Roxb.) Merrill & Perry, but they un-

fortunately combined our broad-leaved plant with a narrow-leaved

IDENTITY OF PIYAMAN OR MADAR-JAMUA _ . 519

e|8°

MAP SHOWING THE

DISTRIBUTION

SYZYGIUM CERASOIDES

IN INDIA

10050 0 100 200 +300 Miles.

sss SS |

AS BANGALOR:

gag oe

calyptrate calyxed form. Their reasons for considering the large-

leaved form under this species was that they could not find any

constant characters in the apparently inadequate material which

they examined. They have, however, stated: ‘Of all the known

species of the genus Cleistocalyx, this is the commonest, the most

widely distributed, and perhaps the most misinterpreted. This

statement is significant, because one of the authors (P.C.K.), who

examined a number of fresh flowers of the broad-leaved plant commonly

Known as piyaman, found to his surprise that it has larger flowers and

non-calyptrate. calyx and is therefore different from Cleistocalyx

proper. This fact has led us to believe that Eugenia operculata as

understood by Duthie and described in Hooker’s FLORA OF BRITISH

INDIA 2: 498 (1879) is a mixture of two or more species, of which at

least one is Cleistocalyx operculata and the other is our broad-leaved

non-calyptrate species.

520 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Our plant, i.e. the broad-leaved form, has the following characters:

Leaves elliptic, suborbicular, or obovate, 9-21 cm. long, 6-13 cm.

broad, with broad apex and short or no acumen, glandular, pellucid.

Calyx not calyptrate; sepals small, subacute to broadly obtuse,

distinct, deciduous.

Corolla pseudo-calyptrate, ic. falling off in one piece, but the

petals easily separable.

It will be evident therefore that this plant is a true Syzygium and

not a Cleistocalyx. It is therefore necessary to find a suitable name

for this plant under Syzygium and separate it from Cleistocalyx

operculata proper. Henderson (1949) however does not agree to treat

the latter species under Cleistocalyx and calls it by its older name

Eugenia operculata Roxb.

The earliest name for our broad-leaved form appears to be

Syzygium nervosum DC. (Prod. 3: 260; 1828). Unfortunately, this

name being a later homonym of Syzygium nervosum Lour. (Fl. Cochin-

chin. 308; 1790) becomes invalid under the rules of botanical

nomenclature. Loureiro’s plant is different from that of De Candolle.

We are thus left with the next validly published name of Roxburgh,

1.e. Eugenia cerasoides, which was described in 1832. The leaves are

9-21 cm. long and 4-8 cm. wide, usually oblong-lanceolate or elliptic-

lanceolate to oblanceolate, with acuminate or bluntly short acute

apex. This name is used as basonym for a new combination under

Syzygium. ‘The correct name and synonyms of the species are as

follows:

Syzygium cerasoides (Roxb.) Chatterjee et Kanjilal f. comb. nov.

Eugenia cerasoides Roxb. Fl. Ind. 2: 488; 1832; Mig. Fl. Ind.

Bat. 1: 443; 1855.

Syzygium nervosum DC. Prod. 3: 260; 1828 (non Lour.); Wall. in

Wall. Cat. no. 3551 and 3551 B.

Eugenia operculata var. obovata Kurz, For. Fl. 1: 482; 1877.

Eugenia operculata Roxb. Duthie in Hooker’s Fl. Br. Ind. 2: 498;

1879.

Eugenia operculata Roxb. var. genuina Koorders and Valeton, Bijdr.

6:1: 1900:

Syzygium operculatum Neidnz. in Engl. and Prantl, Pflanzenfam.

S(7)G 85s S98:

Note: We are not very sure what specimens Niedenzu had

when he made the combination. It is perhaps probable that he had

the broad-leaved form before him.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

1¥

cere oeyrToe Pee

(iy

‘

——

d —

i. :

Syzygium cerasoides Chatterjee & Kanjilal

1. Flower bud; 2. Flower before anthesis; 3. Flower at anthesis, showing

separation of the ‘ pseudo-calyptrate corolla’; 4. Corolla viewed from above ;

5. Corolla seen on inner side; 6. Separated petal; 7. Fruits; 8. Fruit;

9. Cross section of ovary.

IDENTITY OF PIYAMAN OR MADAR-JAMUA 521

DISTRIBUTION

UTTAR PRADESH: Saharanpur, McGallan without number, dated

11th June 1903; Dehra Dun, P.W. Mackinnon without number, May

1898; Gurhwal, Herb. Falconer 484; Gonda, Harsukh 21678; Gorakhpur,

Madholia range, Shri Ram 1043 dated 14th May 1916; Bahraich

Dist., Bhachkai forest, Shri Ram 2561 B dated 29th May 1920;

Pilibhit, Inayat 21675 dated Sth June 1898; Pilibhit, Nawadia, G.R.

1038 b dated 19th May 1914; Gonda, Bhamar range, Tara Dutt

without number dated 23rd May 1922.

BIHAR AND ORISSA: Singbhum, Haines 148; Parasnath without

name of collector dated 14th November 1858; Mayurbhanj, D. Hooper

38816 dated 29th June 1912; Cultivated Hort. Bot. Calc. Wall. Cat.

3551.

ASSAM: Singra, A. C. Chatterjee without number, 1902; Shakhati,

Dhubdhara Hill, A. C. Chatterjee without number, 1902.

TIPPERAH: Debbarman 766 and 1228.

E. PAKISTAN: Chittagong hill tracts, Kings collector 372. (All

specimens cited above are from the Calcutta Herbarium.)

The major collection of Roxburgh’s specimens is lodged at the

Botanic Garden at Brussels. This collection was examined by Merrili

and a list of available species prepared in 1952. Unfortunately, the

name Eugenia cerasoides Roxb. does not occur in this list (a copy of

which is available at the Calcutta Herbarium), and therefore it may

be concluded that there is no type specimen of this species existing

at present. In the absence of any authentic material this species has

to be typified by Wight’s Icones tab. 615 (1843), which agrees very

well with our species except for the drawing of the fruit which shows

persistent sepals—a character not recorded by any other author.

Wight has also correctly recorded the nature of petals and said that

the species ‘is distinguished by its free expanding petals—a character

not noticed by Roxburgh’. This would indicate that he also noticed

the petals which separate from each other before they fall. As a

matter of fact the petals are imbricate. Miquel’s description of the

species also mentions the basically free nature of the calyx segments.

Shri Ram’s sheet no. 1043 mentioned above may be considered as

a good lectotype.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are deeply indebted to Sri M. B. Raizada, Head of the Division of

Forest Botany, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, for his valuable

help and criticism during the preparation of this note. Our thanks are also

due to Dr. S. K. Mukerjee, Keeper of the Central National Herbarium,

522

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta, for his help in connection with the

present investigation, to Sri S. K. Seth, Silviculturist, Forest Research

Institute, for some very useful photographs and for the map, and to

the staff of the Botany Branch of the Institute for ungrudging

assistance.

REFERENCES

Blume, C. L. (1849): Museum Bota-

nicum Lugduno-Batavum 1: 84.

Brandis, D. (1874): Forest Flora of

North-West and Central India. London.

234-35.

De Candolle, A. (1828) : Prodromus

Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.

3: 260.

Duthie, J. F. (1903): Flora of the

Upper Gangetic Plain 1: 342.

Engler, A. and Prantl, K. (1893):

Die Nattirlichen Pflanzenfamilien 3:

(7) eas).

Ceabie J. S. (1919): Flora of the

Presidency of Madras. London. 1: 481.

Haines, H. H. (1922): Botany of

Bihar and Orissa. London. 362.

Henderson, M. R. (1949): The genus

Eugenia (Myrtaceae) in Malaya. Gdns.

Bull, 12 (1): 17 & 264-66.

Hooker, J. D. (1879) : Flora of British

India 2: 498.

Kanjilal, U. N. & P.C., & Das, A.

ee Flora of Assam. Calcutta,

2-217.

Kanjilal, P. C. (1933): Forest Flora

of Pilibhit, Oudh, Gorakhpur, and

Bundelkhand, 185. ;

King, G. (1897): Materials for a

Flora of the Malayan Peninsula. J. As.

Soc. Bengal. 66 (2) : 559.

Koorders, S. H. & Valeton, Th.

(1900): Bijdr. no. 6; 151.

Kurz, S. (1877): Forest Flora of

British Burma 1: 482, 484

Loureiro, Joannis de. (1790): Flora

Cochin-chinensis 1: 308.

Merrill, E. D. & Perry, L. M. (1937):

Reinstatement and revision of Cleisto-

calyx Blume. J. Arn. Arb. 18: 322-343.

Miquel, F. A. W.(1855): Flora Indiae

Batavae. 443, 460.

Prain, D. (1903): Bengal Plants.

Calcutta. 491.

Roxburgh, W. oreers nineee Indica.

Serampore. 2: 486 & 4

Wight, R. (1852): Teches Plantarum

Indiae Orientalis 2: t. 552 & 615.

Remarks on Indian Cyprinid Fishes

~Gonorhynchus McClelland —

E. G. SILAS

Bombay Natural History Society

(With a plate)

INTRODUCTION

The fish survey of the Cauvery River and its tributary streams under-

taken by me during March-April 1951, May 1953, and October 1954 has

facilitated the clarification of the nomenclatorial status of many of: the

species described by Jerdon in his treatise on the ‘ Freshwater Fishes of

Southern India’, published in 1849. The bulk of his material came

from the Cauvery watershed and he described a number of new species,

the status or systematic position of many of which has hitherto remained

uncertain. In the following pages, I have attempted to codify the nomen-

clature of three species described by Jerdon under the name Gonorhynchus

McClelland (nec Gronow 1763 and Scopoli 1777). The species referred

to are:

| 1. Gonorhynchus gotyla Gray ,

2. Gonorhynchus McLellandi Jerdon (New species)

3. Gonorhynchus stenorhynchus Jerdon (New species)

The three species are at present referable to the genus Garra Hamil-

ton, of which it may be noted that the most up-to-date revision is that

carried out by Hora (1921). Among the ichthyologists who have

commented on Jerdon’s species, mention must be made of Giinther

(1868), Day (1867, 1877), Annandale (1919), and Rao (1920). There has

been no uniformity in the treatment accorded to Jerdon’s above-men-

tioned species in earlier works, for some have considered all three as

nominal species, while others have recognised one (G. stenorhynchus) as

valid. This confusion seems to have been due to the few specimens that

were available to them for study. My own collections and the examina-

tion of previous collections of Garra from the Cauvery system clearly

show that three distinct species-groups can be recognised from this

watershed, each exhibiting minor variations in the different tributary

streams, a close study of which it is possible will eventually help in

differentiating the different stream populations even into subspecies.

524. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

However, such detailed scrutiny does not come within the scope of the

present paper.

SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF Gonorhynchus Gotyla JERDON (nec GRAY)

(Plate, fig. C)

The description of Gonorhynchus gotyla given by Jerdon is brief ;

but comparison of the typical specimens of Garra gotyla Gray in the

fish collection of the Zoological Survey. of India (from north-eastern

India) with the specimens from the river Cauvery, at present referable to

Jerdon’s description of Gon. gotyla, shows marked differences in the shape

of the snout, the disposition of the tubercles on the snout, and certain

body proportions, on which grounds it is better to consider the two

as distinct, a course which was rightly adopted by Hora and others.

Giinther (1868) placed Gonorhynchus gotyla Jerdon (nec Gray) in the

synonymy of the composite species Discognathus lamta (Hamilton). Day

(1877) included it in the synonymy of both Discognathus lamta and

D. jerdonia (Day), with no comments. Annandale (1919), who was the

next to remark on the species, placed it in the synonymy of D. jerdonia

(Day) of which species he observed that it is ‘common in the Bhavani

river near the base of the Nilgiris both before and after the stream

leaves its gorge.... Jerdon found it in the Manantoddy as well as the

Bhavani and Day records it from the Wynaad.’ Rao (1920) made no

mention of Gonorhynchus gotyla Jerdon (nec Gray), but described Garra

lamta and a variety of Garra jerdonia Day, viz. var. brevimentalis Rao,

from the headwaters of the river Cauvery in Mysore. Of these, I consi-

der his G. Jamta (in part) and the variety brevimentalis as representing

Gonorhynchus gotyla of Jerdon. Hora (1921) placed Gonorhynchus gotyla

Jerdon in the synonymy of Garra stenorhynchus (Jerdon).

In my opinion, the species of Garra commonest throughout the river

Cauvery is the one which agrees in most of the characters with the des-

cription of Gonorhynchus gotyla Jerdon. In this form the lateral-line

scales are almost always 34 or less than that (32 to 34 and exceptionally

35). In the scalation, fin ray counts, and body proportions it closely

resembles Chondrostoma mullya Sykes from the Krishna watershed further

north, which in turn seems to be closely related to the genotype Garra

lamta Hamilton. Until more detailed comparisons are carried out these

may be considered conspecific. Adult specimens of the typical G. lamta

that I have examined (from Chota Nagpur, Gangetic watershed) are of

a maximum size of 75 mm. in standard length, while the Cauvery speci-

mens appear to be much larger attaining a maximum standard length of

about 130 mm. or more and possessing a broader adhesive disc with a

narrower velum. Thus we find that the G. lamta species-group has a

more or less continuous distribution from north-eastern India through

REMARKS ON INDIAN CYPRINID FISHES — 525

peninsular India to even Ceylon, where it is represented by another

closely allied form G. ceylonensis Bleeker. The Cauvery specimens that

I have compared with the specimens of G. mullya in my collection from the

Poona area (type locality of G. mullya) do not show any noteworthy

difference except that in the former the snout is more profusely covered

with open mucous pores and horny tubercles. Until its consistency and

significance are studied from considerably larger samples (for both males

and females have pores and tubercles on the snout as in G. stenorhynchus,

G. gotyla, G. mcclellandi, etc.), it will be possible to assign Gonorhyn-

chus gotyla Jerdon (nec Gray) only to the synonymy of Garra lamta

Hamilton. If the differences in the above-noted character or other

meristic details prove significant enough for the recognition of distinct

species or subspecies in the two watersheds, the availability of an

already proposed name, brevimentalis, is indicated here to denote the

specimens from the river Cauvery. No doubt, G. lamta in the Cauvery

itself exhibits a certain diversity of characters, especially in the nature of

the snout and the arrangemert of the pores and tubercles, often showing

intergradation with allied species and thus leading one to suspect inter-

specific hybridization in nature between the species of Garra occurring

there. During field collections I have obtained G. /amta along with either

or both the species G. stenorhynchus and G. mcclellandi, and the specimens

of the three species collected from the Cauvery River in April-June and

October-November showed that the mature females were mostly gravid,

which suggests that their breeding seasons probably coincide. This, in

addition to the similar habits of life exhibited by these species makes

possible the more common occurrence of interspecific hybrids between

these species. It will be interesting if more detailed studies are made in

the light of these observations.

A brief re-description of G. Jamta from the Cauvery River is given

here based on specimens collected from the Manantoddy River

(Wynaad), the Cauvery River (Mysore), and the Bhavani and the Moyar

Rivers (Nilgiris), all tributaries of the main Cauvery River :

L. tr. 4-43/1/24-3 predorsal scales 10-11; circumpeduncular scales 16;

scales between vent and anal origin 4-5 (The frequency distribution of the

fin rays and scale counts are given on p. 530) ; anal fin when addressed

reaching base of caudal fin; snout without a proboscis ; mucous pores

and horny tubercles present or absent on snout; tubercles when present

arranged in more or less bilaterally symmetrical patches as follows: (1)

antero-rostral patch at the tip of snout often in a continuous band,

separated from the rest of the snout by a narrow deep furrow, (ii)

postero-rostral patches, being two small laterally arranged patches in the

middle of the snout behind the antero-rostral patch; (iii) antero-lateral

526 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

patches, being lateral to the postero-rostral patches; (iv) inter-nasal

patches, being two patches of tubercles situated behind the postero-

rostral patches between the anterior nostrils; and (v) inter-naso-orbital

patch, being situated between the posterior margin of the posterior nasal

opening and the anterior margin of the orbit on either side. All or a few

of these patches may be present. Colour : a distinct black shoulder spot

behind upper angle of gill-opening; a mid-lateral dark band commencing

from behind opercle, often very faint and diffuse and ending in a

precaudal spot; latter generally indistinct in larger examples ; two or

three dark longitudinal incomplete narrow bands above and below dark

mid-lateral band separated by lighter interspaces, all being well-defined

on the sides of the caudal peduncle ; abdomen and ventral side of body

yellowish white; fins hyaline, the pectoral and lower caudal finrays being

generally darker.

Garra malabarica Day (1865) and Garra alta Day (1867) from the

Cauvery River are synonyms of Garra lamta as designated here.

SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF Gonorhynchus McLellandi JERDON

(Plate, fig. D)

The second species, namely Gonorhynchus McLellandi Jerdon, has for

long been considered a nominal species and some ichthyologists have

completely ignored it. Jerdon’s description of it is cited in full below :

‘Snout covered with numerous pores ; profile rising to the dorsal,

slightly concave from that to the tail—head is to the whole body as 1

to 44, height is 32 in its total length; two longish cirri, head

depressed in front, dorsal fin rather high. D. 10. A. 7, &c.—Colour

dusky green above, golden on sides and greenish white beneath ;

caudal fin green in centre, reddish above and below; other fins yellow,

edged with red ; cheeks golden, 36 scales along the body in 9 rows.

Length 10 inches.’ (Jerdon, 1849, p. 310.)

The species was noted as occurring in the ‘ Bowany River’ at the

foot of the Neilgherries and also in the ‘ Manantoddy River’, both

tributaries of the river Cauvery. I have collected the typical form of

Gonorhynchus mcclellandi* from the Manantoddy River at Manantoddy

(Wynaad) and find that Jerdon was wrong in characterising his species

as having only two ‘ longish cirri’, for my specimens show two pairs of

barbels—the long rostral pair which Jerdon seems to have noted and a

very short and rudimentary pair of maxillary barbels which are situated

in the labial groove at the place where the rostral fold joins’ the

‘adhesive disc’ and is generally overlapped by the velum of the

disc, thereby hiding it from view. G. mcclellandi is distinct from the

* The name McLellandi is correctly spelt here as mceclellandi.

REMARKS ON INDIAN CYPRINID FISHES | a2 7

femaining species of Garra occurring in the Cauvery River in a

combination of characters, the most important being the comparatively

more elongate and flattened body form, the distinctly conical or pointed

snout, the characteristic number of about 36 lateral line scales (general

range 35 to 37), and the position of the vent which is greatly removed

from the origin of the anal fin. The frequency distribution of the fin

rays and scale counts are given in the tables on p. 530. Mucous pores on

the snout are present even in young specimens measuring about 2 inches,

but one noteworthy feature is the almost complete absence of the large

horny tubercles which are so characteristic of G. stenorhynchus and even

G. lamta (from Cauvery River). My collections show that the combination

of the specific characters given above is true of specimens of G. mcclel-

landi found throughout the Cauvery River. The only noteworthy

difference in specimens from the different localities is the greater

or lesser number of mucous pores present on the snout, but as this may

be attributable to age and sex its taxonomic utility in this particular

instance seems to be dubious. As for the colour of the species, the

shoulder spot is present behind the upper angle of the gill-opening as in

G.lamta and the dark mid-lateral band is well-defined in smaller

specimens, while in larger examples it merges with the dark greyish

colour of the upper half of the body. Incomplete dark narrow lateral

bands above and below the mid-lateral band in the posterior half of the

body (characteristic of G. /amta and G. stenorhynchus) are conspicuous

by their absence. Almost the entire ventral half of the body is yellowish

white (Plate, fig. D).

Thus with the re-discovery of G. mcclellandi, the following species des-

cribed from the Cauvery River in Madras (Garra platycephala Rao) and

those from the Bhavani River (Garra jerdonia Day and Discognathus elegans

Annandale) do not seem tenable. None of these are specifically distinct,

although Rao (op. cit.) gave the lateral line scale count in G. platycephala

as 37 to 39, which seems to be an exceptionally high count. I have not

come across such high counts in specimens from Mysore. Hora (1921)

was right in considering G.jerdoni Day and D. elegans Annandale as

conspecific, and both are considered here synonyms of G. mcclellandi.

Thus, the following, it is felt, is the correct rendering of the synonymy

Garra mclellandi (Jerdon):

Garra mcclellandi (Jerdon)

Gonorhynchus McLellandi Jerdon, Madras J. Lit. and Sci. 15, p. 310 (1849).

Type locality: Manantoddy River and the Bowany River, both tributaries o

the Cauvery River. .

Discognathus lamta Ginther, (in part), Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. 7, p. 69 (1868).

Garra jerdonia Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 288 (1867). Type locality :

528 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Discognathus jerdonia Day, (in part), Fish. India 2, p. 528, pl. cxxii, fig. 6 (1877).

Discognathus jerdonia Day, (in part), Fauna Brit. India. Fish 1, p. 247 (1889).

Discognathus lamta Jenkins, (in part), Rec. Ind. Mus. 3, pp. 291-293 (1909).

Discognathus jerdoni Annandale, (in part), Rec. Ind. Mus. 18, p. 73 (1919).

(Pl. ix, fig.2; pl. xi, fig. 3 and not pl. ix fig. 1, which probably represents a

specimen of Garra lamta subsp. mullya (Sykes,)]

Discognathus elegans Annandale, Rec. Ind. Mus. 18, p. 76, pl. ix, fig. 4; pl. xi,

fig. 5 (1919). Type locality : Bhavani River at base of Neilgherries.

Garra jerdonia Rao, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), 4, p. 53 (1920).

Garra platycephala Rao, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), 4, p. 56, pl. i, figs. 2, 2a, 2b,

(1920). Type locality: Cauvery River at Seringapatam, Mysore.

Garra stenorhynchus Hora, (in part), Rec. Ind. Mus. 22, p. 653 (1921).

Garra jerdoni Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus. 22, p. 657 (1921).

Garra lamta Rao and Seshachar, (in part), Half-yearly J. Mysore Univ. 1, (2),

p. 126 (1927).

Pillay (1929), Hora and Law (1941), and Silas (1951) have recorded

G. jerdoni as occurring in the rivers draining the Travancore hills. The

single specimen that I collected from the Peermed Hills (Periyar

watershed) is different from the typical G. mcclellandi in many details. In

view of its uncertain position, references to G. jerdoni fom Travancore

are not included in the above list of synonyms. Garra mcclellandi

appears to be restricted to the Cauvery watershed.

SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF Gonorhynchus stenorhynchus JERDON

(Plate, figs. A, B.)

Of the three species of Gonorhynchus described by Jerdon, this is the

only species that has been recognised as valid by most of the earlier

ichthyologists, although Giinther (1868) placed it as a doubtful species

under the genus Discognathus Heckel, and Day (1877) relegated it to the

synonymy of the composite species Discognathus lamta (Hamilton). The

single well-defined median proboscis of the snout is a sufficiently

distinct character to separate G. stenorhynchus from other species of Garra

occurring in peninsular India. Besides this, the following characters

are equally important, and by them it can be distinguished from Garra

gotyla Gray of northern India, which species is also characterised by the

presence of a median proboscis on the snout. The characters referred

to are (i) the more anterior position of the ‘ shoulder spot’ which does

not extend behind the upper angle of the gill-opening. Annandale (1919)

has correctly depicted its position in the drawing of G. stenorhynchus (PI.

ix, fig. 3), although its significance has never been commented upon. I

consider this as an additional character of specific importance ; and (ii)

the presence of a row of well-defined dark spots at the base of the branched

dorsal fin rays, more clear from the third to the last branched rays.

Many species of Garra lack this character, although it also occurs

in species widely separated ; for instance in Platycara notata Blyth

JOURN. BomBay Nat. HIsT. Soc.

Species of Garra Hamilton of the Cauvery Watershed

G. stenorhynchus (Jerdon): (A) Lateral, (B) Dorsal views of a specimen, 112 mm. ;

(The measurements in millimeters denote the standard lengths.)

Photos : E.G. Silas

REMARKS ON INDIAN CYPRINID FISHES 529

(=Garra notata) of Burma, G. tibanica Trewavas and G. brittoni

Trewavas from south-west Arabia, etc.

The frequency distribution of the fin rays and scale counts are given

in the tables on p. 530. }

The striking resemblance of G. stenorhynchus to G. arabica Hora

from Arabia is noteworthy and, as Trewavas (1941) has suggested, further

collections of G. arabica from the Wadi Tiban basin will help to confirm

the locality of the latter and also redefine the species. As it stands at

present, but for the disjunct distribution I do not find any difference

between G. stenorhynchus and G. arabica to consider them as specifically

distinct. Even the shoulder spot in G. arabica seems to occupy a position

identical with that seen in stenorhynchus, for Hora (1921, p. 679) notes

the presence of ‘an indistinct black dot on the operculum near its angle’,

which is unlike that seen in G. Jamta, where the shoulder spot is behind

the upper angle of the gill-opening, often entirely covering the first

perforated scale of the line. Therefore, until fresh material of arabica

is worked upon, it will be better to consider it as a geographical race of

the earlier proposed species, G. stenorhynchus. Hora (1951) has given a

complete list of synonyms of Garra stenorhynchus (Jerdon), which is to

be accepted with one other minor change. Gonorhynchus gotyla Jerdon

(nec Gray) does not belong to the synonymy of G. stenorhynchus but

as pointed out earlier (p. 524.) is considered a synonymy of Garra lamta

Hamilton. |

CONCLUSION

The three species of Gonorhynchus described by Jerdon (1849) from

the Cauvery River are re-designated here as follows :

1. Gonorhynchus gotyla Jerdon (nec Gray)=Garra lamta

Hamilton.

2. Gonorhynchus McLellandi Jerdon=Garra mcclellandi (Jerdon).

3. Gonorhynchus stenorhynchus Jerdon=Garra_ stenorhynchus

(Jerdon).

The study of the species of Garra from the Cauvery drainage once

again emphasises the view expressed earlier (Silas, 1954) that the ‘maze of

species that are known at present to constitute the genus Garra seems

definitely separable into different species-groups including polytypic

species with infra-specific levels of differentiation ....’. The G. lamta-

group has a range covering a greater extent of the distribution of the

genus and is represented in the different drainages of the different geo-

graphical areas by species and subspecies. G. mcclellandi, with a

higher scale count, more anteriorly situated vent, etc., seems to fall under

a separate species-group which has representatives in north-eastern India

and probably also as far east as Yunnan, south China, and Indo-China.

The third species, G. stenorhynchus, belongs to the Garra gotyla-gtoup

530 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

which probably also extends westward as far as Arabia. It is hoped

that, when the genus is fully worked upon, the points raised here and

the questions left unanswered will be clarified.

SUMMARY

_ The nomenclature of three species of Indian cyprinid fishes described

by Jerdon in 1849 under the genus Gonorhynchus McClelland have been

clarified and the species redefined as Garra lamta Hamilton, Garra

mceclellandi (Jerdon), and Garra stenorhynchus (Jerdon). Attention is

drawn to the variations in certain features, especially the horny tubercles

on the snout, scalation, etc. The studies also point to the possibility of

inter-specific hybrids of species of Garra occurring in the Cauvery water-

shed. The above three species of Garra appear to belong to three dis-

tinct species groups.

TABLES SHOWING THE FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF THE FIN RAY AND SCALE

COUNTS IN SPECIES OF Garra FROM THE CAUVERY WATERSHED

No. of lateral line scales | No. of predorsal

Species ai scales

223 | 34/35/36, 37 9|10] 1/12

Ad! yaa

Garra lamta Hamilton SOB C2Y Dats Sep Dees) a eS Scene a eae

Garra stenorhynchus (Jerdon) .. 6 | 27 | 26 }—}— | —}— | 38 | 18} —

Garra mcclellandi (Jerdon) .f—{|—|—] 14,15) 1)7—)] 26; 2) —

Scales around Scales between vent and

: caudal peduncle origin of anal fin

Species :

14/15 16/17 4| 3 s|a| 7) s

| :

1. Garra lamta Hamilton ef —}|—!) 9} —Ft 4] 5) — | —{|—)|—

Me Garra stenorhynchus Jerdon .. | — | — | 59 | — {22 | 36 | —| —|}—/] —

3. Garra mcclellandi(Jerdon) ..{ — | 2 | 28 | — —|i— | — | 1/20); 9

3 | | { al

Scales between lateral cales between lateral

line and origin of dorsal} line and origin of pelvic

Species fin fin

Biota dees 2]a} sfa| 4

1. Garra lamta Hamilton Se ee Pe Caos (at cle 1) fee a

2. Garra stenorhynchus (Jerdon)..i — | 1 | 50) 6) —]J—J| 1) 53} 3 |-—

3. Garra mcclellandi (Jerdon) — | 2) 426 | = beaslod | 22; 7, —

REMARKS ON INDIAN CYPRINID FISHES

531

REFERENCES

Annandale, N. (1919): Notes on Fresh-

water Fish mostly from the Satara and

Poona Districts. Rec. Ind. Mus. 16:

129-134.

— — (1919): Notes on Fish of the

genus Discognathus from India and

Persia. Rec. Ind. Mus. 18: 65-78.

Day, F. (1865): On the Fishes of

Cochin on the Malabar Coast of India.

Proc. Zool. Soc. London. p. 297.

— — (1867): On the Fishes of the

Neilgherry Hills and rivers around their

bases. Proc. Zool. Soc. London. p. 288.

— — (1867): On some Fishes from

the Wynaad. Proc. Zool. Soc. London.

p. 349.

— — (1877): The Fishes of India. 2:

527-529.

— — (1889): The Fauna of British

India. Fish 1: 245-247.

Gunther, A. (1868) : Catalogue of the

Fishes in the British Museum. 7: 68-71.

Heckel, J. J. (1844): Fische Kasch-

mir’s nebst einen Anhang von drei

neuen Arten aus Indien, gesammelt von

Freiherrn Carl v. Hugel. p. 387.

Hora, S. L. (1921) : Indian Cyprinoid

Fishes belonging to the genus Garra,

with notes on related species from other

countries. Rec. Ind. Mus. 22: 633-687.

Hora, S. L. (1937) : Notes on Fishes in

the Indian Museum. XXXV. A further

note on Hamilton’s Cyprinus : (Garra)

lamta. Rec. Ind. Mus. 39: 344-348.

——and Law, N. C. (1941): The

Freshwater Fish of Travancore. Rec. Ind.

— Mus. 43: 233-256. .

Jenkins, J.T. (1909): Indian species

of the genus Discognathus. Rec. Ind.

Mus, 3: 290-293.

Jerdon, T. C. (1849): On the Fresh-

water Fishes of Southern India. Madras

J. Lit. and Sci. 15: 309-310.

Pillay, “R. S.. N.. (1929): A: list of

Fishes taken in Travancore from 1901-

1915. JBNHS 33: 356.

Silas. E. G. (1951): Fishes from the

High Range of Travancore. JBNHS.

50 (2): 322-330. .

— — (1954): Garra hughi, a new

cyprinid fish from the Western Ghats,

Peninsular India, with notes on its

Bionomics. Rec. Ind. Mus. 52: 1-14.

Rao, C. R. N. (1920): Some new

species of Cyprinoid fish from Mysore,

Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9) 4: 45-49,

Trewavas, E. (1941): Expedition to

South-West Arabia, 1937-1938. 3. Fresh-

water Fishes. 1: 7-15. British Museum

(Nat. Hist.).

Some Useful Weeds of Baroda, its

Neighbourhood, and Pavagadh

V. G. PHATAK, D.Sc. AND G. M. OZA, M.Sc.

Department of Botany, M.S. University of Baroda

INTRODUCTION

Weeds grow everywhere and can tolerate almost any set of climatic

conditions; they usually spring up with the first showers of the

monsoon and continue as long as there is enough moisture in the

ground. age

We have been deeply interested in the study of the weeds occur-

ring in the city of Baroda and its neighbourhood, particularly on

Pavagadh Hill, 29 miles NE. of the city; we have made ample

collections and recorded plenty of data, some of which we wish to

present in the present paper. In our first paper we dealt with the

weeds of the University Campus (1957); we paid attention to

the various uses made of these weeds from the medicinal point of

view; such information was obtained in the first instance from local

Ayurvedic practitioners, and in this respect our data were of interest

as being first-hand and authoritative.

In successive years we have extended the field of our activities to

include the whole city of Baroda and the slopes of Pavagadh Hill.

In the present paper we list only such plants as we have found to be

used medicinally in the district under study. We give our plants

following the order of Cooke’s FLORA OF THE PRESIDENCY OF BOMBAY.

The names enclosed within brackets after the scientific ones are names

used locally for the plants.

LIST OF USEFUL WEEDS

PAPAVERACEAE

1. Argemone mexicana Linn. (Darudi)

A prickly herb, in flower most of the year. The oil from the

seeds is used in skin diseases and ulcers. The roots are purgative.

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA 533

CAPPARIDACEAE

2. Cleome viscosa Linn. (Kanfuti)

An erect, gladular herb; flowering in July to September. The

juice of the leaves is used for headache and poured into ears for ear-

ache. The seeds are carminative and are used to kill intestinal

worms.

3. Gynandropsis gynandra Briq. (Tanmani; Adhiyakaran; Aadiyakarson)

An erect herb, flowering in July to November. A decoction of

the root is given in fever. The juice of the plant is useful for

scorpion-sting and fever. It stops pains of the body and ear trouble.

The oil is used for skin diseases.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

4. Polycarpaea corymbosa Lamk. (Jinapan Okhrad)

A herb, flowering in September to October. The application of

the vegetative parts cures poisonous bites.

PORTULACACEAE

5. Portulaca oleracea Linn. (Moti Luni)

A succulent prostrate herb, flowering in March to December

(almost throughout the year). As a pot herb it cures the diseases

of the blood and stops urinary troubles.

ELATINACEAE

6. Bergia odorata Edgew. (Lavariyu; Runvad)

A decumbent herb, flowering in March to November. A paste

prepared from the plant is used on scorpion-sting.

MALVACEAE

7, Sida veronicaefolia Lamk. (Bhonyabala)

A prostrate spreading herb, flowering in September to January.

The leaves are applied on cuts and bruises.

1 [Mhaskar. K.S., and Caius, J. F., in ‘Indian Plant Remedies used in Snake

bite ’ (Ind. Med. Res. Memoirs, No. 19, Jan. 1931) write : ‘‘ We have every reason to

believe that our work is exhaustive, and we may safely conclude that none of the

Indian plants recommended for the treatment of snake-bite has any preventive, antidotal,

or therapeutic effect.’’ The same authors after an exhaustive study of plants or plant

combinations used in the treatment of scorpion sting, write : ‘‘ None of the Indian

Plant Remedies popularly used in the treatment of scorpion sting has been found to

have any preventive, antidotal, or therapeutic effect.” —Ebs. ]

534. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

8. Sida spinosa Linn. (Kantalobal; Gangeti)

An erect herb, flowering in October to April. The plant cures

wounds, ulcers, and disorders of the bile. The root is a tonic, good

for heart disease and asthma.

9. Sida acuta Burm. (Bala)

An undershrub, flowering in September to December. The root

is utilised in nervous and urinary diseases.

10. Sida cordifolia Linn. (Mahabala; Khapat)

A. velvety herb, flowering in September to December. The juice

of the roots, leaves, and bark heals ulcers and wounds. Plant is

used for urinary diseases, disorders of blood, and scurvy. The roots

are applied on scorpion-sting.

11. Abutilon indicum Sweet (Kansaki)

A tall herb, flowering in May to November (almost throughout

the year). The roots are used for fevers, cough and leprosy. The

roots and leaves are taken internally for snake bite and urinary

troubles.

qT 140 TA CEA

12. Triumfetta bartramia Linn. (Jipati)

An undershrub, flowering in August to September. The plant

increases the secretion of milk in females. It reduces swellings. The

seeds are given in cases of dog-bite. The leaves are used in

dysentery. oe’

13. Triumfetta rotundifolia Lamk. (Jipato)

A herb or an undershrub, flowering in August to October. Used

as a demulcent.

14. Corchorus aestuans Linn. (Jitell)

An erect or prostrate herb, flowering in August to October. The

seeds are used in pneumonia and the roots for cough.

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE

15. Tribulus terrestris Linn. (Gokharu)

A spreading herb, flowering in August to October. The entire

plant with its fruits is useful in kidney diseases and for ulcers.-

_ SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA a 2s)

OXxALIDACEAE

16. Oxalis corniculata Linn. (Aamalati; Khati Luni)

A tiny creeping herb, flowering in July to October. The plant is

a remedy for scurvy and is given to relieve the effects of opium.

Good for head-ache.

PAPILIONACEAE

17. Tephrosia purpurea Pers. (Sarapankho)

An undershrub, flowering in June to November. The plant is a

tonic and has the property of purifying the blood. A decoction of

the root is used for urinary troubles and its smoke stops cough. Oil

from the seeds is best for eczema.

CAESALPINIACEAE

18. Cassia occidentalis Linn. (Kasundaro)

An undershrub, flowering in August to December. Externally, the

seeds and leaves are applied on skin diseases, and for swellings. The

roots are used in snake bite. Leaves are good for asthma, cough, and

indigestion. The fruits are also used for cough.

19. Cassia tora Linn. (Kunvadiyo)

An erect herb or an undershrub, flowering in July to October.

Used as a pot-herb, only after the first showers of rain, and has the

property of curing cough, asthma, leprosy, and gastric troubles. It

kills intestinal worms. Good for headache and promotes urinary

discharges. The roots and seeds are applied on swollen parts and

skin diseases. The roots purify the blood. An infusion of the plant

is given to the animals infested with worms.

CUCURBITACEAE

20. Coccinia indica Wt. et Arn. (Tindora; Gholi; Gilodi)

A climber, flowering in July to September. The juice of the

leaves and roots has a cooling effect and is used in diabetes. The

flowers are used in disorders of the bile and jaundice. The fruits are

applied on swollen parts and are used for disorders of the blood. As

a pot herb it cures anaemia.

MOLLUGINACEAE

21. Trianthema monogyna Linn. (Vasu)

A prostrate succulent herb, flowering in April to November. The

juice of the plant is a tonic for old age. A decoction of the roots is

used for fevers, swellings and scorpion-sting.

536 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

RUBIACEAE:

22. Oldenlandia corymbosa Linn. (Pitpapdo) : .

-A small, delicate herb; flowering in July to @unber The juice

of the plant -has a cooling effect. Used in jaundice. It is a blood

purifier. |

23. Borreria hispida Schum. (Madhuri Jadi)

A small herb, procumbent as well as decumbent: flowering. 1 in July

to October. The plant is used in toothache. —

COMPOSITAE

24. Vernonia cinerea Less. (Shahadevi) Aes

A herb, flowering in July to September. The plant juice cures

piles. The root is useful for dropsy. The juige of the roots is used

in fever.

25. Ageratum conyzoides Linn. (Makadmari ; Ajgandha)

An erect herb, flowering in August to February. The plant is

used for leprosy and diseases of the skin. The leaves heal cuts.

26. Grangea maderaspatana Poir. (Mundi)

A prostrate spreading herb, flowering in April to July. The juice

of the plant is useful for irregular menses and pains of the ear.

27. Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. (Bodiyo Kalhar; Kalar; Gorakh Mundi)

A herb, flowering in December to January. The plant is a tonic

used for ulcers, cough, anaemia, and asthma. The juice of the plant

cures jaundice,.leprosy, gastric troubles, wounds, and disorders of the

bile. The fruits are applied for rheumatism.

28. Xanthium strumarium Linn. (Gadariun)

A herb, flowering in September to April. It is useful in malaria

and improves appetite. |

29. Eclipta prostrata Linn. (Bhangro)

An erect or prostrate herb, flowering in July to December. The

root is useful for skin diseases. The plant has a cooling effect for

the eyes, and keeps hair black if mixed with the oil. Used for cough,

asthma, leprosy, and anaemia. It checks: sexual appetite.

30. Tricholepis glaberrima DC. (Utkatari; Utkanti) =a

_An erect, spinous herb; flowering in January to April. The plant

is a tonic. The roots and seeds are useful. The root bark is used

{n urinary troubles. The roots are applied on snakebites and scorpion-

stings. The roots if taken internally cure cough.

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA . 537

31. Launaea nudicaulis Hook. f. (Bhonypatri)

A prostrate spreading herb, decumbent; flowering in June to March.

It checks fever.

ASCLEPIADACEAE

32. Calotropis gigantea R. Br. (Aakado)

A milky shrub, flowering throughout the year. The plant is a

superlative remedy for leprosy, piles, intestinal worms, cough, dropsy,

and skin diseases. It is good for digestion. Application of the milky

juice relieves ordinary pains of the body. It is purgative. The roots

are used for jaundice and its bark enhances perspiration. Oil boiled

with the leaves is applied in paralysis. The leaves are used for

headache and serpent bite. The flowers cure fevers and cough. _

33. Calotropis procera R. Br. (Dholo Aakado)

A small shrub, flowering throughout the year. Its uses are the

same as those of C. gigantea R. Br.

34, Leptadenia reticulata Wt. et Arn. (Nani Dodi)

A twiner, flowering in May to October. The plant is a tonic and

a substitute for vegetables.

GENTIANACEAE

35. Enicostemma verticillatum (Linn.) Engler. (Kadavi Nai)

An erect herb, flowering in June to September. The plant purifies

the blood. It is also used for hernia.

BORAGINACEAE

36. Coldenia procumbens Linn. (Okhrad)

A procumbent herb, flowering in August to October. The leaves

are used for boils and rheumatism. :

37. Heliotropium marifolium Retz. (Hathi Shundhan)

A decumbent herb, flowering in June to September. Tender

shoots of the plant cure ulcers. The leaves are applied on scorpion-

sting.

CONVOLVULACEAE

38. Evolvulus alsinoides Linn. (Jini Fudardi)

A prostrate herb, flowering in June to December. The plant is

used in dysentery and is a good tonic for asthma.

538 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

A prostrate herb, flowering in June to January. The juice of the

plant with honey stops nausea, and is a tonic for delirious persons.

40. Merremia emarginata Hall. f. (Under Kani)

A small creeping herb, flowering in July to October. The juice

of the plant is used in cases of rat-bite. | aa

SOLANACEAE

41. Solanum nigrum Linn. (Piludi)

An erect herb, flowering in June to January. The juice of the

plant is useful for piles and stops blood-vomits. The fruits are used

in fever. An infusion of the leaves is used to remove the effects of

opium. The plant is used as a pot herb for disorders of the bile.

42. Solanum xanthocarpum Schr. et Wendl. (Bhony Ringani)

A prostrate, spreading, spiny herb; flowering in January to May.

The plant is used in asthma and relieves pains of the body. A

decoction of the roots is good for cough and fevers. The fruits are

smoked to relieve pain caused by decayed teeth. The application of

the juice of the plant with honey is highly praised as a remedy for

baldness.

43. Physalis minima Linn. (Popti)

A herb, somewhat procumbent; flowering in August to September.

The plant is a tonic. It increases secretion of milk.

44. Withania somnifera Dunal. (Ghoda Aasun)

A small hairy undershrub, flowering in September to March. The

plant cures weakness and is good for fever.

45. Datura metel Linn. non auct. plur. (Dhanturo)

A small, succulent shrub; flowering in September to March (almost

throughout the year). The fruit boiled in sweet oil is a superlative

remedy for skin diseases. All parts of the plant are smoked in to

‘cure cough. The juice of the plant is used for mumps and guinea-

“worm. The leaves and roots are applied on scorpion-sting and swoilen

parts.

SCROPHULARIACEAE

46. Bacopa monnieri Pennell. (Jalnevari ; Bam)

A _ prostrate; - spreading, succulent herb; flowering in August.

Useful as a tonic in nerve weakness, asthma, and rheumatism. —

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA Kk “5B9

47, Striga euphrasioides Benth. (Dholo Aagiyo) |

An erect herb. Root parasite on grasses. Flowering in July to

October. The plant improves appetite.

48. Lindenbergia indica O. Kuntze (Bhint Chatti)

A small, glandular herb. lLithophyte. Flowering in August to

November. The juice of the plant is used in chronic bronchitis..

OROBANCHACEAE

49. Orobanche nicotianae Wight (Vakunbo)

A herb. Root parasite on tobacco plants. Flowering in December

to February. A fodder for cattle.

ACANTHACEAE

50. Peristrophe bicalyculata Nees. (Kali Anghedi) e

A herb, flowering in August to January. Used in snake bite.

51. Rungia parviflora Nees. (Khadsheliyo)

A decumbent herb, flowering in August to October. Used in

fever and cough. |

VERBENACEAE

52. Phyla nodiflora Greene (Ratveliyo) .

A prostrate, creeping herb; flowering in June to October. An

infusion of the leaves is given to children suffering from indigestion.

LABIATAE

53. Ocimum gratissimum Linn. (Aavachi-Bavachi)

A herb, flowering in July to October. The seeds are used for

headache and dysentery. The juice of the plant stops nausea.

54. Anisomeles indica O. Kuntze (Chodharo)

An erect herb, flowering in June to October. The plant is used

as a tonic in uterine affections and fevers.

55. Leucas aspera Spreng. (Kubo) )

An erect herb, flowering in August to November. The juice of

the leaves is used for scabies, jaundice, fevers, and swellings.

NYCTAGINACEAE

56. Boerhavia diffusa Linn. (Punnarnava : Satodo)

A decumbent herb, flowering in March to November (almost

throughout the year). The plant is applied on swollen parts and

540 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

cures ulcers of animals. The plant is highly praised for its property

of curing dropsy. It promotes urinary discharges. The roots are

used in opthalmic troubles, jaundice, and asthma. It stops disorders

of the brain and fever.

AMARANTACEAE

37. Digera muricata Mart. (Kanajero)

A small herb, flowering in July to September. The plant is used

as a vegetable and has a laxative effect.

58. Amarantus spinosus Linn. (Kantalo Dabho)

An erect, spinous herb; flowering in August to September. The

root is used in eczema. The leaves are sometimes used as a

vegetable and have a cooling effect.

59. Amarantus gracilis Desf. (Dhimado) /

An erect herb, flowering in August to September. Young shoots

are eaten.

60. Amarantus polygamus Linn. (Tandalajo)

A herb, flowering in August to September. Used as a vegetable

and cures bowel trouble. The leaves have a cooling effect. It

stops cough and purifies blood. Used on scorpion-sting. A good

tonic for dropsy.

61. Aerva lanata Juss. (Kapuri Madhuri)

A herb, in flower most of the year. The root is useful for head-

ache.

62. Achyranthes aspera Linn. (Anghedo)

A herb, flowering in September to February. The entire plant

and the seeds are useful. It is highly praised for stopping nausea.

It cures fever, cough, indigestion, toothache, dropsy, swellings, and

skin diseases. Its stem is very good for cleaning the teeth. The bark

or the roots are applied on scorpion-sting. The leaves cure piles.

An infusion of the young shoots or the seeds with honey is used for

rat-bite.

63. Alternanthera sessilis R. Br. (Jal Jambvo ; Panini Bhaji)

A prostrate, spreading herb; flowering in July to September. The

plant is a good tonic and is used for dropsy.

CHENOPODIACEAE

64. Chenopodium album Linn. (Chilni Bhaji)

A herb, flowering in January to April. Used chiefly as a vege-

table. It is laxative and purifies the urine. The juice of the plant

is applied on burns.

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA 541

ARISTOLOCHIACEAE

65. Aristolochia bracteata Retz. (Kidamari)

A prostrate herb, flowering in June to September. The plant

juice is applied for ulcers in animals. Cures fevers and intestinal

worms. Applied on swollen parts.

EUPHORBIACEAE

66. Euphorbia hirta Linn. (Nagala Dudheli)

An erect herb, flowering in June to November (almost through-

out the year). The plant is used in bowel troubles.

67. Phyllanthus niruri Linn. (Bhonya Amli)

A small, erect herb; flowering in June to September. The entire

plant is used in fever. It cures disorders of the blood and bile. The

leaves are used for jaundice, anaemia, and cough.

68. Chrozophora prostrata Dalz. (Betho Okhrad)

A prostrate herb, flowering in May to June. It is used for cold

and cough. The seeds are purgative.

69. Acalypha indica Linn. (Dadaro ; Vinchhi Kanto)

An erect herb, flowering in July to November. The plant is useful

in bronchitis and pneumonia.

COMMELINACEAE

70. Commelina nudiflora Linn. (Aakhalo-Bokhalo) %

An erect herb, flowering in July to October. Its application is

good for burns.

CYPERACEAE

71. Cyperus rotundus Linn. (Moth) |

An erect, glabrous herb; flowering in July to October. The tubers

are used for disorders of the stomach.

GRAMINEAE

72. Eragrostis sp. (Dabha ; Darbha)

A slender, glabrous grass; flowering in July. Very good fodder

grass. The roots are used in fevers and cough, and promote urinary

discharges.

73. Cynodon dactylon Pers. (Daro)

A perennial grass, flowering in July to October. It is used in

Hindu pujas for Lord Shri Ganesh. It is best for lawns. A good

542 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

fodder grass. An infusion of the plant stops bleeding from piles.

Used in haemorrhage, eczema, and brain troubles. Stops nausea

and fevers. It is a very good remedy for irregular menses. It is said,

and believed by the public, that the roots tied with cotton thread to

the hand stop fevers.

SUMMARY

The present paper puts on record the useful weeds occurring in

the city of Baroda and on the Pavagadh Hill mentioning their medicinal

properties. Such information was obtained in the first instance from

local Ayurvedic practitioners. ‘This paper is based on the collections

made during the years 1954 to 1957. The names used locally for

all the weeds occurring in these areas are also given.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our sincere thanks are due to Rev. Father H. Santapau, s.J., St.

Xavier's College, Bombay, for going through this paper and for

taking keen interest in this work, and for his very valuable suggest-

ions given during the preparation of this paper. ‘Thanks are also due

- to Shri Maganlal Mangalram Vaidya of Baroda and Shri A. P.

Kothari of the Department of Botany, M.S. University of Baroda’

for corroborating the medicinal properties of the plants.

REFERENCES

1. Cooke, T. (1901-1908) : The Flora

of the Presidency of Bombay. London -

and Bombay.

2. Watt, G. (1889-1893): Dictionary

of Economic Products of India. London

and Calcutta.

3. Santapau, H. (1955) : Contributions

to the Botany of the Dangs Forest,

Bombay State. Journ. Gujerat Res. Soc.

16; 285-320 and 17: 1-59.

4. Sutaria, R.N. (1949): A text-book

of Systematic Botany, Bombay.

5. Pattnaik, H. (1956): Some _ useful

weeds in and around Cuttack. JBNHS

54: 140-152.

6. Phatak, V. G. and G. M. Oza (1957):

Studies on the weeds of Gujerat. (1)

Observations on the weeds of the M. S.

University Campus. Journ. M. S. Univ.

Baroda 6: 93-111.

Reviews

1. SOONDAR MOONI. By E. O. Shebbeare. Pp. 224 (21.5xX

13.5 cm.). Line drawings and maps by the author. London, 1958.

Victor Gollancz Ltd. Price 18s.

Mr. Shebbeare is well known in India as having acquired an almost

unrivalled knowledge of forests, elephants, and other wild life of north

and north-east India prior to World War II when he became Game

Warden of Malaya. He had a distinguished career, having been on

two Everest Expeditions and having finished up as Head of the

Forest Department of Bengal. A very keen observer of natural

history, particularly of wild (and tame) elephants, it is fitting that he

should now have produced what must be one of the best books yet

written on the Indian (or Asiatic) elephant.

_ Many writers on elephants tend to invest this creature with great

intelligence and a certain amount of glamour in order to give their

subject popular appeal. Some prefer to attempt to debunk the elephant

legends. Mr. Shebbeare does neither of these, but in an enchant-

ing story of an individual elephant in north-east India he depicts the

life-history of one of these animals, elephant herd life in the wild,

how these animals react to various natural and man-caused incidents,

how they submit to capture, training and working for man, and thus

lays on record a vast amount of first hand and authentic information

on the subject. Though the story is mostly told through the eyes

and mind of an elephant, there is a minimum of anthropomorphistic

approach on the part of the author to his subject. Many years of

close observation appear to have given the author an almost uncanny

gift of being able to gauge the probable thoughts of elephants when

confronted with various situations, both in their wild state and after

capture and training. |

There are numerous interesting references to other wild creatures

in the book, to gaur, buffalo, tiger, leopard, bear, deer, and so on.

The human inhabitants, moreover, of the locality are not excluded,

and we are treated to realistic but very delightful descriptions of an

elephant auction, of the great melas in Bihar, of tiger shoots and a,

host of other episodes. The author’s line drawings are good enough

to make us wish that there were more of them.

The main value of the book is that the author has given us a vast

amount of valuable information on the Indian elephant. There are

very few details on which anyone with experience of wild and tame

elephants in this part of India could disagree. However, here are

a few very minor criticisms. The drawing on the cover of Soondar

544. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Mooni’s mother is, judging from its hollowed head, of an older

elephant than intended, and the baby is too large for a newly born

one. The delightfully and amusingly expressed thoughts (on page 12)

of a young elephant, so human and yet probably so typically

elephantine also, could have been more appropriately attributed to a

four or five year old calf than to a fourteen month one which would still

be in the suckling, calf-at-heel stage. On page 19 the author states

‘Although instances of a sort of David and Jonathan partnership

between two young tuskers are not unheard of, bulls normally give

one another a wide berth...’ The reviewer has himself twice seen

two wild makhnas, one fully grown and the other three-quarter grown,

roaming together in the forest in close friendship; while he is informed

by an Assamese friend, noted for his experience of elephant catching,

that instances are common of wild bulls, two, three, or four (but

not more) in number, forming a friendship, and that this is known as

maljuria or ‘wrestler-friends’. Tet

The two year old Soondar Mooni, when captured with her mother,

is described (page 80) as following the koonkies loose after leaving

the stockade, and later (page 84) as returning to suckle her tied-up

mother in the training camp. The reviewer has often seen calves of

this age taken out of the stockade, and they have always been roped)

to a koonkie and have never suckled their mothers again. In fact

the elephant catchers say that the captured mother will not and can

not suckle her calf after the shock of capture. On page 102 the author

says that Soondar Mooni’s mother held up training ‘by trying to stand

on her head’. Possibly he must be speaking figuratively, as the

reviewer has never seen an adult newly captured elephant trying to do

this when struggling, though of course young baby elephants often do

this.

Most of the facts of the author’s distinguished career are given

on the dust cover, with further information amusingly detailed in the

Introduction by the Australian Minister for External Affairs, who was

Governor of Bengal at the time of Mr. Shebbeare’s return to India

after the war when a tiger shoot was organized in his honour. What

is not recorded is the fact that the author was one of the last of a

dying race of forest officers in India who knew and loved their

forests and the wild life therein more than the office chair, who (as

‘the forester’) ‘slipped away to bed, where he put an alarm clock

set for five under his pillow’, and who would march on foot or on

elephant-back through the forests until he came out the other side—

no mean feat in north-east India.

This book is confidently to be recommended to all, both for its

unique and authentic information about the forests, savannahs,

REVIEWS 545

elephants and other wild animals of north-east India, as well as for

its delightful style which sustains the reader’s interest from beginning

to end.

3 E.P.G.

2. THE FLORA OF PURANDHAR. AN ENUMERATION OF ALL

THE PHANEROGAMIC PLANTS DISCOVERED IN PURANDHAR DURING THE

YEARS 1944-1956. By H. Santapau. Pp. 1-158. Oxford Book and

Stationery Co. New Delhi and Calcutta. (Date of publication and

price not given.)

In this book is given a list of the flowering plants collected by

the author during his visits to Purandhar during the years 1944-56.

The arrangement followed is that of Cooke in his FLORA OF THE

PRESIDENCY OF BOMBAY, which is the same as that followed in Hooker’s

FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA. The author has, however, made some

modifications in the delimitation of the families, as he has split the

Leguminosae, the Geraniaceae, the Boraginaceae, the Urticaceae, the

Amaryllidaceae, the Scitamineae, etc. He has, however, curiously

kept the Coniferae between the Monochlamydeae and the Mono-

cotyledons. The author has modernised the nomenclature of the

species in accordance with the International Rules of Botanical

Nomenclature. The total number of plants described is 680, belonging

to 101 Families and 399 Genera. Such local lists of plants are very

useful to the plant geographer in tracing the origin of the component

elements of the regional flora. It would, therefore, have been useful

if the author had also given the regional distribution of the species

enumerated.

In the Introduction, the author has drawn attention to the large

number of ‘rare and very rare plants’ that have been preserved on the

spot. It is these which give clue to the origin and past history of

the flora of the higher regions of the Western Ghats. The reviewer

wishes to draw attention to two such plants Delphinium dasycaulon

and Geranium ocellatum var. himaiaicum. Both these are of west

Himalayan origin and migrated to Western Ghats on the one hand

and to Ethiopia on the other producing specialised varieties in each

case.

The author has done a distinct service to students of the Bombay

Flora by the publication of this enumeration, and deserves congra-

tulations for it. The size of the book is rather odd. It would have

been more useful if the volume had been printed in a size suitable

for carrying in the field.

S.P.A.

546 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

3. THE A TO Z of DOGS. By Barbara Woodhouse. Pp. 122

(16.511 cm.). Max Parrish, London, 1958. Price 7s. 6d.

_ Those who like their information in packet form will welcome

this little addition to the legions of books on dogs. The author,

who has lots of practical and useful advice to give her readers,

does so in the shape of answers to the sort of questions that we find

in the doggy columns of the newspapers; but the answers are given at

greater length and with more detail than is possible there. The range

covered is wide and the average dog owner will find guidance in

the book for most of the things he can tackle without expert help.

With reference to the training of dogs she is of the opinion that

there are two sides to the question, and she has established a re-

sidential boarding school where owners and pets can be taken in hand

together. Not a few of us will agree with her, with an uncomfortable

consciousness that in this respect we too are sinners.

7 | D.E.R.

4. PALAEMON. By S. S. Patwardhan, p.sc. [Editor: Professor

R. V. Seshaiya]. Pp. xx+102 (24.5X16 cm.) 65 text-figures.

Calcutta: Zoological Society of India, 1958. Price Rs. 5.00.

The present monograph is largely a reprint of the first edition

which was published in 1937 as memoir No. 6 in The Indian

Zoological Memoirs on Indian Animal Types series under the editor-

ship of the late Professor K. N. Bahl. It was out of print for several,

years and the issue of this edition meets a long-felt and pressing

need of students and teachers of zoology in the Indian Universities.

The main body of the text and number of figures remain practically

-unaltered except for slight changes in the text at certain places

clarifying some points which were left unexplained in the first edition.

In addition there are introductory notes by the President and Editor

of the Zoological Society of India, and the Convener of the Indian

Zoological Memoirs Committee of the Society at the beginning, and

a brief note about the Zoological Society of India at the end.

It is gratifying to note that the Zoological Society of India has

now undertaken to edit and publish the Indian Zoological Memoirs

on Indian Animal Types initiated by the late Professor K. N. Bahl.

The present monograph is the first to be brought out under the

auspices of the Society. It is neatly printed on semi-art paper. The

illustrations are clear and well reproduced, and the attractive and

strong rexine binding renders it suitable even for rough use on

REVIEWS ~~ Oe ORVACOL “S47.

laboratory tables. In spite of rising costs of printing the issue is

reasonably priced. Along with others in the series, this monograph’

will continue to enjoy the popularity that it has achieved, among

students and teachers of zoology in the Universities. The Zoological

Society of India, the Convener and members of the Indian Zoological

Memoirs Committee deserve to be congratulated for the production of

this excellent memoir, and we hope that new additions to the series

will follow soon in quick succession to make the study of zoology in

Indian Universities self-sufficient.

KOR re.

5. A ZOOLOGICAL GUIDE TO THE ZOOLOGICAL

GARDENS OF CEYLON. By Major Aubrey N. Weinman. Pp.

ix+167 (18.5 cm.x12.5 cm.). 3 coloured, 1 black-and-white, 89

illustrations, and 1 pictorial map. Ceylon, 1957. Printed at the

Government Press. Price ?.

This booklet pertains to the Dehiwala Zoo in Colombo, and is

written by its Director who states that the main purpose of it is to

sustain the interest aroused by a visit.

The bulk of the text is a general account of mammals, birds,

reptiles, etc. arranged in systematic order. A number of species not

exhibited in the Zoo are also mentioned. The short notes on the

prominent characteristics of many animals, together with the large

number of photographs (including three in colour) should certainly

help to foster and sustain the interest.

An Appendix gives a list of plants, divided into flowering trees,

shrubs, creepers, orchids, etc., and another the Sinhalese, Tamil, and

scientific names of the different species exhibited.

In the Foreword, the Minister of Home Affairs to the Government

of Ceylon states that, though he has travelled extensively and visited

many zoos in different parts of the world, the beauty of the site of

the Gardens is unrivalled by any other. |

In Delhi a large. and very picturesque area has been set apart for

the building up of a zoological park, and it is hoped that this will

soon be opened to the public. In other parts of India, however, many

of the excellent zoos privately maintained by the rulers of the erstwhile

States are now sadly deteriorating.

The Bombay Zoo administered by the Municipality is also in sorry

circumstances and it is possible that the appointment of an Advisory

Committee and allocation of adequate funds would assist in the

Temoval of some of the existing drawbacks. Such a committee is

“attached to the Zoological Gardens of Ceylon and includes members of

548. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

‘the Fauna Protection Society, the Department of Wild Life, and other

individuals interested in the subject.

The Ceylon zoo authorities are certainly to be congratulated on

the production of this excellent booklet, which is to be followed by.

Sinhalese and Tamil editions.

H.A.

6. THE DARWIN READER. Edited by Marston Bates and

P. S. Humphrey. Pp. 1x+481 (22.5 cm.x15.5 cm.). With one plate

and several illustrations. London, 1957. Macmillan & Co. Ltd.

Price 30s.

The name of Charles Darwin, the proponent of the theory of

Organic Evolution through Natural Selection or the Survival of the

Fittest needs no special introduction to our readers. The year 1959

has a special significance to all biologists as it marks the one

hundredth anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s epoch-making

treatise THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES—a classic containing deductions!

based on years of painstaking research and field observations.

Although highly controversial and inviting unprecedented criticism

from all quarters, including some of his eminent fellow biologists, by

publishing this book Darwin gave a new outlook to the science of

biology and his thoughts and ideas embodied therein profoundly

influenced the thinking world. Centennial celebrations are being held

in various parts of the world to mark this milestone of progress in

human endeavour to understand the laws of nature, and it is only

fitting that a book containing extracts from Darwin’s various writings

in the form of an easily readable account should be published about

this time.

Darwin was a prolific writer and to read and digest the mass of

material that he wrote would be a task to any biologist, leave alone

the layman naturalist! Mr. Bates and Mr. Humphrey, the editors

of THE DARWIN READER, have in this book attempted to collate

in a concise readable form extracts from Darwin’s most important

books, THE VOYAGE OF THE .BEAGLE, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, THE

DESCENT OF MAN, THE EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY,

and his published researches on plants and worms. Their choice of

extracts from the THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY for the opening chapters of the

book seems most appropriate as they are in Darwin’s own words and

are the best introduction to his work. The remaining five parts of the

book contain extracts from the aforesaid works of Darwin, but it

fis regrettable that selections from the most voluminous book THE

‘VARIATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS UNDER DOMESTICATION should not

REVIEWS 549

find a place in this compendium. However, reference is made in the

brief editorial introduction to the interesting but now obsolete theory

of ‘Pangenesis’ which Darwin developed. A bibliography of Darwin's

writings and important. books dealing with Darwin’s. biography,

Darwinian influence, and contemporary evolutionary theory are given

in a useful Appendix, and a thirteen page index concludes the book.

The editorial notes and comments are kept to the barest minimum

designed to aid in continuity of reading.

In the selection of extracts the editors have striven to bring

together those embodying the most important ideas of Darwin and as

far as possible the most readable prose, thus making it a highly interest-

ing account of the life and work of a genius. For a fuller appreciation

of the importance of field observations in the natural sciences nothing,

would be better than a perusal of the works of this greatest of all

naturalists. To those wishing to delve more into the subject, recourse

to Darwin’s books in complete form, which are now available in

reprint editions, will be mecessary. THE DARWIN READER, easy

to read and understand, should appeal to all those interested in the

various disciplines of natural science and the phenomenon of evolution.

This book is strongly recommended to all our readers and will form

a valuable addition to any library.

EGS.

Miscellaneous Notes

1. TIGERS AND PORCUPINES

I used to wonder in my young days why a tiger, being such an

intelligent and cautious animal, should kill a porcupine when other

natural food was available. After many occasions for observation in

the jungles by following tigers with a pair of binoculars from a safe

distance, I am inclined to believe that the porcupine attracts the atten-

tion of the tiger due to the tastiness of its meat. For the tiger the

porcupine is a toothsome morsel, and in spite of the protection afforded

it by the pointed spines and quills the tiger does not hesitate to face:

the dangers involved. I have myself seen the peculiar way in which

the tiger goes about to kill a porcupine. After his victim has been

approached to a convenient distance, the tiger with a powerful stroke

tosses the porcupine in the air and may give another blow if necessary.

The porcupine usually hits a stone or some other hard object becoming

unconscious and exposing its vital parts.

In the process of attacking its prey in this manner accidents are

likely to happen. For example, small quills may get lodged in the

tiger’s pads while striking the animal which may be very difficult to

extract by means of his teeth. Subsequently these may penetrate

deeper into the festering wound and disable him in time.

Another likely, place for wounds from a porcupine’s quills is the

mouth, or even the intestine. On many occasions I have found small

quills in a tiger’s droppings which had passed through the alimentary

canal. All the same, there is a danger of some pieces of quills stick-

ing in the intestines and causing ulcers. In fact, one such tiger was

found dead on the banks of Shikarghar Tank, near Banbihar Sanctuary

in 1943, in a skin and bone condition. The intestine of this animal

had several ulcers in a festering state inside which pieces of porcupine

quills were found. Another example of disability due to porcupine

spines was that of a tigress destroyed by us in Dholpur on Sth May,

1945. For some days complaints were being received from an

adjoining village about a tigress killing cattle at the rate of four or

five animals a day. The peculiarity of these kills was that only the

soft parts such as udder, testes, etc. were eaten and the rest of the

carcass left untouched. Things came to a head when the tigress

attacked a 10 year old boy from a field hutment of Maharajpura

village, adjoining the Ramsagar Sanctuary. A hunt was organised,

and the tigress eventually traced and destroyed. Examination showed

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | Soul

that the mouth of the animal was in a diseased condition with large

ulcers forming on the lower jaw. On cleaning and removing the flesh

from the affected part I found a growth of deformity of the bone

around the molars on the right hand part of the jaw with a piece of

porcupine quill stuck inside. In this diseased condition the tigress

was unable to hunt her natural prey and had no other recourse but to

seek easier prey in cattle and men. This is a good example proving

that porcupine quills may be responsible for turning a tiger into a

man-eater.

Porcupines, it seems to me, are a potential source of danger

to tigers and possibly also to other carnivorous animals in

wild life sanctuaries. They are harmful likewise to the vegetation and

trees, the roots of which are a part of their regular diet. There is

definitely a case for the collection of more data regarding the ecology

of porcupines with a view to determining whether, and to what extent,

their elimination from wild life sanctuaries is desirable.

SANDS Fort, !

DHOLPUR (C. REY.), SARDAR BHUPENDRA KUMAR

RAJASTHAN,

July 16, 1958.

[The specimen was sent to the Bombay Veterinary College and

we have received a note from the Principal which reads:

‘The specimen sent by you consists of the lower jaw-bone

(mandible) of a tiger. In the region of the molars on the right side,

an irregularly spherical swelling has formed on the bone. It has,

a rough porous .surface and a cavity on the inside. The cavitation

has extended to the last moiar posteriorly involving half of its.

root, and the first molar anteriorly involving the posterior half of its

root. The second molar is absent in the specimen and must have

dropped out owing to the destruction of the bone which held it

in. place.

‘The nature of the lesion indicates that it was produced by

suppurative osteitis caused by a wound and its subsequent

infection. The wound might have been caused by any pointed

object such as a porcupine quill as suggested.

‘In suppurative osteitis there is a destruction of the bony tissue

in the infection, resulting in its rarefaction. New bone may form

under the periosteum which is not involved in the inflammatory

process. Due to the rarefaction of the bone in the region, the

552 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

second molar must have dropped out. The complete destruction of

the alveolus of the second molar suggests that the wound must

have been caused in the region of the second molar and not at the

third molar as is suggested by the present position of the quill,

since, the inflammatory process spreads centrifugally from the focus:

of infection.

‘Suppurative osteitis is an extremely painful conainen The bone

becomes weak and may fracture even by slight force. This explains

the peculiar food habit of the tiger of devouring the soft parts alone

of its prey.—EDs.]

2. A MUSK SHREW ATTACKING A SNAKE

The common musk shrew, Suncus murinus, is responsible for

destroying a great many creatures that are harmful to mankind like

cockroaches and other insect pests. It is known to feed upon a scorpion

and even to attack a large frog (Blanford, W. T., 1888, THE FAUNA OF

BRITISH INDIA MAMMALIA: 236-237). The author has not come

across any record of the shrew attacking a snake.

In the last part of June 1957, one evening, a musk shrew was

discovered by me dragging a keelback (Natrix stollata) into my house.

The snake was a little under 14 feet long; its head was badly damaged

and the snake appeared to have been freshly killed. Apparently the

shrew had killed it.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

RAVENSHAW COLLEGE, B. K. BEHURA

CUTTACK,

July 22, 1957.

[The normal food of the musk shrew consists of cockroaches and

other insects, but it is known to kill and eat bull-frogs [Wasey, G. K.,

JBNHS 10 (2): 330-331], toads [Prall, S.E., ibid. 13 (4): 669-700],

guinea pig sucklings [Bannerman, W.B., ibid. 16 (4): 751-752]. It also

eats vegetable matter such as roots (bulbs) of the ‘bimli’ grass and

coconut pulp [Millard, W. S., ibid. 27 (1): 164]. Sterndale (MAMMALIA

OF INDIA: 84) mentions bread and even scorpions as forming part of

its diet. It is said to eat rice and grain too, but opinion seems to

differ on this point.

~- Although in this case the evidence of killing the snake is merely

presumptive, it is an interesting record. We can trace no previous

mention of a snake in the varied dietary of the musk shrew.—EDs.]

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 92> 0" 553

3. ABNORMAL SITE OF HORN-GROWTH IN

RHINOCEROS UNICORNIS LINN.

(With a photo)

In June of this year I received from the Honorary Secretary (Mr.

Humayun Abdulali) two samples of material removed from the head

of a captive Indian Onehorned Rhinoceros (R. unicornis) living in

the Bombay Zoo. One sample comprised a clipping from the normal

anterior horn which, as is commonly the case in captive specimens,

had been rubbed down by the animal almost to the general level of

the muzzle. The second sample was taken from an irregular horny

growth which had arisen between the base of the normal horn and

the forehead—approximately midway.

Sections from the material: from the abnormal site examined

microscopically prove to be identical in structure with normal horn-

laminated strands of keratin.

The question naturally arises as to whether this secondary growth

is compensatory for the loss of the normal horn from the excessive

degree of friction to which it is subjected in captive animals. But

whether the answer to this be affirmative or negative, it is of interest

to note that it is at this site that a second horn normally grows in.

the two African Rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis and Ceratotherium

- « 5 =

554 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

simum) as well as in one smaller Asiatic species, the rare Dicerorhinus

sumatrensis.

In connection with the rubbing down of the anterior horn Grzimek

(1956)' remarks that captive rhinoceroses shed their horns about once

every ten years and it takes approximately a year to become renewed.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,

REGENT’s PARK,

Lonpbon, N.W. 1,

July 17, 1958.

W. C. OSMAN HILL

4. RE-DISCOVERY OF THE SMALLER ASIATIC

ONEHORNED RHINOCEROS (RHINOCEROS SONDAICUS

DESMAREST) IN MALAYA

(With a plate)

Thanks to the helpful co-operation of Mr. Loke Wan-Tho of

Singapore we reproduce two unique photographs of this ‘extinct’

rhinoceros obtained in Malaya under the most extraordinary circum-

stances. According to The Straits Times of Singapore (March 22,

1957) where the photographs were first published, they were taken by

one Mr. P. G. Bazin of the Lima Blas Oil Palm Estate at Slim River

in southern Perak. Ironically enough, the photographer had no idea

of what he had in front of his camera! The young animal in the

picture was identified by Mr. H. J. Kitchener, the Chief Game Warden

of Malaya. In the account given by Mr. Bazin to The Straits Times

it seems that the animal was first seen by the estate labourers, wallow-

ing in a swamp by a field. It did not appear to be frightened but

just got up from the wallow and slowly walked away regardless of

the barking of dogs and chivvying by Mr. Bazin’s Alsatian. The animal

is said to have been followed for two hours along a forest road in a

jeep at a distance of 10 yards behind, before it turned off into the

jungle and disappeared.

The Smaller Onehorned, or Javan, Rhinoceros (R. sondaicus) was

found in India within recent times but now appears to be extinct.

In the last century it was recorded from the Rajmahal Hills (?),

Sikkim Terai, Sunderbans and ‘in the forest along the Mahanaddy

River’. It was reported as frequenting swampy ground in the

Sunderbans as well as dense hill forest up to altitudes of 4000 ft.

1+ Grzimek, B. (1956): NO ROOM FOR WILD ANIMALS, Thames & Hudson,

London. (translated from Kein Platz fiir Wilde Tiere).

JouRN. BomBay Nat. HIstT. Soc.

The young “ Rhinoceros sondatcus’’ (2) photographed in Perak, Malaya

(By courtesy Straits Times, Singapore)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES =p)

At the present time it apparently occurs in Burma in small and

diminishing numbers, Thailand, Java, Borneo, and Sumatra.

It differs from the Great Indian Onehorned Rhino (R. unicornis)

in being somewhat smaller; height at the shoulder c. 5 ft. 8 in. against

up to 6 ft. Skin not tuberculated but with a mosaic-like pattern as

on the flanks of a crocodile; throat folds less heavy; shoulder folds

joining above neck to form an anterior saddle-like nape fold. Horn

in females small or absent.

No reports of the existence of R. sundaicus in Malaya were

available during the last 20 years, and the animal was believed to

have become extinct. It may be recalled that Mr. R. C. Morris who

led an expedition to Malaya on behalf of Mr. A. S. Vernay to procure

a specimen of this rhinoceros for the American Museum of Natural

History in 1935—curiously enough in the very area where these photos

were taken—returned empty-handed without even seeing any foot-

prints except those of the Twohorned, R. sumatrensis, or obtaining

any other clues. Mr. Morris appeared to be of the view (JBNHS

38: 446) that sondaicus no longer existed in Malaya and specimens

would have to be procured from Sumatra where it is still found.

It is believed that commercial poaching of the animal was largely

responsible for its disappearance. |

Theodore Hubback, during his term as Chief Game Warden,

after prolonged search in Malaya found a single living example

which he was so convinced was the last of its species (and mateless)

that he permitted it to be shot for some American Museum ‘in the

interest of science’. How dangerous it is to feel so convinced in

such matters is shown by the re-emergence of the present animal

which, being only half grown, could conceivably have a mother and

father still living... Mr. E. O. Shebbeare who followed Hubback as

Game Warden in Malaya for several years before the War did not

even see the tracks of this rhinoceros—all of which makes the present

discovery still more astonishing.

BoMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

114, APOLLO STREET, EDITORS

FortT, BOMBAY,

January 15, 1958.

[As the above note was about to go to press doubts arose in regard

to whether the animal in the photos was really R. sondaicus. The

chief reason for this doubt was the fact that one of the important keys

to the identification of R. sondaicus, namely the prominent anterior

nape fold formed by the joining of the shoulder folds on the neck

[clearly shown in the excellent illustrations in the Proc. Zool. Soc.

556 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

London, 1874, Plate 28, and J. Malayan Br. Roy. Asiat. Soc., 1937,

15 (2), Plates 3 and 4] is not visible in the picture. Mr. E. O.

Shebbeare to whom the matter was referred, while still supporting

Mr. Kitchener’s identification of the animal as sondaicus, ended his

letter by saying ‘. . . meanwhile I, for one, would be sorry to

plump for either species as the original of the Lim Blas pictures’.

The matter must rest at this for the present, and we must await

further conclusive evidence to dispel the doubts.—Ebs.]

5. THE SHOU OR ‘SIKKIM STAG’

AN APPEAL FOR INFORMATION ON ITS PRESENT STATUS

(With one plate)

A species of the Red Deer group known as the Shou (Cervus affinis

Hodgson)' is probably nearing extinction, and any news of it would

be most welcome. Unfortunately it is not found in India, not even

in Sikkim although it is often referred to as the ‘Sikkim Stag’. It is

not found in Nepal. It is, or used to be, found in the Chumbi Valley

of Tibet and sometimes in the adjacent valleys of north Bhutan, and

then again in Tibet in the valley of the Tsangpo to the east of Lhasa.

R. Lydekker in his GAME ANIMALS OF INDIA (1924) states that the

Shou was at one time reported to be plentiful in western Tibet, near

the source of the Brahmaputra, and that a young stag was also caught

in 1912 in the upper reaches of the Tsangpo Valley near the

Manasarowar Lake; but in Rowland Ward’s RECORDS OF BIG GAME

(1928) is the statement: ‘The Shou is not found within 200 miles of

the Manasarowar Lake. The authority on which this incorrect state-

ment was originally made was solely based on the fact that a single

antler was found in a temple near the Manasarowar Lake (Major G.

Burrard).’

R. Lydekker confirms that the Shou is not found in Nepal and

Sikkim, and that its main habitat is the Chumbi Valley and that its

range extends into Bhutan. He quotes from a letter to the Field of

October 27, 1906, written by Lt.-Col. H. A. Iggulden as follows:

‘My own observations and enquiries on this matter may be of interest

to naturalists, for whilst in Tibet with the military expedition of

1903-1904 I made enquires regarding this stag, and saw a considerable

number of skulls and horns at various places between our boundary

on the Talep Pass (Jalep ?) and Lhasa. I came to the conclusion

that these deer are not found to the west of a line drawn north and

south between Shigatse and the northern point of Sikkim. They are

* = Cervus elaphus wallichi Cuvier.—Ebs.

ist. Soc.

Journ. Bombay Nat.

THE HANGUL or KASHMIR STAG

THE SHOU of SIKKIM STAG

“ * ps

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES =p)

never found in Sikkim itself, as the climate there is too damp, though

one or two may possibly at times have crossed the boundary. There

are a fair number in the Chumbi and branch valleys, which are well

wooded, though they are probably more plentiful in some of the

northern Bhutanese valleys. After leaving the Chumbi Valley these

deer are not again encountered until the Tsangpo or Brahmaputra

Valley is reached, where there are some herds of them in a valley

to the north of the Kamba Pass, which were said to be protected by

the Dalai Lama, and were consequently unmolested. They also

inhabit the high mountains on both sides of the Brahmaputra for many

miles to the east, probably as far as the unexplored Brahmaputra Falls.

I next definitely heard of them existing in the bare hills to the north-

east of Lhasa, and was told that they were occasionally seen and

killed some few miles from that city.’

R. I. Pocock in ‘The Larger Deer of British India’ (JBNHS 43 (3),

1942) quotes a note from Col. F. M. Bailey on the distribution of the

Shou based on his own experience: ‘Shous used to be fairly common

on the ridge east of the Chumbi Valley between that valley and

Bhutan. East of this there used to be some in Bhutan. They lived

I think, in Bhutan but came over the ridge into the Chumbi Valley in

the summer and autumn. About November and December the Chumbi

Valley people cut fuel for their winter supply. Deep snow does

not usually come till later. This disturbs the forest and drives

the deer back into Bhutan. In the summer of 1921 I saw two hinds

and a young one above Lingmotang in the Chumbi Valley. There

must have been very few left and I believe all were exterminated a

few years ago, as I am told there are none in this part of Bhutan

now. I saw a few in the district of Tsari. Here the Shou will be

more or less artificially preserved for a long time I hope, as the place

is very holy and no life may be taken there.’

The Shou is a fine deer, much larger than the Kashmir stag

(Cervus hanglu)’. R. Lydekker in his ROYAL NATURAL HISTORY (1894)

says: ‘In addition to its superior dimensions, this deer is distinguished

from the hangul by the beam of the antlers being strongly bent

forwards just above the trez-tine; while the bez-tine is less constantly

longer than the brow-tine. Each antler seems to have constantly

but five points. Antlers have been measured of 54, 55, and 553 inches

in length; anything like such dimensions being only very exceptionally

attained by those of the Kashmir stag. The height of the animal is

from 44 to 5 feet at the shoulder’.

As Tibet and even Bhutan are ‘out of bounds’ to the ordinary

person, this note is written in the hope that its appeal may reach

SE NE ee SA ESN ee ae

+ =3 Cervus elaphus hanglu Wagner.

558 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

those Indian Government officials whose work takes them near or

into those parts, as well as the authorities of Tibet and Bhutan. If

this fine deer is still in existence it is to be hoped that the authorities

of the country and district concerned will take steps to safeguard it

by legislation and by the creation of effectively controlled sanctuaries.

There is no reason why the Shou should not do well in captivity,

provided that it is kept off soft grassy ground and enclosed in suitable

sloping, stony and rocky ground. The high altitude zoos or deer

parks newly created in Darjeeling and Gangtok should suit admirably

for the preservation and breeding of this species.

The writer of this note cannot do better than end this appeal with

an extract from THE YEARS OF TRANSITION (1949) by the twelfth

Duke of Bedford, who was one of the world’s authorities on deer.

He wrote: ‘I understand that many, or most, of the fine deer of

wapiti type inhabiting Central and Northern Asia are threatened with

early extinction in districts where game laws are very unlikely to be

applied or enforced. If therefore the world should ever return to that

degree of comparative sanity at which large sections of the human

race no longer desire to murder each other, it is most desirable that

collecting expeditions should be organized to obtain breeding stocks

of the big deer of Asia for preservation in captivity. Government

Departments should assist this venture instead of hindering it by

needlessly severe import restrictions’.

Any information received from any source about the Shou will

be most gladly welcomed by the undersigned, who will compile it

and forward to the appropriate interests.

OATING P.O.,

ASSAM, E. P. GEE

October 10, 1958.

6. A MYNA’S REMARKABLE ESCAPE FROM

ELECTROCUTION

Hearing the excited chatter of Jungle Babblers, Common Mynas,

and Redvented Bulbuls at 5.45 a.m. on Ist August, I went to see

what the cause of the excitement was. I was at the scene in about

5 minutes and I found a Common Myna hanging limp from a live

wire of the power line, its thighs touching a neutral wire below. Both

its legs were gripping the live wire. Another myna was hanging

with one leg on the live wire and the other leg on the neutral wire.

Other mynas in a state of great excitement were flying around

and alighting on the wires, sometimes dangerously close to the two

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Mak 559

unfortunate birds. The second myna struggled (convulsed ?) three

or four times and about two minutes later got released from the

wires and flew away followed by most of the mynas. A few mynas,

babblers, and bulbuls lingered for a while near the dead bird before

they too went away. The body of the dead bird remained hanging

on the wire all day, but was not there the next morning.

42 TREVOR Roap, |

NEw. FoREST, JOSEPH GEORGE

DEHRA Dun, U.P.,

August 11, 1938.

[The remarkable thing about the above incident is that the second

bird was not instantly killed by the initial shock, but in spite of

remaining stuck to the live wire for a couple of minutes it managed

to struggle and release itself and actually to fly away! Mr. George

informs us that the power line carried a voltage of 230 A.C——Eps.}

7. THE BLACKBACKED WOODPECKER, CHRYSOCOLAPTES

FESTIVUS (BODDAERT), IN CHITTUR KERALA

Salim Ali says (The Ornithology of Travancore and Cochin,

JBNHS 38: 784) that he saw the Blackbacked Woodpecker only once

in the course of his survey. In Chittur (part of the old Cochin State),

altitude approx. 400 ft., and miles away from any kind of forest, I

saw this bird on May 16, 1958. It was the call note that attracted

my attention. It was a rapidly uttered, thoroughly unmetallic kwirri-

rr-rr-rr-rr repeated 6 or 7 times running every few minutes. On the

16th I was able to watch the birds, a pair, from a distance of 45-56

feet. The triangular white patch on the back, set off by the surround-

ing black, makes the appearance of the bird distinctive. There

is no danger of any/one familiar with the commoner woodpeckers

mistaking the call note of this bird for that of the Goldenbacked

(Brachypternus benghalensis) which is the common woodpecker of the

area. The pair seen on 16-5-58 spent a few hours in a mango tope

and visited a number of coconut and palmyra palms also. The bird

was again noted on 23-5-58 and 5-6-53. On the last date I saw only

one bird. But it uttered its notes regularly. At dusk it was going

up a palmyra tree standing in the midst of fields.

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE,

CHITTUR, COCHIN, K. K. NEELAKANTAN

KERALA STATE,

June 5, 1958.

560 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

8. THE VOICE OF THE KORA, GALLICREX CINEREA

(GMELIN)

Very little seems to be on record about the voice of the Kora.

The best account I have come across is in THE BIRDS OF BURMA,

Smythies (1953), where he writes: “The call or challenge of the male

is a deep boom — ogh-ogh-ogh — uttered rapidly. When calling the

neck is puffed out and the bill pointed vertically down; at intervals

it is lowered out of sight and the note changes, sounding exactly

as if the bird were blowing into the water (whether it actually does

so has not been observed). Another common call, made by bending

the neck forward, opening the bill, and working the throat, resembled

the popping of corks. . .’

I should like to supplement the above with an account based on

half an hour’s observation under ideal conditions.

I have seen the Kora in Palghat only on two occasions. On 24

June 1957, at 9.30 am., I saw a male walking sedately along a

field bund. It was dull blackish brown all over with long, brownish

streaks on the wings. It had a fully developed comb. The tip of the

comb and the part over the bill were red, the rest of the appendage

being yellowish.

On 19 August 1957, at about 5.45 p.m., I was crossing the same

stretch of paddy fields when I heard loud clucking calls. It was a

male Kora, all black, with the comb and wattle red all over. The

bird was on a low bund some 20 to 30 feet away from another bund

which is regularly used as a foot-path. Though the bird was sur-

rounded by full-grown paddy, from one point on the foot-path it could

be seen very clearly. I stood there for a quarter of an hour fully

exposed to the bird’s view, but it either failed to notice me or ignored

my presence. It seemed intent only on producing the loud call-notes

which had first drawn my attention to it.

The notes uttered were chiefly of 3 sorts which had all a remote

suggestion of ‘booming’. They were produced almost incessantly and

there was a definite rhythm about them. The posture of the bird

and the nature of the sounds produced had an obvious relationship.

After finishing a series of calil-notes, the Kora remained silent for

a few seconds. At that time it invariably had its head raised.

Keeping the head up, it uttered a series of 10 or 12 kok-kok-kok-kok

calls, somewhat like the booming notes of the Chestnut Bittern; then,

suddenly, it lowered its head with a steep bow and produced a

number of deeper, hollower and metallic notes: ‘utumb-utumb-utumb’

(u as in put) These notes were uttered with greater rapidity

than the kok-kok-kok calls. The utumb sound was very like that

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES -- > °° "7561

produced when a stone, the size of a lemon, is dropped into a deep

well. If this is the sound referred to by Smythies, my opinion is

‘that the bird does not lower its bill into water. On the day I saw

it calling, the bird was on a field-bund, and could not have dipped

its bill into the water.

After 10 to 12 ‘utumb’s, the Kora lifted up its head and resumed

the kok-kok-kok calls. In between, as the head came up, a series)

of kluck-kluck-kluck’s was produced. I think their number was only

5 or 6 at the most.

As the bird had begun calling in this manner some time before

I reached the spot, and continued to do so for another 15 minutes or

more, I think it must have called without pause for half an hour at least.

No other Kora was seen or heard at that time anywhere in the

area, nor did the behaviour of this bird suggest that he was expecting

a rival to show up. At night on the 19th, whenever I listened, I could.

hear its notes. (My house was 300 to 400 yards away from the spot

where the bird was seen.) It was heard at night regularly for a

few days thereafter, but was not heard at all during or after the

first week of September. By the middle of September most of the

fields near my house had been reaped and the Kora could have found

little shelter anywhere in the area.

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE,

CHITTUR, COCHIN,

KERALA STATE, | K. K. NEELAKANTAN

June 5, 1958.

[H. G. Deignan in ‘Birds of Northern Thailand’ (Bull. Smithsoniar

Inst. No. 186 p. 108—1945) says: “The bird with swollen neck and.

bill pointed at the ground uttered a series of short notes owgh-owgh-

owgh, then dipping the head continued with a hollow-sounding gook-

gook-gook-gook, the tones exactly like that of Botaurus. At times.

the two kinds of calls were interspersed, and without exception the

head was lowered to produce the second sound’.—Eps.]

9. PHOTOGRAPHING THE LESSER FLORICAN,

SYPHEOTIDES INDICA (MILLER), AT NEST

(With three plates)

The Lesser Florican is a monsoon breeding visitor to Kathiawar

and arrives with the first rains. As soon as I got news of a florican’s

nest in a grass veedi some miles away, I went there with my hide.

The nest was in the middle of the thick growth of grass which

562 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

covered the veedi. I put up the hide about 12 feet from the nest and

bent down the grass in front so as to enable photographs to be taken.

As the road was very bad I did not wish to come here again,

and decided to take the risk of attempting to photograph immediately.

The female florican arrived a short while after my helper had left

me in the hide and returned to the car. On seeing the lens she at

once adopted an aggressive pose and advanced close up; in fact she

was not more than a foot from the hide and I was unable to take

photographs with my tele lens. After this display she went back to

the nest and started pushing the eggs, one by one, back into the

thick cover. When all the eggs were removed she started incubating

them. he

As I wished to take photographs of the bird incubating, I signalled

to my helper to come over, and asked him to place the eggs in their

former position in the open. Immediately he left the bird returned

and again removed them into the grass. By this time it was getting

late, so I signalled to my helper a second time to come over and

move the eggs into the open. The bird did not remove them again

but settled down and started incubating, and I did get the pictures

I wanted.

I have noticed this habit of rolling the eggs into the cover also

with other floricans that I have photographed.

JASDAN, M. K. SHIVRAJKUMAR

July 9, 1958.

10. WILSON’S STORM PETREL, OCEANITES OCEANICUS

(KUHL), AT COLOMBO

Since the compilation of scattered records of observations of

Wilson’s Storm Petrel in seas to the north of its breeding grounds

by Roberts (1940), Gibson-Hill (1948), Serventy (1952), and others,

a fairly complete picture has been obtained of the seasonal movements

of this bird. From observations in the Indian Ocean and Arabian

Sea, it appears, as Gibson-Hill (1948) has stated, that ‘Wilson’s Petrel

is plentiful in the area comprising the western portion of the Arabian

Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the southern half of the Red Sea, from

June to September, and apparently absent from the southern half of

the Indian Ocean’.

These areas, particularly the Gulf of Aden, are becoming

increasingly well dccumented by reports from various voyagers, but

JOURN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE |

LESSER FLORICAN (FEMALE)

“On seeing the lens she at once adopted an aggressive pose and advanced

Closeapese.

Photos: M. KK. Shivrajkumar

JOURN. BomBAY Nat. HIST. Soc. Prac ih

LESSER FLORICAN (FEMALE)

‘After this display she went back to the nest and started pushing the eggs,

one by one, back into the thick cover.”

Photos ; M. K. Shivrajkumar

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 563

there is still a paucity of records from the coasts of Ceylon. This

region is of interest since Gibson-Hill (1948: 445) has been led to

the conclusion that ‘probably the main mass of birds reaches the

neighbourhood of Socotra and the Arabian coast in May and June,

and moves south by way of the waters off Ceylon in September and

November’.

Gibson-Hill (1953: 89) was able to give only three ‘formal records’

of Wilson’s Petrel in waters close to Colombo, these being for

November 1908, July 1909, and October 1930. Other records,

mentioned earlier by him (1948: 444), were of one bird seen near the

entrance to Colombo harbour on 14 October 1946 by E. H. Bromley,

and of birds ‘probably of this species’ seen by Legge in August 1874.

More recently, Phillips (1955: 132) has reported the observations

made by Mr. G. N. Grisenthwaite from the trawler ‘Braconglen’ in

waters between Colombo and Cape Comorin, across the Gulf of

Mannar, from November 1953 to November 1954. From these

observations it seems that “Wilson’s Petrels . . . arrive in Indo-Ceylon

waters during the last week in May... and... remain... chiefly

in the shallower coasta! areas .. . for approximately six months...

and fly southwards . . . leaving Indo-Ceylon waters generally during

the first or second week of November.’ (Phillips, 1955: 133).

The purpose of the present note is to place on record that on

27 August 1955, while the S.S. ‘Otranto’ in which I was travelling was

off the entrance to Colombo Harbour, I saw very large flocks of

Wilson’s Petrel close to the ship and extending westward for a con-

siderable distance. I am unable to give any numerical estimate of

these birds, but I would suggest that the flocks included several

thousand birds. At the time I did not realise that this region was

not so well documented as that near Aden, but my impression of

these petrels was almost identical with that of Mr. Grisenthwaite in

1954: ‘I was immediately impressed by the large numbers of Wilson’s

Petrel present; just clear of the harbour they were like flies.’

(Phillips, 1955: 132). From Colombo, which we left on 28th August,

to Aden very few birds of any kind were seen although, with the

conditions of the sea and the general visibility, Wilson’s Petrel would

probably not easily have been overlooked. The noon sea tempera-

tures and wind conditions during these days were as follows: 28

August 84°, SW. 3-4, moderate sea; 29 August 84°, SW. 3-4, moderate;

30 August 81°, WSW. 5-6, rough; 31 August 76°, WSW. 5-6, rough;

1 September 87°, W. 3, moderate; 2 September arrived at Aden.

Sewell (1955: 190) has summarised the meteorological conditions

prevailing in the northern part of the Indian Ocean throughout the

564. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 58 (3)

year: December to February is characterised by winds blowing “almost

continuously from the north-east . . . constituting the North-east

Monsoon; in March to May the winds are variable; from June to

August the wind blows with considerable force from the south-west,

constituting the South-west Monsoon; and in September to November

conditions are again variable. From Phillips’s (1955) account, it

appears, then, that Wilson’s Petrel arrives in Indo-Ceylon waters

during the period of variable winds at the close of the North-east

Monsoon, and leaves again in a period of variable winds towards the

beginning of the South-west Monsoon.

Murphy (1936), followed by others such as Gordon (1955), has:

shown clearly that a quantitative correlation may be made between

meteorological and oceanographic conditions and the distribution of

pelagic birds. Quite a lot is known about the spatial limits of the

monsoons in the Indian Ocean and the oceanography has been well

summarised in Schott’s account (1935) where charts of the wind and

water movements from February to March (Pl. xxix, and see Sewell,

fig. 1) and from August to September (Pl. xxx, and Sewell, fig. 2)

are presented.

Further observation on Wilson’s Petrel, particularly from waters

east of Ceylon towards the coast of Sumatra are needed, and,

when this region becomes as well known ornithologically as the

Arabian Sea, some interesting correlations with the oceanographic

conditions may doubtless be expected. Voyagers between indo-Ceylon

waters and the Malay Peninsula are in a favourable position to

make worthwhile contributions to fill this gap, and such information

will be welcome to all those concerned both with oceanography and

with sea birds. Gibson-Hill’s paper of 1948 may be referred to as

an aid to the identification of small petrels likely to be seen in these

waters. |

N. Z. OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, aoe

P. O. Box 8009, E. W. DAWSON

WELLINGTON,

NEW ZEALAND,

May 1, 1958.

[Attention may be drawn to the note by Mr. Humayun Abdulali

(1948, JBNHS 47: °550) on this petrel outside Bombay Harbour in

the third week of October, and to some previously published records

of its occurrence in the eastern Arabian Sea, in the editorial] comment

thereto.—EDs.]

_ MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

565

REFERENCES

Gibson-Hill, C. A. (1948): The Storm-

Petrels occurring in the northern Indian

Ocean and adjacent seas. JBNHS 47

(3): 443-8.

———————-— (1953): Notes on

the sea birds of the orders Procellarii-

formes and Pelecaniformes recorded as

strays or visitors to the Ceylon coast.

Spolia Zeylanica 27 (1): 83-102.

Gordon, M.S. (1955): Summer ecology

of oceanic birds off southern New

England. Auk 72 (2): 138-47.

Murphy, R. C., (1936): Oceanic Birds

Phillips, W. W. A. (1955): Wilson’s

Petrel [Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl)] in

Indo-Ceylon waters, with special refer-

ence to the 1954 southward migration.

ibid. 53 (1): 132-3.

Roberts, B. (1940): The life cycle of

Wilson’s Petrel Oceunites oceanicus

(Kuhl). Brit. Graham Land Exped. 1934-

37 Sci. Reps. 1 (2): 141-94.

Schott, G. (1935) : Geographie des

Indischen und Stillen Ozeans, Hamburg.

Serventy, D.L. (1952): Movements of

the Wilson Storm-Petrel in Australian

of South America, New York.

Phillips, W. W. A. (1950): Wilson’s

Storm-Petrels, shearwaters and _ other

seabirds in the Gulf of Aden and Indian

Ocean. JBNHS 49 (3): 503-8.

Seas. Emu 52 (2): 105-16.

Sewell, R. B.S. (1955): A study of the

sea coast of Southern Arabia. Proc.

Linn. Soc. Lond. [1952-53] 165 (2):

188-210.

11. PHOTOGRAPHING A COLONY OF EGRETS (BUBULCUS

IBIS AND EGRETTA GARZETTA) IN ASSAM

(With a plate)

The ubiquitous egret must often be viewed by many people as

a mere ‘accessory’ to grazing cattle or to the country’s limitless paddy

fields. Few of us can have had the opportunity (? or, the inclination)

of observing these birds at close quarters. In fact, I myself would

have missed such an opportunity had not a sizeable colony of both

species of egret, decided to breed this year within half a mile of

my bungalow. I felt “duty bound’ both to the Society, and my camera,

to attempt to photograph what I was later to discover, were beautiful!

and fascinating subjects.

In his breeding plumage the Cattle Egret, when seen close to, is

transformed into a bird of real beauty—the black legs, the pure white

of the wings, the magnificent russet-brown of the neck and breast,

and the yellow beak and eye yield a study that is really worthy of

colour film. However, in these days of curtailed imports one has

little choice with photographic material but this does have the salutary

effect (or should have!) of stopping the ‘one for luck’ attitude of which

so many photographers appear to be guilty—the writer included.

The accompanying illustrations were taken with a Leica camera,

fitted with a 200 mm. telephoto lens, using Kodak Tri-X film exposed

at 1/500th sec. at an apperture of f5.6 to f8. The camera was

steadied by one of the supports of the machan, as the use of a tripod

was prohibited by the great number of nests, at all angles, which

surrounded the hide at ranges from ten feet upwards.

566 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Although one tends to associate the egret with open country the

nesting site for this particular colony was immediately adjacent to the

local cinema—a more inappropriate and unsalubrious place for the

rearing of young would be difficult to find even within a radius of

twenty miles. I was unable to establish whether the birds have

regularly used this site (as J believe both species tend to do), but this

~ habit would seem to offer the only logical explanation for their strange

choice. |

The nests themselves were situated in clumps of bamboo which

extended over an area of some one and a half acres. The population

must have been about five hundred pairs with the Cattle Egret re-

presenting at least eighty per cent. Perhaps, conscious of their superior

grace and elegance, the Little Egrets kept aloof from their counterparts,

but they did not form a separate colony. Their nests, however, were

identical as was the incubation period—some fifteen to twenty days

with the eggs laid, in this instance, at the beginning of June. The

incubating appeared to be the prerogative of the female in both cases’

although the male of the Little Egret assisted in the building of the

nest. Unfortunately, I was unable to observe whether both partners

shared in feeding the young.

The Little Egret may lack a diversity of colour in its breeding

plumage but exquisite ‘aigrettes’ render it a singularly worthwhile

subject although difficult, as the plumes are shown to their best

advantage only when the bird is alighting or in the act of flying. That

tthe export of the ‘aigrette’ feathers is now banned is, to my mind,

a sensible step in the right direction; for not only do these birds con-

siderably assist the farmer, but also they adorn the paddy fields

(which often require a relief from monotony) to an infinitely greater

degree than their feathers do a woman’s hat—which they usually

don’t! | :

It is so easy to take nature for granted that it isn’t until one has

a chance for a closer look that the beauty, variety, and charm of the

commonplace are revealed. After photographing these egrets I have

derived considerable enjoyment from observing other ‘common’ birds

which, hitherto, I had considered to be merely a part of the countryside

and, therefore, hardly worthy of a second glance. I hope, sincerely,

that some readers may have a similar opportunity.

SycoTTa T.E.,

KHARIKATIA P.O., J. H. BURNETT

ASSAM,

September 9, 1958.

en res

1 Actually, both sexes take part in incubation and feeding the young.—EDs.- -. -

JouRN. BomBay Nat. HIstT. Soc.

Cre.

A Little Egret about to leave its nest, Sibsagar Di

Photos: J. H. Burnett

t., Assam

_ MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 567

12. NOTES ON THE NESTING OF THE BLACKNAPED

TERN, STERNA SUMATRANA MATHEWSI STRESEMANN,

IN THE MALDIVE ISLANDS

Although I had met with the Blacknaped Tern in North Malé

Atoll (BNHS 55 (2): 211) where it is the most plentiful of the

nine species of terns that are known to occur, I had not had the

Opportunity of studying the breeding of the species until I discovered.

several small nesting colonies in Addu Atoll, the most southernly atoll

of the Maldivian Archipelago, during the month of June 1958.

On 2 June 1958 while passing a channel-marking pillar off the

inner reef of Hittadu Island in Addu Atoll, I observed a pair of these

terns mating on the top of the pillar. Enquiries showed that they

were believed to lay their eggs, during May and June, on an un-

inhabited islet on the outer reef some 5 miles to the north. So I

arranged to visit the place the next day.

Starting early in the afternoon, with very little wind, we rowed

and sailed over to Bushy Island or Kanda Hera, an islet on the outer

reef some 5 miles north-west of Gan Island, where we were living

at the time. As we approached close to the islet which was scarcely

more than a large coral bank clothed with scrub, dense in places

but cleared and planted with a few coco-nut palms in the centre,

the terns began to rise from the beaches and fly out to meet us.

Circling the boat with continuous cries, in the manner usual to nesting

terns when demonstrating their annoyance and concern at intrusion,

they kept up a constant babel although their cries were less harsh

and raucous than those of other species of colonial nesting terns that

I had studied.

_The colony was not a large one; I would estimate it at not more

than 30 to 40 pairs. The eggs were not easy to find; they were

scattered over the raised beaches, some 4 or 5 feet above the high,

water mark and 5 to 15 feet from the tide line, but they were not

all laid close together or in one or two adjacent areas. On the

contrary, one gained the impression that each pair had endeavoured

to keep as far away as possible from other nesting pafrs.

There were no nests. The eggs were laid either on the bare

coral shingle, between small lumps of broken coral, or. in shallow

scrapes which appeared to have been formed by the birds setting

down to brood the eggs, rather than intentionally. The eggs blended

extremely well with their background of weathered grey coral shingle

and sand, and were difficult to distinguish. 14 clutches were counted:

, contained single eggs and 7 were of c/2 each. Possibly some of

the. single eggs represented half clutches, but two that were broken

568 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

by boatmen’s feet were both incubated. Fourteen eggs were

measured: they averaged 39.4 mm.X27.44 mm. (38 to 44 mm. X26

to 29 mm.).

In all eggs, except one, the ground colour was a light stone-grey,

matching well the grey of the weathered coral on which they were

laid. In the single exception, the ground colour had a distinct

brown tinge. All eggs were typical ‘terns’ eggs’, the markings consist-

ing of spots, speckles, and blotches of sepia to light brown, overlaying

smudges and faint blotches of purplish grey or lavender. Some eggs

were considerably more heavily marked than others and some were

more distinctly spotted than others. In several, the spotting and

speckling was well distributed over the whole surface, with one or

two hair-lines at the larger end; in others there was a well-defined

zone of sepia blotches either midway round the egg or towards

the larger end, while in three eggs there were large, dark brown

blotches measuring up to 21X17 mm. and others of pale bluish grey.

Apparently, blotches, when present, may be anywhere on the surface

of the egg but usually they are towards the larger end.

An abnormally shaped egg, measuring 44X26 mm., was more

or less. unmarked at the smaller end but had a well-defined zone,

round the larger, of underlying purplish grey with large and small

spots of dark brown and purplish brown superimposed; elsewhere

there were a few spots and faint smudges of sepia.

Leaving Bushy Island, we visited two other tiny coral islets on

the outer reef—mere outcrops or flat biscuits, only a few feet above high

water, with much broken coral-shingle thrown up on them by storms.

Although over the first a few Blacknaped Terns were flying and

demonstrated their annoyance at our intrusion, no eggs could be

discovered; but on the second, which was rather the smaller, six

pairs of c/2 were found after considerable searching. Again they were

not all close together in one sector of the islet but were spread apart,

with several yards between clutches.

-Except that all eggs were in clutches of two, no differences were

noted between this and the Bushy Island colony, distant about half a

mile to the north. It was estimated that this ae numbered not

more than 20 pairs.

A third nesting-colony was discovered on 13th June on a tiny

storm-piled bank of broken cora shingle thrown up on the main

outer reef on the south-western side of Gan Island (Addu Atoll). A

few terns were visible, with the aid of field glasses, circling the islet

from time to time so I waded out to investigate. As usual, as I

approached, a-number of Blacknaped Terns flew out to meet me and

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 569

justify their concern but after a more intensive search and the watching

of some of them as they alighted, I was eventually able to find three

clutches c/2, c/1, and 4/1. It was evident that the members of this

colony were only just commencing to lay and some of them were

still engaged in choosing egg-sites.

Again there were no attempts at nests, the eggs in every case

being laid on the bare coral sand, in very slight scrapes or, more

truly, in smoothed circles of 14 to 2 inches in diameter. The eggs

themselves were very similar to those of the other two colonies.

The general breeding behaviour of the Blacknaped Tern, when

nesting, appears to conform very closely to the normal behaviour

pattern of the Sternidae; numbers fly out to meet the intruder on his

approach to the breeding territory, circle screaming overhead through-

out his stay, and quickly resettle themselves on their eggs or alight on

coral knobs on his withdrawal. The voice of this tern is, however,

less loud and harsh than in the majority of the family.

c/o R.A.F. GAN,

c/o AIR MOVEMENTS, W. W. A. PHILLIPS

KATUNAYAKE, 7

CEYLON,

August 8, 1958.

[The overall breeding range of the species Sterna sumatrana Rafiles

is islands in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, north to the

China Sea, south to New Caledonia. Within Indian limits the typical

race (Burma, Malaysia) breeds in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The range of the race mathewsi (described from the Aldabra Islands

north of Madagascar) is given as islands of the western Indian

Ocean from the Seychelles, Amirante and Aldabra Islands, east to the

Chagos Islands. The race occurring in the Maldives had remained

undetermined until specimens were collected recently by Major

Phillips (JBNHS 55: 211).—EDs.]

13. THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE WHITEWINGED.

WOOD DUCK, CAIRINA SCUTULATA (S. MULLER)

(With a plate)

At its inaugural session at Mysore in 1952, the Indian Board for

Wild Life placed two ducks of north-east India on the special

Protected List. These two were the Pinkheaded Duck (Rhodonessa

caryophyllacea) and the Whitewinged Wood Duck (Cairina scutulata).

570 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Even at that time it was feared that the Pinkheaded Duck, of which

there has been no really authentic report for a number of years, had

become extinct.

What of the status of the Whitewinged Wood Duck? I have been

trying to collect information on this interesting bird which appears

to be found only in Assam (as far as India is concerned), Burma,

Malaya, and Indonesia. In Assam it is rarer in the districts of

Goalpara, Kamrup, and Darrang; less rare in parts of Nowgong and:

Sibsagar; and more frequently found in Lakhimpur and Luhit

Frontier Division (Sadiya), and possibly Cachar. For field identi-

fication it is a black and dark brown duck of large size, with spotted

black and white neck, and with conspicuous white patches on the

wings. It is not to be confused with the Nukta or Comb Duck

(Sarkidiornis melanotos) of which the body is white below and of

which the drake has a conspicuous knob or comb at the base of its

bill. 7

A resident and non-migratory species, the Whitewinged Wood Duck

frequents patches of water and long still pools of rivers in thick

forests away from human habitation, especially near the foothills.

Sometimes they are found in small parties of about six or less, but

usually they go about singly or in pairs. During the heat of the

day they generally remain in the shade of a tree, either on the

water or on a branch. Therefore early morning and evening are

the times when they are to be seen.

They nest in trees, either in holes of trees, or in large nests of sticks

and rubbish in a fork of a tree or in a mass of branches. May to

August is believed to be the time that breeding takes place. Some

people say that these birds make a nest of grass etc. in scrub-

jungle near water.

In 1913 J. C. Higgins mentioned this duck as being common in

Upper Chindwin District of Burma, and comparatively so in Upper

Assam. He saw three of them in Manipur on one occasion only.

In 1915 H. Stevens met this duck near the Dibru River in Lakhimpur

District, and near the Dejoo River in North Lakhimpur, and reported

ats call as being an unmistakable long drawn ‘honk’.

Stuart Baker recorded in 1921 that he had found a great many

of these ducks in Sadiya, and reported their presence in fair numbers

in parts of Lakhimpur District, and refers to a few which had been

seen or shot in other parts of Assam. In 1947 Salim Ali and Dillon

Ripley wrote: ‘A pair were seen at Tezu and near Brahmakund in

January. They haunt the jungle-grown streams and do not usually

come out on to the broad gravel banks of the Lohit’.

JOURN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Adult bird in Alipore Zoological Garden, Calcutta

Photos: E. P. Gee

MISCELLANEOUS. NOTES S71.

Early in 1956 I drew up and sent out a questionnaire (given at the

end of this note) on the Whitewinged Wood Duck to a number of

Forest Officers and tea planter sportsmen in order to find out the

present status of this rare and interesting bird..I am grateful to.

the following persons who responded to this questionnaire and supplied

me with interesting information: Frank Nicholls, H. K. Dodwell,

J. R. Clayton, C. G. Allen, E. D. Hooper, C. D. Hopper, and the.

Director of Forests, N.E.F.A. |

A pair or two of these ducks are reported to be now resident in

the Behali Reserved Forest in the north of Darrang District. In the

bheels and other pieces of water of the Ranga Reserved Forest, west

of North Lakhimpur town, there are a few pairs. A fair number

exist in the Phillobari area east of Doom Dooma town. They are to

be found in all the streams running through the Dibru Reserved

Forest. Occasionally a single bird or a pair is found in the forest near

Digboi. I myself recently saw a pair on a long still pool of the

Kaliani River in the Mikir Hills.

Though no news is at present available from many parts of north-

east Assam and Cachar and though the little information available

is sketchy, what has been found out so far is not altogether dis-

couragins. Much more information is required from many more

people, after which it will be possible to draw a more complete picture

of the situation. The consensus of opinion of my informants so far

is that this duck has become much rarer than it was fifteen to twenty

years ago, chiefly due to its habitat gradually becoming opened up

by deforestation and cultivation.

The Whitewinged Wood Duck appears generally to roost during

the heat of the day on shady branches of trees low down near the water,

coming out to feed in the evening and feeding all night. It is seen

sometimes in the early morning before it retires. When encountered

on the water, it is not particularly wary. In fact some correspondents

consider it ‘foolishly unwary’. It advertises its approach when flying

and its presence when feeding by its loudly repeated call.

As to their enemies, apart from man with his deforestation and

extending cultivation, Frank Nicholls reports that he has personally

twice seen these ducks attacked by hawks while flying. One, he

Says, was actually struck down into the reeds, but later managed to

fly away. This correspondent has also seen a large water monitor

(Varanus salvator) swimming about in a bheel frequented by White-

winged Wood Duck, and actually saw this lizard take a moorhen and

even attack a cormorant.

I find that many people, even sportsmen who shoot regularly,

are not aware of the identity of this duck. Although it is clearly

572 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

stated in gun licences in Assam that the Pinkheaded Duck and the

Whitewinged Wood Duck are closed to shooting for the whole year

and although it is not good eating, people shoot it or at it without

knowing that it is a fully protected bird. This proves the need

for wide publicity about this rare and vanishing species, so that every-

one including the villagers in the forests will be able to assist in

protecting it.

In my paper “The Function of Zoological Gardens in the Preserva-

tion of Wild Life’ [JBNHS 53 (1): 84] I wrote: “The Whitewinged

Wood Duck of north-east India, recently placed by the Indian Board

for Wild Life on the list of birds proposed to be totally protected,

is known to thrive in captivity: here is another opportunity of saving

from extermination a species before it goes the way of the Pink-

headed Duck’. I am convinced that an effort should be made to

keep and breed this duck in captivity in India.

I note that Stuart Baker in his INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES

states: ‘They are charming birds in captivity, and are tamed without

the slightest difficulty. When the breeding season approaches, they,

if not confined or pinioned, fly away; but throughout the cold weather

months they may be allowed to wander about at their own discretion,

and will always keep near home if regularly fed. When thus

domesticated it is a curious fact that they never seem to use their

wings as a means of locomotion, but will walk very long distances

to and from water. A duck belonging to a planter whose house

was nearly half a mile from water invariably walked there and back

every evening, returning to the house for the hot hours of the day

and for the night. This particular duck was the object of a wild

infatuation on the part of a small domestic drake, who followed her

about wherever she went, and as the Wood Duck could walk at,

at least, thrice the rate the drake could, he eventually succumbed to

sheer exhaustion and want of time to feed in. She, however, totally

ignored all his advances, and in April flew away to find a wild

mate.

‘They are very impatient of heat, and the birds in my aviary

always retired indoors as soon as the sun was up, and even in the

cold weather they always kept under cover from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Those I sent down to the Calcutta Zoo died very quickly, except

one fine drake, who lived about eighteen months before dying of the

same disease which carried off the rest—an affection of the stomach.

‘My birds were practically omnivorous, but would touch no dead

animal food. Every other day a pail-full of small fishes was emptied

into their tank, and by nightfall these were generally all accounted

for; but any that died during this period were never eaten. In the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ; o73

same way, worms that ceased to struggle were discarded, and

grasshoppers, frogs and snails would only be taken if alive.

‘They ate paddy and husked rice freely, and I have kept birds

for some weeks on this alone, and they kept fat and well upon it,

but, at the same time, when they were offered animal food they

preferred it to the grain. Green food of all sorts they refused unless

very hungry, and I could never induce them to eat any sort of water

weed, though one would expect them to eat such in a wild state.

‘They were extremely expert in catching fish; as a rule, they

skimmed along the top of the water with the head and neck immersed,

but when necessary would dive and chase the fish under water. Of

course, their speed when doing so was not comparable to that of

cormorants, or the diving ducks under the same circumstances, but

it was sufficient to ensure the capture of almost any fish. They are

very mild, well-behaved birds, and not, as a class, at all quarrelsome.

Some tiny whistling teal shared their captivity, and were always

treated with consideration and allowed their share of food, etc. As

already said, they very soon become tame, and within a few weeks

they were all tame enough to accept food from the hands of those

they knew well; but generally when strangers appeared they retired

to their inner room. When not feeding, they almost invariably sat

on the perches and not on the ground, and they showed considerable

activity in turning about on them; at the same time they kept their

position almost entirely by balance and not grasp, as anything touch-

ing them at once upset them.’

Peter Scott, Honorary Director of the Severn Wildfowl Trist in

Britain, wrote to me in September 1956 of the Whitewinged Wood

Duck: ‘We already have seven and they seem quite hardy. One lived

out in England all through the war. They have not bred in England

but a pair bred successfully in Holland in 1938; we are, therefore

confidently expecting to breed them. We have only three females.’

Several persons in Assam have succeeded in rearing and keeping

these ducks in captivity. From Towkok Mrs. Whyte wrote to me

in 1955: “These birds nest on our golf course every year. We hear

their weird call long before we see them flying over. the. fairway

in the late afternoon towards their nest. My husband picked this

one up wounded and looked after it until it recovered. By that time

it had grown quite tame so he kept it in a pucca pool in the compound.

For company he put in a Muscovy Duck with it. The pair got on

very well together apparently. However, one morning when he looked

at-them they were perfectly all right, two hours later he found the

Wood Duck dead. We both think that the Muscovy was responsible.’

574. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Mrs. Barron informed me in 1955 that at Phillobari some years

previously: ‘A pair of birds were brought to me from the interior

jungle by an Assamese, who told me they were only to be found

in the densest jungle beside water. They build their nests off the

ground about three to five feet up in tree stumps as far as I could

make out. I had box nests made for them about four feet off the ground.

of their chicken house, in which they seemed very happy. They

did not breed. They were very handsome birds and allowed me

to stroke and pick them up, and used to swim daily in a little cement

pond in the garden’.

In 1956 I myself received a bird from a friend in the Doom

Dooma District, and later two more from another friend near Tinsukia.

These three did very well in a small pukri at the back of my

bungalow. Although their wings were clipped they made repeated

efforts to fly—-not in order to escape (for they had become very

tame) but because of their active habits. Once or twice when they

did manage to leave the pukri and bungalow compound and wander

scme distance into the tea garden, they came back of their own accord.

One of the three was eventually taken by a jackal, and for the

safety of the remaining two I presented them to the Alipore

Zoological Garden, Calcutta. One has since died, but the other is

doing well. If only more birds could be obtained, an effort could

be made to breed them. }

Here is an excellent opportunity for the newly started State Zoo

at Gauhati to construct a suitable pond with plenty of grass cover and

thick tree shade all round it, to provide a home and breeding place

for this rare and interesting duck of Assam.

The writer is keenly interested in receiving every available

piece of information from every source about the Whitewinged

Wood Duck. Should any readers of this, or their friends, obtain any

information and forward it preferably in the form of answers to the

questionnaire, they will be making a valued contribution towards the

preservation of India’s wild life.

INFORMATION WANTED ON THE WHITEWINGED Woop DUCK

booed

In what localities are they found, and in what numbers?

2. Are they strictly resident in one place all the year round, or

are they locally migratory?

3. Are they in the habit of feeding by day, or by night?

4. Where do they breed, and what sort of nest do they make?

5. When is the breeding season? Are there two broods?

6. Are there any cases of their eggs being taken and put under

-a domestic bird for hatching, with success?

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 575

7. Are there any cases of baby chicks being taken and reared?

8. Are there any cases of adult birds being caught and tamed?

9, Are any of these ducks alive in captivity now?

10. Are there any cases of these ducks breeding in captivity?

11. Are they wary birds, or foolishly unwary?

12. What are the factors working against their survival?

13. Are they becoming rarer year by year?

14. Have you any suggestions for their successful preservation?

15. Have you any other information about these ducks?

N.B. The above information is urgently needed, so that the

Whitewinged Wood Duck may be properly protected and not become

extinct. If you know of anyone else likely to be able to supply

information, could you please pass this questionnaire on to him. All

information may please be sent to me for compilation for forwarding

to the appropriate authority.

DoyanG T.E.,

OATING P.O. E. P. GEE

ASSAM, Honorary Regional Secretary,

Eastern Region, Indian Board for Wild Life.

September 29, 1958.

14. MORE BIRD NOTES FROM KUTCH

Since K. S. Lavkumar kindly asked for and sent in some of my

notes on bird occurrences in Kutch which appeared in Vol. 54, No. 1

of this journal, I have been able to record one or two new birds for

this area and also to substantiate two of my previous sight records

for Kutch. I give these below along with notes, including some al-

ready mentioned by K. S. Lavkumar.

Culicicapa ceylonensis (Swainson) : Greyheaded Flycatcher

This bird was first noticed by me at Vijaya Vilas (Mandvi) in January

1948, but at that time I could only catch a fleeting glimpse of the

bird. However, on 24th December 1956 I observed at least 3 or

4 birds in the same locality, and I saw them regularly during my stay

at Mandvi for about a fortnight. I eventually secured a specimen to

be sent to the Bombay Natural History Society. This is the first

record of the bird in Kutch.

Chibia hottentotta (Linn.): Haircrested Drongo

A most unusual occurrence for this part of India. I first came

across this bird in January 1948, and I saw it again on 29th December

576 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

1956 in the same place, Vijaya Vilas, and I shot the specimen which was

Jater on sent to Mr. Salim Ali who confirmed my _ identification.

Besides the bird shot by me I saw a second one on the same day which,

even after one month when I visited Mandvi again, was still there.

Dicrurus longicaudatus Jerdon: Grey Drongo

R. S. Dharmakumarsinhji was the first to spot this bird at Mandvi

in January 1955 in the Vijaya Vilas Palace grounds and one bird

was collected by M. K. S. Fatehsinhji which was sent to the B.N.H.S.

In subsequent years I have found this bird to be quite a common,

and at times numerous, cold weather visitor to places in Kutch

where there are shady groves such as are to be found at Sarad Bagh

in Bhuj, Vijaya Vilas Palace grounds in Mandvi, etc. I have also

come across this species elsewhere in Kutch, but only as stray birds.

Dicrurus caerulescens (Linn.): Whitebellied Drongo.

One bird was seen by me in my own compound in Bhuj near

the Jubilee Ground on Ist November 1956. Later on I observed two

birds which remained here till 15th March 1957. As far as I know

this bird also has not been recorded by anyone in Kutch.

Ciconia ciconia (Linn.): White Stork

I first came across this stork in the Banni during December 1954

when I saw one bird on a shallow lagoon. On 29th January 1955

‘ while out for a houbara shoot I saw one bird on the Ravalpir tank

near Mandvi. This bird of course has been recorded by Lester in

August 1895, but the Salim Ali survey failed to come across it in

Kutch.

Lobipes lobatus (Linn.): Rednecked Phalarope

Also-a first record for Kutch. I observed this bird in May 1948,

and then again on 15th May 1949 on Devisar tank which is situated

about 10 miles from Bhuj. This may not be a particularly uncommon

visitor, since it can be easily overlooked by the uncritical observer.

JUBILEE GROUND,

Buus, KUTCH, M. K. HIMMATSINHIJI

April 15, 1958.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 577

15. TRINKET SNAKE (ELAPHE HELENA) WITH

ABNORMALITIES IN VENTRAL SCALATION

(With a photo)

The serpent in question was forwarded to me by the Honorary

Secretary, Mr. Humayun Abdulali, for my opinion on the abnormal-

ities noted in the scalation over a length of 40 mm. on the anterior

part of the animal.

The following extract from Mr. Abdulali’s first letter dated Ist

June 1957 explains the circumstances:

‘A few days ago a friend brought in a trinket snake (Elaphe helena)

which he had obtained from a madari or snake-charmer. A few

inches behind the head it bore marks of an injury, in the healing of

which the ventrals over a distance of about 40 mm. had been

completely lost and replaced by small transverse scales!’

The above letter was accompanied by a photograph showing the

post-cranial region in a spirally twisted condition, and on the strength

of this and assuming that the abnormality was, as suspected, trauma-

tic in origin, I expressed the opinion that repair of a fairly large

wound had been effected by contraction of scar tissue which had

resulted in dragging down part of the lateral and dorsal scaly skin to

close the gap. I did not consider that there had been any new scale-

formation. My opinion was shared by my friend, Dr. Angus Bellairs,

to whom I submitted the photograph.

Some time afterwards the preserved specimen was sent to me,

and on examination I found that the affected area of skin had been

partly dissected off. In spreading this out and studying the scalation

more critically, J] am now of opinion that the abnormality is probably

congenital and not due to injury.

We have no positive evidence of the snake being injured. The

area affected is such that the injury, if it ever occurred, must have

578 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

been an extensive one—involving removal of a relatively large slice

of skin by the bite of some predator. Such an injury would almost

certainly prove fatal as serpents do not recover readily on account of

the slow rate of tissue growth, which leaves ample time for attack

by parasites, e.g. maggots, or by ants. )

Assuming, therefore, that injury had not occurred, we must fall

back on the hypothesis of congenital abnormality. This is supported

by the scale arrangement. At both extremities of the elliptical

abnormal area are transversely disposed ventral scales of transitional

size and shape. These are succeeded by small scales arranged in

rather irregular transverse rows linking up on each side with normal

dorsal type scales. About 19-20 ventrals are replaced by scales of

abnormal size and shape. Anteriorly, the transition is less abrupt,

especially on the right where five large oblong scales occur in

succession, their fellows being represented by small quadrate scales,

or, more posteriorly, by oval scales showing tendency to unibrication.

In the caudal half of the abnormal area, small oval or quadrate

scales replace the ventrals on both sides.

I therefore now consider that the error is due to abnormal develop-

ment in the embryo, due to some inhibiting factor or local change

of the environment of development at the time when the ventrals

are being laid down. 3

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,

REGENT’S PARK, W. C. OSMAN HILL

Lonpbon, N.W. 1,

July 17, 1958.

16. CAN SNAKES PRODUCE VOCAL SOUNDS?

Some time back the Society received the following letter from

Dr. B. K. Behura, Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw College,

-Cuttack : | )

‘A python (Python molurus) measuring about nine feet two and

a half inches was kept under captivity by me at the Department of

Zoology since May 1954 until its death in September 1957. On 12

April 1957 finding the water-can inside the cage of the reptile empty,

I poured a glass of water into the can from above the cage, and to

my surprise I heard a distinct ‘Umh’ resembling the sound of a man

in agony. Shri U. C. Panda, a Lecturer of the Department who was

standing near the cage also heard the same and we had no doubt

that the sound had come from the python in the cage.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES eile

‘It would be interesting to know whether other snakes also produce

sound and the circumstances under which they do so.’

Not far from Bombay on 9 January 1955 I saw a large Dhaman

(Ptyas mucosus) which, when chased, went into a hole. We caught

hold of its tail and after considerable effort, which included some

rough handling, pulled it out and carried it to camp where Messrs

Salim Ali and B. Biswas of the Zoological Survey of India were also

present. While being carried and for some considerable time after-

wards, it uttered several kinds of noises which included a low whine

and variations thereon.

Upon receipt of Dr. Behura’s letter I wrote to Dr. W. C. Osman

Hill, Prosector, Zoological Society of London, whose reply reads in part:

‘Our experience here is that no snake produces any sound other

than hissing, but the quality and tone of the hiss nay be altered by the_

presence of pathological secretions within the respiratory passages.

I think this may be the case with the Python mentioned, which

agrees with a record we have for a Boa. But the case of the Dhaman

appears unique as this was presumably a healthy animal.

‘I am told that in some travel books cases have been cited of

Anacondas snoring, but this has never been confirmed by scientists.’

BoMBAY NATURAL History SOCIETY.

91 WALKESHWAR ROAD, BOMBAY 6, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

September 11, 1958. |

17. LARVAL WATER-MITES (HYDRACARINA) PARASITIC

ON INSECTS, WITH NOTES ON THE DISPERSAL OF SMALL

FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES

This paper summarises the previous literature on larval water-

mites parasitic on insects and gives records of my observations on

this subject with a discussion of the life-history and the direct and

indirect effects of the parasite on host insects. The general problem

of the dispersal of small freshwater invertebrates by flying animals is

reviewed.

There are many recorded instances of larval water-mites parasitising

aquatic insects. The adult mites are free-living and carnivorous.

They lay eggs on water plants and the six-legged larva which hatches

out attaches itself to a variety of aquatic animals. Both vertebrates

and invertebrates are hosts to these parasites. They have been reported

on the Corixidae (water boatmen) by Soar (1901), Hungerford (1919),

Pearse and Walton (1939), Griffith (1945), Lansbury (1955), and Leston

(1955). I found them on the corixid species Sigara lateralis Leach,

580. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

S. dorsalis Leach, S. distincta (Fieb.), S. fossarum Leach, S. nigro-

lineata Fieb., and Hesperocorixa linnei (Fieb.) [Fernando (1956),

unpublished]. They have also been reported from the Notonectidae

(backswimmers) by Soar (1901), from the Dytiscidae (diving beetles)

by Soar and Williamson (1925), and from the hydrophilid beetle

Helophorus brevipalpis Bedel by me [Fernando (1956) unpublished].

Carpenter (1928), Ward and Whipple (1945), and Mellanby Sree

refer in general to larval water-mites parasitic on insects.

In Ceylon I have found larval water-mites parasitising aquatic

insects on a few occasions. They were found on the water scorpion

Ranatra elongata Dohrn, taken from a drying up pond in Habarana.

Five specimens of this water scorpion were captured and all of them

were heavily infested, the mites being attached to the thorax, abdomen,

and legs, very often on the soft parts between the chitinous plates

of the body. The largest number of mites on a single individual

was 16. The slowness of movement of these insects and the fact

that the pond was drying up and crowded with insects accounts for

the large number of mites. A single larval mite was found on the

lower surface of the abdomen of the water strider Hydrometra

vittata Stal, captured at Nugegoda. In the dytiscid beetle Eretes

Sticticus L., also taken at Habarana with the water scorpions, 5

specimens of a total catch of 16 were infested. Two or three mites

were found on a single insect and they were attached to the dorsal

surface of the elytra and the underside of the thorax and abdomen.

Larval water-mites are sometimes found on terrestrial insects with

aquatic larva. Ward and Whipple refer to this phenomenon. in

general. Weerekoon (1956) found four larval mites attached to the

abdomen of the chironomid fly Chironomus (Chironomous) supplicans

(Meigen) taken in an emergence trap. I found a single larval water-

mite on the underside of the thorax of the dragonfly Diplocodes

trivialis Rambur, captured at Nugegoda. Weerekoon (personal com-

munication) suggested that the larval mites probably attached them-

selves anew after the final moult of the insect larva. It seems more

likely however that the shedding of the larval or pupal skin does not

remove the larval mite.

The dispersal of freshwater invertebrates by larger animals is a

very important phenomenon and results in the spread of the species

into isolated bodies of water. I have found water-mites in isolated

bodies of water. Boycott (1936) found small bivaives in isolated

ponds and considers birds to be the chief agency in their dispersal.

He suggested that aquatic insects may be effective over short distances.

Charles Darwin in his famous book THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES was the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES : 581

first to focus attention on the importance of larger animals in the

dispersal of smaller forms. He believed this phenomenon to be

widespread, and recorded two instances one of the freshwater mollusc

Ancylus carried on the water beetle Colymbetes, and the other of a

duck carrying freshwater shells on its feet. Kew (1895) published

a book on the subject of the dispersal of shells in which he recorded

instances of bivalves attached to aquatic insects. Carpenter (1928)

discusses the role of insects in the dispersal of Mollusca and Arachnida

and suggests that they play an important part in extending the range

of species found in ponds and streams. Fernando (1954) recorded

bivalves on Corixidae and has summarised the earlier literature on

the subject of dispersal of Mollusca by aquatic insects. Weerekoon

(1956) suggests that water-mites are dispersed from one body of fresh-

water to another by insects. Since water-mites are found commonly

on aquatic insects which are known to fly from one body of freshwater

to another [Fernando (1956) unpublished] these are an effective

means of dispersal of the mites.

Leston (1955) records earlier deaths among mite-infested, over-

wintering Corixidae in spring. It is likely, however, that the weaker

and therefore slower moving of insects are more easily infested in

the first instance. The same author mentions that the formation of

the dorsal air film in Corixidae is interfered with by the presence of the

mites.

Further observation is likely to show that larval water-mites in-

festing insects is a widespread phenomenon. The larval mite obtains

its nourishment from the insect and must therefore cause some harm

to it. The extent of this harm is not known. There is no definite

evidence that mite infestation increases the mortality of the insects

directly. However, indirect effects by hindering the insect in its move-

ment and generally weakening it are likely to result in increased

mortality as a result of predation, as has been shown in the case of

parasitised fish by Van Dobben (1952). An interesting feature in

the life history of these mites is that moulting of the insect larva

does not remove the larval mites. Insects play an important part

in the dispersal of the mites from one body of freshwater to another

as in the case of some other invertebrates.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON, | C. H. FERNANDO

COLOMBO,

February 17, 1958.

582

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

REFERENCES

Boycott, A.E. (1936): The Habitats of

Freshwater Mollusca in Britain. J. Anim.

Ecol. 5: 116-186.

Carpenter, G. H. (1928): The Biology

of Insects, London. x

Darwin, C. (1859): The Origin of

Species, London.

Fernando, C.H. (1954) : The Possible

Dispersal of Pisidium by Corixidae

(Hemiptera). J. Conch. 24: 17-19.

— — — —(1956) : The Coloniza-

tion of Small Freshwater Habitats by

Aquatic Insects. D. Phil. Thesis, Oxford

University. (Unpublished).

Griffith, M.E, (1945): The Environ-

ment, Life-history and Structure of the

Water Boatman, Rhamphocorixa acumi-

nata (Uhler), (Hemiptera: Corixidae).

Kans. Univ. Sci. Bull. 30: 241-365.

Hungerford, H. B. (1919) : The Biology

and Ecology of the Aquatic and Semi-

aquatic Hemiptera. Kans. Univ. Sci.

Bull. 11: 1-341.

Kew, H. W. (1893) : The Dispersal of

Shells. London.

Lansbury, I. (1955): Some Notes on

Invertebrates other than Insects found

attached to Water Bugs. (Hemipt.—

Heteroptera). Entomologist 88 : 139-140.

Leston, D. (1955): Miscellaneous

Biological notes on British Corixidae and

Notonectidae (Hem.). Ent. mon. Mag.

91; 92-95.

Mellanby, H. (1953): Animal Life in

Freshwater. London.

Pearce, E. J. and Walton, G. A. (1939):

A Contribution towards an Ecological

Survey of the Aquatic and Semiaquatic

Hemiptera—Heteroptera (Water-Bugs)

of the British Isles. Trans. Soc. Brit.

Ent. 6: 149-180.

Soar, C. D. (1901): Larval Water-

Mites on Aquatic Animals. Amer. mon.

micr. J. 22: 323-324.

— — — — and Williamson, W.

(1925): British Hydracarina. Roy. Soc.

London..

Ward, H. B. and Whipple, G. C.

(1945) : Freshwater Biology. New York

and London.

Weerekoon, A. C. J. (1956) : Studies on

the Biology of Loch Lomond. 1. I. The

Benthos of Auchentullich Bay. Ceylon

J. Sci. (C) 7: 1-94.

Van Dobben, W. H. (1952): The

Food of the Cormorant in the Nether-

lands. Ardea 40: 1-63.

18. ADDITIONS TO THE CRAB FAUNA OF

BOMBAY STATE

(With two plates)

An account of the Brachyuran fauna of the Bombay coast was

given in the previous issues of this journal (Chhapgar, 1957, JBNHS

54: 399-439; 503-549). Collections of the crabs made subsequent

to the publication of this report on “The Marine Crabs (Decapoda:

Brachyura) of Bombay State’ revealed the occurrence of three new

distributional records. A systematic description of these three forms

is given below. ‘

Tribe BRACHYGNATHA

Subtribe OXYRHYNCHA

Family HYMENOSOMIDAE ~ |

Genus Elamena Milne-Edwards

Elamena sindensis Alcock

Elamena sindensis, Alcock, Journ. As: Soc. Bengal 69, p. 386 (1900).

. Kemp, Rec. Ind. Mus. 13, p. 274 (1917). | Poth ie

Tesch, Siboga Exped. Rep. 39 c, p. 24 (1918).- ..

Chopra and Das, Rec. Ind. Mus. 32, pp. 424, 425 (1930).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 583

Four females from Okha are in the present collection. The

largest measures:

length of carapace 425 5. 00mm.

breadth of carapace oe ade: (Oe maT.

This species can be distinguished by the pyriform carapace with

upturned edges, and the triangular front. The “es of the dactyli

of the walking legs are triunguiculate.

This species has been previously recorded from Karachi and the

Persian Gulf. This is the first record from Bombay State.

Family MAIIDAE

Subfamily INACHINAE

Genus Achaeus Leach

Achaeus lacertosus Stimpson

(Plate I)

Achaeus lacertosus, Haswell, Catalogue Austr. Crust., p. 3 (1882).

Henderson, Trans. Linn. Soc. London (Zool.), p. 341 (1893)

Alcock, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal 69, p. 172 (1895) .

Barnard, Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 38, p. 19 (1950).

Pillai, Bull.. Central Inst. Travancore 2, (1951).

Two female specimens were collected at Bombay, clinging to

colonies of Gorgonium. ‘The larger one measures:

length of carapace ae iiepyaoitoe's

breadth of carapace =. O:2o. mms

length of rostrum .. 0.60 mm.

length of first walking leg .. 21.80 mm.

This species is distinguished by the smooth, triangular carapace

with inflated branchial regions. The rostrum is short and bifid.

The eyestalks are straight, and have no tubercle on their front

margin. The walking legs are very long and slender, the first pair

being more than three times the length of the carapace. The dactyli

of the last two pairs are very strongly falcate (semicircular), and their

imner margins bear recurved spines.

The specimens were heavily encrusted with algae and hydroid

colonies, which necessitated cleaning in dilute sodium hypochlorite

before the structure of the carapace and legs could be made out.

This species has been previously recorded from the Andamans,

Palk Straits, Orissa, and Travancore, also from Australia, Persian

Gulf, and South Africa. This is its first record from the Bombay

coast. | 3

584. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Family OCYPODIDAE

Subfamily OCYPODINAE

Genus Gelasimus Latreille

Gelasimus inversus sindensis Alcock

(Plate IT)

Gelasimus inversus sindensis, Alcock, Journ, As. Soc. Bengal 69. p. 356 (1900).

Gelasimus inversus, Barnard, Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 38, pp. 94, 95 (1950).

Numerous specimens, of both sexes, were collected at Umarsadi.

The measurements of an average sized male are:—

length of carapace .. 20: mm:

breadth of carapace .. 16mm.

breadth of front 3. oimm.

length of larger hand «so mm.

This subspecies closely resembles Gelasimus annulipes Latreille,

but can be distinguished from the latter by the nature of the larger male

cheliped. The arm of the chelipeds in G. inversus sindensis is

trigonal with sharp edges, the upper edge rising into a distinct lobe

or crest, and the distal end of the inner edge also forming a crest

or blunt tooth. The upper border of the palm bears several longi-

tudinal rows of granules. There is only one oblique granular ridge

on the inner surface of the palm, running along the dentary edge of

the thumb. The crest continuous with the lower border of the

thumb present in G. annulipes is absent. The thumb is straight

and has a simple tip.

Colour is similar to that of Gelasimus annulipes. The middle

of the outer surface of the palm of the larger cheliped in the male

has, however, a rosy tinge.

The anterior male abdominal appendages resemble those of

Gelasimus annulipes in being bilobed at the tip. The larger of the

two lobes which, in G. annulipes has a truncate-tipped bilobed,

appearance, has a single rounded tip with a groove. The smaller

lobe on the side is situated nearer the tip of the appendage than in

G. annulipes. The tip is more hairy.

Spooned hairs are present on the second maxillipeds. The ‘spoon’

consists of about eight rounded lobes on each side, continuing into

hairs.

Barnard gives the distribution of Gelasimus inversus_ as

Madagascar, South Africa, east coast of Africa, and the Red Sea,

and Alcock has recorded the subspecies sindensis from Karachi.

Hence this is the first record of this species from the Bombay Coast.

‘posiejus ‘soy SUIyTeM

JO diy ‘9 ‘qeia JO MOIA TesIOd “g : YoorTy sisuapuis vuauvjgy “Qe4 JO MOIA TesIog ‘Vv : UOSdUITIg SHSOj4aoD] SnaDYyIy

206 “ISTH “JEN ABquicg ‘anor

I %*%ld

*SISUAPUIS SNSABAUL SNUISYJAH s[eul Jo osepusdde [eulwmopge 3Jo] 1S]

jody ‘f ‘Sadynuuv snuisvjay spew Jo osepucdde [eurmopge Yo] Is] JO dIL ‘a ‘oflone] sadijnuup snuisvjay s[ew Jo podijeyD “‘p ‘spew jo

podipouD “2 “MOIA yUOIS ‘pediyjixeu pug wo ey pouoodg *g “qeId JO MIA [esIOq ‘V : YOOoTYW sisuapuis Snssaaul SnuisvjayH

‘AAT ‘WW S'O

Go |

‘20G ‘SIE, JUN] ABQuIog ‘anos

Il 938[d

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 585

CORRECTION

My earlier remarks that Gelasimus annulipes Latreilie and G.

marionis nitidus Dana were new records for the Bombay Coast

[Chhapgar, B. F., 1957, JBNHS 54 (3): 509; 510] are incorrect asi

these have already been recorded from Bandra, Bombay by Altevogti

[1955, JBNHS 52 -(4): 702-716]. I am thankful to Dr. Rudolf

Altevogt, Miinster University, for drawing my attention to these

discrepancies.

TARAPOREVALA MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION,

BOMBAY, B. F. CHHAPGAR, M.Sc.

August 16, 1958.

19. DIAGNOSIS OF A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS

BRANCHINELLA SAYCE (CRUSTACEA : BRANCHIOPODA :

ANOSTRACA) FROM SAMBHAR LAKE, RAJASTHAN*

(With three text-figures)

A collection of branchiopod crustacea, made by Dr. B. Biswas of

the Zoological Survey of India during November 1956, contained a

new species of the anostracan genus Branchineila Sayce, which is

being briefly described below.

Family THAMNOCEPHALIDAE

Branchinella_ biswasi,' sp. nov.

Male.—Generally resembling that of Branchinella ornata Daday”

(Text-fig. 1). Frontal appendage more than twice as long as the

Text-fig. 1.-—Branchinella biswasi sp. nov. ¢

* Published with the permission of the Director, Zoological Survey of India.

1 Named after Dr. B. Biswas who collected the specimens.

2 Daday de Dees, E., (1910) : Ann. Sci. Nat. (9) 11: 91-489.

586 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

second antenna, extending as far as the end of trunk when stretched

back. Basal part, about a fifth as long as the entire appendage,

thick and flabby; distal four-fifths bifurcated, each bifurcation with

4-6 secondary branches, irregularly arranged on each side; each

secondary branch with scattered spinules more profuse towards the

‘apex; apex tipped with 1, 2, or 3 spinules (Text-fig. 2).

{ mm.

SS |

Text-fig. 2.—Branchinella biswasi, sp. nov. Distal part of frontal appendage.

Endites 3-5 of ail legs with 2, 2, 1, anterior setae respectively,

praeepidodites non-serrate, entire, without any notch in the middle.

Penes with a triangular lamina frontal to each (Text-fig. 3, lam.);

basal part with a small wart-shaped appendage (Text-fig. 3, w.), distal

part with a complicated armature of spines as in B. ornata.

Third abdominal segment with a pair of median ventral spines

on its posterior margin (Text-fig. 3, sp.).

All other characters as in B. ornata.

Female.—Resembling male. Second antenna with a rounded apex

without an acute point. Ovisacs large extending back up to the middle

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 587

or end of the sixth abdominal segment. No median ventral spines

on the posterior margin of the third abdominal segment.

Text-fig. 3.—Ventral view of abdomen

of male of B. biswasi: lam. triangular

lamina frontal to penes ; p. Penes (Not fully

everted, so the distal part with armature of

spines not visible.); sp. Ventro-median

spines on the third abdominal segment ; w.

Wart-shaped appendage on the basal part

of the penis.

Size.—Males 6.5 to 18.7 mm. in length. Females measuring.

8.0 mm. to 25.5 mm.

Types—Holotype: co (12.0 mm.), Regd. No. C3652/1, Zoological

Survey of India. ,

Paratypes: 30 oo" (6.5 to 18.7 mm.), 34 99? (8.0 mm.-

25.5 mm.) Regd. No. C3653/1, Zoological Survey of

India.

Type-locality—Sambhar Lake at Nawa, Nagaur Distr., Rajasthan.

Coll. Dr. B. Biswas, 16 Nov. 1957.

Remarks.—B. biswasi closely resembles B. crnata Daday recorded

by Daday” (p. 269) from Kalahari in Bechuanaland and by Barnard®

(p. 201) from Potchefstroom in Transvaal, both from south Africa.

The important differences are presence in B. biswasi of a wart-shaped

appendage on the basal part of penes, a pair of median-ventral

spines on the posterior edge of the third abdominal segment, and the

absence of a notch on the praeepipodites of legs.

° Barnard, K. H. (1929): Ann, S. Afr. Mus. 29 : 181-272.

588 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

This is the second species of Branchinella from India, the other

being B. kugenumaensis Ishikawa recorded by Linder‘ from Madras

and B. kugenumaensis var. madurae Sanjeeva Raj’? from Madura.

The genus is now for the first time recorded from north India.

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

34, CHITTARANJAN AVENUE, K. K. TIWARI

CALCUTTA-12,

September 18, 1958.

20. A NOTE ON VERY HEAVY FOULING OF COPPER

SHEATHED HULLS OF NAVAL CRAFT AT BOMBAY

(With a plate)

Copper sheathing cf ships’ hulls has been considered to be the

most successful method for prevention of marine fouling and attack

of marine borers (1). The use of such protective sheathings has lost

its popularity only with the development of suitable anti-fouling

paints. However, even now copper sheet coverings are used to protect

wooden hulls and also for other special reasons. Some of the Indian

Naval craft with wooden hulls have their underwater portions covered.

with copper sheets and during dry-docking of such vessels at Bombay,

it has been observed that generally the plates remain unfouled or

lightly fouled with the worms (Hydroides norvegica Gunnerus).

However, during the first quarter of 1958 a few of the craft, when

dry-docked, were found to have been very heavily fouled. This was

an unusual observation and the present account is based on data

collected from three such vessels.

OBSERVATIONS

The fouling observed on the copper-sheathed hulls was found

to be uniformly heavy at all regions of the hull and also at all depths,

beginning from the portion just below the boot-top area. A signi-

ficant feature was that the fouling was mostly due to different species

of Bryozoans. A porton of the hull above the bilge-keel of one

of the boats is shown in Fig. 1, which gives a clear idea of the

intensity of fouling observed. Representative collections of the

fouling were made and the organisms present were identified as

follows:

Crisia eburnea Linnaeus: Colonies of this erect polyzoan were

found in large numbers and the bunches had grown to a maximum

* Linder, F. (1941): Zool. Bidrag Uppsala, 20: 101-202, pl. i.

> Sanjeeva Raj, P. J. (1951): Curr. Sci. 20: 334.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Fig. 1. Fouling of copper sheathing above the bilge-keel.

(Portion on the left has been scraped, exposing

copper plates.)

Fig. 2. Barnacle fouling on copper sheathing.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 589

height of about 4 cm. These organisms were espouse for about

60% of the fouling settlement.

Zoobotryon sp.: These polyzoan colonies also were present in

large numbers and comprised about 20% of the total fouling. The

‘ropes’ of the organisms are easily distinguishable in the photograph

(Fig. 1).

Membranipora tenuis Desor.: This encrusting polyzoan was

responsible for about 10% of the fouling. The colonies had grown

to a maximum diameter of 3 cm.

The rest of the fouling present on the hulls was mostly due to

tube worms of the species Hydroides norvegica and also a few

barnacles of the species Balanus amphitrite. Free living animals like

amphipods, small gastropods, etc. found among the polyzoan colonies

have not been taken into consideration for this account.

One of the craft examined had a moderate settlemient of barnacles

(Balanus amphitrite variegatus Darwin and Balanus amphitrite

communis Darwin) just below the boot-top area on one particular

region (Fig. 2). This was the only occasion when barnacles have been

found in significant numbers on the copper plates. No special

reasons could be deduced for this occurrence.

The copper sheets had been fixed to the wooden hulls with copper

nails and no contact with iron or zinc structures were noticed. Such

contacts with other metals have at certain times been found

responsible for fouling of copper (1). The heavy fouling observed in

the present instance was not at all localised, but was, on the other

hand, uniformly heavy throughout the under-water portions of the

hulls. From the growth of the organisms concerned, it could be

ascertained that the settlement had occurred within a period of three

to four months. This particular season was a period of very heavy

polyzoan fouling in Bombay waters, unlike previous years (2), as could

be noticed from an analysis of data obtained from the examination

of other ships and non-toxic panels exposed from a floating raft. It

will also be of interest to mention that among the polyzoans thus

collected during the period the most prevalent were colonies of Crisia

eburnea.

REMARKS

From the observations described above, it appears that the extra-

ordinary abundance of polyzoans in the Bombay waters during the

period November-February 1957-58, was responsible for the heavy

fouling of the copper sheathing which apparently had remained un-

590 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

fouled till that time. Fouling depends on the toxicity of the surface,

sensitivity of the organisms concerned to the poison, and the seasonal

abundance of the settling stages (1, 3). The polyzoan fouling described

above could not be attributed to any decrease in the toxicity of the

copper plates, or to any galvanic action. Further, these polyzoans had

never been observed to settle on copper sheathing during previous

seasons. The accumulation of corrosion products on copper has been

quite usual and such plates, during earlier observations, had remained

either unfouled or lightly fouled with tube worms only, after varying

periods of service. Since the polyzoan fouling described above had

occurred within a period of three to four months, and the sheathing

had remained unfouled till that time, it is probable that biological

factors like prolificity, gregariousness, etc., must have been the cause

for the unusual phenomenon. It may be mentioned here that little

only is known regarding the fundamental aspects of the action of

copper on living organisms (4), and hence further investigations in this

direction will be of value. The observations recorded above are of

importance in the testing of antifouling surfaces also, because it is

evident that during trials proper attention has always to be given’

to the biological peculiarities of the period. In order to collect further

data regarding fouling of copper in tropical waters, the Laboratory

has started a series of experiments with panels exposed on_ the

floating raft. |

Our thanks are due to Shri P. I. Thampy for his kind help in

the identification of polyzoans.

NAVAL CHEMICAL & METALLURGICAL V. GOPALAKRISHNAN

LABORATORY, NAVAL DOCKYARD, V. V. KELKAR

BOMBAY,

July 17, 1958.

REFERENCES

1. Marine Fouling and its Prevention. 3. Pyefinch, K. A. (1948) : Biological

United States Naval Institute, 1952. Aspects of the Fouling Problem. Journal

2. Ranga lyengar, S., Gopalakrishnan of the Oil and Colour Chemists’ Associ-

V. and Kelkar, V. V. (1957) : Studies ation 31, No. 341.

on Marine Fouling Organisms in Bombay 4. — — — (1950): Studies on Marine

Harbour. Defence Science Journal, 7, Fouling Organisms, Journal of Iron and

(4). Steel Institute.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 2 591

21. A NOTE ON A SPECIES OF CISSUS

(With five figures)

While investigating the origin and development of the tendril in

Cissus I came across in Gujarat a species of Cissus resembling C.

quadrangularis, but the specimen could not be compared with the

reported species in Cooke’s FLORA OF BOMBAY PRESIDENCY. It was

- identified as C. quadrangularis Linn. by Kew and C. quadrangularis

(L.) Willd. by Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta. Rev. Father H.

Santapau informed me (11th Feb. 1956) that the specimen ‘is near C.

quadrangularis but it is not this species’. Recently I came across

the same species growing in south India and the typical C.

quadrangularis with its quadrangular stem was also found. When the

specimens were again referred to Kew, the Director kindly informed

me that Dalzell in 1857 pointed out that the plant called C.

quadrangularis by Roxburgh, Wight, and Arnott appeared to be

different from a similar plant found throughout Gujarat. The Gujarat

plant has unwinged stems, ovoid fruits, trilobed or unlobed leaves,

and tuberous roots, whereas the plant described by Roxburgh and

others from Madras has winged stems, smaller globose fruits, un-

lobed leaves, and fibrous roots. I have observed both the types of

plants in Gujarat and south India. I have also noted some anato-

mical differences between the two specimens. On the basis of my

few observations Rev. Father H. Santapau recently (Nov. 18th, 1957)

confirmed that ‘it is clear that there are two species of Cissus’:

1. Cissus quadrangularis Linn., identified by Dalzell as the plant

of Gujarat, with rounded stem, etc.

2. Cissus edulis Dalz. the plant of south India, with square

stems; the plant of Gujarat with square stems is the same

as that of south India.

But I agree with Father H. Santapau that there is still need

of more observations. I shall be grateful if the readers of this journal

will kindly send me flowering and fruiting material of both the species.

I am grateful to Rev. Father Santapau, for kindly going through

this note and helping me in identification. My thanks are due to the

Director, Kew Gardens for help, Professor T. C. N. Singh, Professor

and Head of the Department of Botany, for his interest and facilities,

and to my students Shri T. Govindrajulu and S. Krishnan for the

diagrams.

DEPT. OF BOTANY,

ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY, J. J. SHAH

ANNAMALAINAGAR (S. INDIA),

July 9, 1958.

12A

592. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

22. SOME NOTES ON THE GENUS MUSSAENDA LINN.

Species of the genus Mussaenda are a common and- conspicuous

feature of the flora of the Western Ghats from near sea-level ‘to

over 6000 ft. Gamble, in the FLORA OF THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY,

distinguishes four species characterised by the enlarged white or cream

calyx lobe—M. glabrata Hutch., M. laxa Hutch., M. frondosa Linn.,

and M. hirsutissima Hutch. In the FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA, however,

these are all included as varieties of M. frondosa Linn.

An opportunity to examine specimens from varying elevations

readily presents itself on the western outlet from Munnar to Alwaye

in the northern part of the Kottayam District of Kerala. This road

drops from about 5000 ft. at Munnar to some 300 ft. at Neriyamangalam

on the Periyar River in a distance of 35 miles. The country traversed

by the road was formerly covered with dense forest but has been

extensively cleared in the past twenty years and there are now only small

relics of the original cover. Munnar itself lies in a dissected plateau

almost. completely surrounded by hills rising to 6000 to 8000 ft.

Within this plateau Mussaenda is very common up to about 6000 ft.

and all the numerous specimens examined fall into M. hirsutissima

Hutch. On the other hand specimens examined at the foot of the

ghat road all agree with M. elabrata Hutch. At intermediate

elevations, specimens agreeing with M. Jaxa Hutch. have been

collected at the lower levels and with M. frondosa Linn. at higher

ones. !

These four ‘species’ from a series characterised by increasing

hairiness, increasing density of the inflorescence, and decreasing,

leaf size with increasing elevation. They could be. suitably. considered

tas members of an ‘ecocline’ rather than as distinct species but there

is obviously room for closer investigation of this insrestoe and

well marked group.

Munnar P. O.,

HicH RANGE, W. WILSON MAYNE, B.sc., M.I. BIOL.

KERALA STATE, : |

SouTH INDIA,

July 16, 1958.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Fig. 1. Cissus quadrangularis from South Arcot District, Madras, Note the

typical quadrangular and winged stem.

SNSSIDD JO IOMOP “S31 “p “31

oInsiq "yereInh Woy saiseds sissiD °7 ‘By

‘209 “JSIH ‘JBN Abquiog ‘winos

. MISCELLANEOUS -NOTES2 02 cn 2 so 593

23. A RED OR ROSE VARIANT OF POLYGALA

ERIOPTERA DC,

Those of our popular floras A mention the colour of the flowers

of this plant state that it is yellow; on numerous occasions we have

noted it to be so; but lately we have found plants with red or rosy

pink flowers. ;

This is an annual monsoon plant that appears in grass fields or

on grassy slopes some time about August; at first the plant bears

a strong resemblance to some species of Crotalaria, from which,

however, the structure of the sepals and of the fruits distinguish it

clearly. The leaves are rather variable in shape and size, being

obovate, or linear, or elliptic; flowers appear in few-flowered axillary

racemes. Sepals 5, of which two are hyaline or colourless but for a

strong green midrib. The petals are very irregular, somewhat united:

at the base, forming a sheath round the stamens; there are only 3

petals. Stamens 8. The fruit is a 2-seeded pubescent capsule enclosed

within the two larger sepals; the seeds are smooth and hairy, with a

distinct strophiole at the anterior end.

During the monsoon of 1957 this plant was collected repeatedly

on Pavagadh Hill, 29 miles NE. of Baroda; during August and

September the flowers were of the usual yellow colour; on October

2nd, 1957, we collected some plants with pink or rosy or reddish

flowers, the colour remaining even when the flowers began to fade.

We have checked our plants with the descriptions given in our

floras; the specimens have been confirmed in Blatter Herbarium as

being P. erioptera DC. The colour of this species seems to be

recorded here for the first time as being other than yellow.

_ We wish to record our gratitude to the Rev. Fr. H. Santapau of

St. Xavier’s College for helping with the identification of the plants

and going through the MS. of this note.

DEPT. OF BOTANY, | | |

M. S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA, V. G. PHATAK, pssc.

BARODA, | G. M. OZA, M.sc..

July 5, 1958.

594 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

24. CRYPTOSTEGIA MADAGASCARIENSIS BOJ.—

| _ A NEW RECORD FOR BOMBAY

(With one plate)

In our intensive field studies on the family Asclepiadaceae we

have often come across a plant that for a time troubled us; it seemed

to agree to some extent with the common Cryptostegia grandiflora

R. Br., but there seemed to be too many differences that called for

an explanation. We have finally identified our problem (plant as

Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj., which has turned out to be a

new record for Bombay or even possibly for India; we do not find

any description of the plant in our common floras.

The two plants can be distinguished by the following key:

Corona lobes cleft into two long, filiform —

segments; each follicle up to 12 cm.

long ... C. grandiflora

Corona lobes entire, subulate with |

incurved tips, each follicle up to

7 cm. long | ... C. madagascariensis

In passing it may be remarked that Cryptostegia, Hemidesmus,

and Periploca have hitherto been placed in the family Asclepiadaceae;

Schumann, in Engler and Prantl’s Die Natiirl. Pflanzenfam. 1895,

placed these genera under the subfamily Periplocoideae; A. Bullock,

in Kew Bull. 1956, erected the family Periplocaceae for the group.

In our opinion there is ample justification for this separation into a

family.

We give herewith a description and some notes on our new record:

Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj. Hort. Maurit. 212, 1837; Decne.

in DC. Prodr. 8 : 492, 1844; Bot. Mag. t. 7984, 1904.

An erect, suberect, or climbing shrub, 1.5-2 m. high. Branches

terete, swollen at the nodes, lenticelled and warted. Leaves opposite,

decussate, exstipulate, petiolate, coriaceous, 3-4 1.5-2 cm., ovate or

elliptic-oblong, shortly acuminate at the apex, subacute or rounded

at the base, glabrous on both sides, dark green and glaucous above,

paler beneath; lateral nerves 9-12 pairs, coming out at nearly right

angles to the midnerve, and uniting into a clear intramarginal nerve;

petioles 5-8 mm. long, compressed, glabrous, glandular in the axils.

Flowers showy, white tinged with rose or purple, in few-flowered,

terminal dichotomous cymes; peduncles 1.8-2 cm. long, compressed,

glabrous, lenticelled; bracts 6X2 mm., caducous, linear, acute, puber-

ulous; pedicels 1 cm. long, stout, terete, glabrous or nearly so.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Cryptostegia madagascariensis Boj.

A. Flowering branch; B. Dissected corolla showing corona; C. Pollen mass; D. P'stil ;

E. Fruit.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 595

Calyx lobes deeply divided, 1.20.4 cm., lanceolate, acute, glandular

within, glabrous outside, ciliolate at the apex. Corolla funnel-shaped,

6 cm. across when fully open; tube short and narrow below, opening

into a subcampanulate throat; lobes 3.21.8 cm., oblong, acute,

overlapping to the right, glabrous but velvety to touch. Corona

corolline, near the base of the throat, of five subulate lobes, which

are 6-7 mm. long, with incurved tips. Filaments short, subconnate at

the base; anthers sagittate, adnate to the stigma; connective produced

into apiculate-deflexed tips; pollen masses granular; translator

lanceolate. Ovaries two, glabrous, many-ovuled; style short, stout,

glabrous; style apex dome-shaped. Follicles in pairs, divaricate,

woody, 3-angled, glabrous, 7X2 cm. Seeds 6X2 mm., ovate,

glabrous; come 2.5 cm. long silky white.

Flowering: September to April.

Fruiting: January to April.

Records from Bombay examined: KONKAN: Bassein, Santapau

21204; Irani 2187; Andheri, /rani 1662; Santa Cruz, Dhruna,

Sept. 1950; Bole, March 1950; Bombay, Irani 731, 1418, 1745.

DECCAN: Shivajinagar, Jrani 181. All these specimens are

kept in Blatter Herbarium.

Distribution of this plant: The plant is native in Madagascar,

whence it has been cultivated in tropical gardens generally; in Bombay

it is often seen as a hedge plant, and seems to have established

itself as an escape from gardens in Bombay and Salsette Islands and

near Poona. It is a good hedge plant.

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE, H. SANTAPAU, S.J.

Bomsay l, N. A. IRANI, M.Sc.

September 20, 1958.

Gleanings

Nature’s anti-sepsis

The maggots of .the bluebottle and some other flies are like the

spider in that they can eat no solids. They too emit a fluid, which

dissolves the meat and turns it into a putrefying liquid as they

go along. In a recent book, I mentioned this fact and, impressed

by the quick-acting potency of this fiuid, idly suggested that, some

time perhaps, a use might be found for it. This brought me a

letter from a surgeon, part of which I will quote:

*. . . you refer to bluebottle grubs exuding a liquid which you

think might have some use. You may like to hear of one use which

I believe is now recognised.

‘During the first World War I was surgical specialist at a Casualty

Clearing Station which was posted first behind the salient and for

the rest of the war on the Somme. We were usually five to ten

miles back from the line and it often happened that we did not get the

casualties for two or more days and the numbers were so great that

some did not get attended for another day. The soil of the salient,

and the Somme, was teeming with tetanus and gas gangrene organisms,

and if wounds could not be excised and cleaned up soon after

infliction the chances were that they rapidly developed gas gangrene,

often with fatal results. Perhaps you have come across such

conditions, but if not I may tell you that a gangrenous wound is most

unpleasant both to nose and eye.

‘We found that many wounds on arrival at the C.C.S. were

swarming with maggots and we soon noticed that when the maggots

were cleared away a red, healthy, granulating surface appeared where

they had been and that the men were not so ill as one would have

expected. We therefore took to exposing some of the wounds to

the flies and got them fly-blown and the results were often good,

but the question always arose as to whether one was justified in

holding up operation while the flies did their job. The operation

consisted of very complete excision of the wound and all infected

tissues. Anyway there is no doubt that the maggots did a very good

job and I believe the pathologists did some research into the subject

jater on, but I did not hear much more about it.’

Extract from John Crompton’s LIFE OF THE SPIDER.

Rena fishing in the South Sea island of Raroia

Bengt Danielsson, a member of the famous Kon-Tiki expedition,

who afterwards returned to the island of Raroia, gives an interesting

account of rena fishing on the island in his book THE HAPPY ISLAND:

GLEANINGS 597

“We hurried down to the shore... Fifty yards from the land

a white cloud of shrieking gulls hung over a big black patch in the

water. It was clearly a gigantic shoal of fish. Despite the savage

attacks of the birds the black patch gradually increased in size; in

half an hour’s time it was as large as a market-place. The time

seemed to have come to start fishing, and Teka gave orders for pre-

parations to be made. To our great astonishment the whole crowd

dashed off at once, and in a little while we were alone with Teka.

We did not need to wait long before the first to go came back.

with large bunches of palm leaves under their arms. By degrees

the rest of the villagers returned, and each of them carried at least

five large palm leaves.

‘Now you'll see how we make a rena,’ said Teka, and slit a palm

feaf in two along the central nerve. ‘A rena is much better than a

net for catching komene.’

‘Then he laid one half on top of the other and took a new leaf.

All round us all the Raroians were slitting palms leaves in two

in the same way. In a little while the whole beach was covered

with neat little piles, each of five half-leaves. The next stage of

the work followed immediately. Our friends collected in small groups

and began to fasten the bundles together with fibres and paim leaves.

Then they joined the bundles lengthwise. As soon as a length reached

about thirty feet a man caught hold of each end of it and began

to wring it much as one wrings water out of a sheet. The natural

consequence was that the lobes of the leaves pointed in all directions

so that the length looked more like a garland, or a tinsel band on

a Christmas tree, than anything else. When all the different groups

had done this they began to splice the lengths together to make a

single garland, which when completed was some 500 yards long. At

last the fishing could begin!

‘Two of the strongest men took hold of one end of the palm

garland, and the rest of the Raroians placed themselves along it

at equal intervals. We hastened to follow their example. We

waded slowly and cautiously out into the shallow water and approached

the shoal of fish. The garland of leaves closed slowly about its

prey like a gigantic green snake. We had soon encircled the leaping

mass of herring-like fish. The air was still full of shrieking, fluttering

gulls, which followed us closely as we began to wade back to the

beach. When we had got into water about four inches deep and

had drawn the circle of leaves together to half its original size they

reluctantly disappeared.

‘A few yards from the beach we stopped. The fish were now

packed so tightly that they could no longer move, and clearly nothing

598 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

PRR ai gs aH

remained to be done but to scoop them up. To make this work

easier the women picked up palm leaves which had been left over and

in a twinkling plaited together handly baskets, while many of the men

took off their hats and used them as scoops. Half an hour later a

long row of shining silver fish lay on the beach, and the distribution

could begin . . . When they had at last finished we were able to take

no fewer than twenty-one fish each!

‘I need hardly add that all our friends ate up every single fish the

same afternoon and next day were looking out hungrily for fresh

shoals of kKomene. They did not need to look in vain, for there were

plenty of them that day and the days that followed. My notes show

that for over two months we made at least three rena expeditions a

week, and each time the catch was between 1,000 and 3,000 komene.’

—Bengt Danielsson in THE HAPPY ISLAND—KON-TIKI ISLE.

Report on the Birth of a Wild Elephant

I was at the Kudasilawal lagoon about 8 a.m. one morning when

nine elephants came out of the jungle into the open space around the

lagoon. I climbed one of the rocks there and waited. One of the

elephants, the cow which afterwards gave birth, went down on its knees

and gently lay down on its side with its legs outstretched, remaining

in that position for several minutes. The other eight elephants stood

around her, caressing her all over her body with their trunks. The

cow then rose to her feet, walked away a few paces, and lay down

again as before. The other elephants, save one, went into the surround-

ing jungle; this one remained standing by the cow. More minutes

passed and the cow then rose again, walked a few paces away and

again lay down, and this time turned over to the opposite side, pivott-

ing on her spine. It remained like this for about ten minutes and

then rose once again, went a few paces and again lay down. This

time it got up almost immediately after it lay down. As it rose, I

noticed a pale, pink coloured bag about two feet in diameter, protrud-

ing out of its genitals. With the protruding bag in this position, the

cow paced to and fro, apparently quite normally, for about ten minutes,

and then the bag burst open and a watery fluid poured forth from

it. Just at this time, the other elephant, which had remained with

the cow throughout, strolled away and joined the rest of the herd

which was all the time in the jungle close by. Several minutes after

the water-bag burst open, the cow again lay-down. It was now about

9 am. The cow lay still in her prone position, only moving and

tossing her trunk around, but uttering no sound, not even a groan,

for about half an hour. Her abdomen was rising and falling at

GLEANINGS 599

regular intervals and she appeared to be heaving. Two elephants

from the herd in the jungle walked slowly up to the prostrate cow,

felt her with their trunks in the region of the genitals, and then

returned to the jungle.

Shortly afterwards, the cow stretched out her hind legs wide apart

and without any noticeable signs of strain, the head and forelegs of

the calf appeared. Immediately after, the cow rose to its feet and

then again, in a few seconds, went down on its knees and lay down.

Almost at once the calf was dropped and the cow immediately rose

up and walked away for about ten paces. At this time the cow

bled profusely from the genitals. Having gone this distance, the

cow again lay down on its side and kept tossing and turning over

from side to side. The calf lay on the ground where it was dropped

and was wriggling about. It was covered all over with what appeared

to be a slimy liquid. About fifteen minutes later, one of the elephants

with the herd came up to the calf, raised it with its trunk about

four feet clear off the ground, and then gently placed it back on

the ground. This elephant then made a loud, rumbling noise, and

all the other elephants in the herd came out of the jungle, trumpetting

and making various noises, and approached the new born calf. Each

one of them in turn moved the calf about with its trunk and feet

and threw sand on the calf. This went on for about half an hour

at the end of which the calf stood up, quite dry and steady on all

fours. The calf, after rising, tried to suck milk from _ other

elephants. Its mother, which continued to remain lying down and

tossing about for several minutes longer, then dropped the after-

birth while lying on the ground. She rose immediately after-

wards, picked up the afterbirth and ate a portion of it. She tore

a part of it to pieces and flung it away and also trod on portions

of it. The afterbirth appeared like a large sack in a portion of it,

with elongations similar in appearance to the tentacles of an octopus.

Some portions of the afterbirth were fleshy, while others were like

lumps of ‘nerves’. The whole was coloured purple in some parts, in

others pinkish or reddish. The baby elephant did not appear to have

a umbilical cord. It was about 21 feet high and its little trunk was

about twelve inches long. About 15 minutes after the cow dropped

the afterbirth and did away with most of it, she walked up to the

calf which was now in the midst of the herd. The cow, on reaching

her calf, trumpetted, lifted the calf with her trunk and took it away

from the other elephants. She then placed the calf on the ground.

The calf was now trying to suck milk from its mother. The cow

went down on her knees and rested her head on the ground. The

calf then reached for the breasts and sucked off both breasts for a

600 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

considerable time. The cow then rose, picked up the calf in her trunk,

poised it high up to her chin, and walked away in the centre of the

accompanying herd into the jungle. I then came down from the top

of the rock.

I found the ground where the cow was lying smeared with blood;

and a slimy fluid. I cut a piece from what was left of the crushed

afterbirth. The portion I cut contained blood and appeared to

consist of tubes, each about two inches in diameter and two feet

long.

Game Guard W. L. A. Andris of Yala Range, Ceylon, in Administra-

tion Report of the Department for Wild Life, 1953.

[Three other eye-witness accounts of the birth of an elephant

calf are published in previous volumes of the Journal (Tutein-

Nolthenius, 1935, 38:183; Morris, 1936, 38:613; Vincent, 1946, 46:

183) to which reference is invited.-—EDs.]

CORRIGENDA

Vol. 54, No. 3, August 1957

p. 733, line 7: For ‘intermaxillary teeth’ please read

‘intermaxillary plate ’

line 9: For ‘intermaxillary place’ please read

‘intermaxillary plate ’

p. 735, line 7: For ‘ Hegord’ please read ‘ Hefford’

lines 10 to 13 : For ‘ In addition

ed sean: M. talabonoides.’ please substitute

‘ Pillay (1948) observed the species in commer-

cial quantities in Kathiawar coast. Observa-

tions made on the numerous hauls taken by

the trawlers along the Kathiawar coast showed

occasional occurrence of this _ species,

although the major portion of the eel catch

comprised of M. talabonoides.’

p. 739, line 11: For ‘long line catches’ please read

‘ bag-net catches’

‘References ’, Ist line: For ‘ The Studies onthe .... ’

please read ‘ Studies on the ....’

Vol. 54, No. 4, December 1957

p. 971, lines 7 to 9 from bottom please read as: ‘ranges from

6.5 to 8.5 showing that the soils are mostly alkaline in nature.’

p. 972 : In the table of ‘Analysis of Soil Samples’ please read the

last two columns as under :

os eeoewese eee eevee eee ee eevee eo

pH Remarks

TS Alkaline

7.0 Neutral

8.5 Alkaline

7.0 Neutral

7.0 o

dS Alkaline

6.5 Acidic

(es Alkaline

7.0 | Neutral

Se uc Alkaline

8.5 .

8.0 | me:

602 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 55 (3)

Vol. 55, No. 1, April 1958

p. 64, line 15: For ‘Chela (Allochella) fasciatus’ please read,

‘ Chela (Allochela) fasciata’.

Vol. 55, No. 2, August 1958

p. 357, line 24: For ‘A FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF BRITISH ISLES AND

EUROPE by Guy-Mountfort and Roger Peterson’, please read ‘A FIELD

GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE .by R. Peterson,

G. Mountfort, and P.A.D. Hollom’.

p. 373, line 6: For the word ‘ atokous’ please read ‘ epitokous ’

p. 374, lines 7 and 8: For ‘ Armandia Leptocirris’ please read

* Armandia leptocirris’

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MADRAS—8-1-1959. C861

EDITORS: SALIM ALI, AND H. SANTAPAU

91 WALKESHWAR ROAD, BOMBAY 6

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CONTENTS

PAGE

SMALL GAME SHOOTING AND CONSERVATION IN NORTHERN INDIA—WITH SOME

OBSERVATIONS ON THE BOMBAY WILD ANIMALS AND WILD BIRDS PROTECTION

Act 1951. By O. H. de St. Croix | a ee ae .. 407

NEST CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE OF THE PURPLE SUNBIRD. By Joseph George .. 420

OBSERVATIONS ON THE VEGETATION OF THE RAMPA AND GUDEM AGENCY TRACTS

OF , THE EASTERN GHATS. By R. Seshagiri Rao = bt .. 429

SOME BIOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON RATS OF BOMBAY. By P. J.

Deoras and M.S. Gokhale .. fe te ie .. 450

THE BIOLOGY OF THE WEEVIL Alcidodes mysticus Faust. By T.R.Subramanian. 460

CATLA FISHING IN Powal LAKE, GREATER BOMBAY. By F.R. Goldschmidt .. 473

NEW PLANT RECORDS FOR BomBAY—Y. By H. Santapau, s.J., R. R. Fernandes,

and Z. Kapadia .. ae Vs eS a .. 481

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF THE MALDIVE ISLANDS

Part V—FisHEs. By G. Palmer re ay Bt .. 486

Part VI—Insects. By W. W. A. Phillips oe = .. 489

FRESHWATER DIATOMS FROM KOLHAPUR AND ITS IMMEDIATE ENVIRONS. By H. P.

Gandhi a oe, tu ne bis .. 493

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE EeL Neenchelys buitendijki WEBER & DE BEAUFORT

IN INDIAN WATERS. By K. H. Mohamed fs ne BR fs

IDENTITY OF THE PLANT Piyaman OR Madar-Jamua. By D. Chatterjee & P. C.

REMARKS ON INDIAN CYPRINID FISHES DESCRIBED BY JERDON (1849) UNDER

(Gonorhynchus) MCCLELLAND. By E. G. Silas es az me Jeo

SOME USEFUL WEEDS OF BARODA, ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD, AND PAVAGADH. By V. G. ,

Phatak and G. M. Oza Bis 2 te “e eee 4

REVIEWS .. ca oe - Ee at .. 543

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES as a a a 5% coe

GLEANINGS + Ns fe 7 i .. 596

CORRIGENDA By a ce e ge .. 601

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