Amboli region, consisting Amboli, Chaukul, Nene, and Parpoli villages is one of the biodiversity rich areas in northern Western Ghats. We opportunistically surveyed odonates from the region and prepared an annotated checklist of 93... more
Amboli region, consisting Amboli, Chaukul, Nene, and Parpoli villages is one of the biodiversity rich areas in northern Western Ghats. We opportunistically surveyed odonates from the region and prepared an annotated checklist of 93 species belonging to 12 families. We report 15 Western Ghats endemic species and six new records for the State of Maharashtra. We further present an updated checklist of Odonata of Maharashtra state with a total of 144 species.
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FIGURE 11. Photographs taken near one of the known localites for Calliophis castoe, in the town of Karwar, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India, 9 – 10 July 2005. A. Mountains flanking Karwar to the southeast, near road to Shirwad.... more
FIGURE 11. Photographs taken near one of the known localites for Calliophis castoe, in the town of Karwar, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India, 9 – 10 July 2005. A. Mountains flanking Karwar to the southeast, near road to Shirwad. B. Southeastern valley of Karwar, 10 m, photo taken from hill above town. C – D. Forest near National Highway 63, between Ramanguli and Idgundi, elevation ca. 250 m, 14.863686 ° N, 74.654489 ° E. Photos by E. N. Smith (UTADC- 6746 – 49).
FIGURE 10. Type locality of Calliophis castoe, Amboli, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India, elevation ca. 750 m, 2 July 2005. Image of a herpetological field party searching for snakes along a forest road, during monsoon season. Photo... more
FIGURE 10. Type locality of Calliophis castoe, Amboli, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India, elevation ca. 750 m, 2 July 2005. Image of a herpetological field party searching for snakes along a forest road, during monsoon season. Photo by E. N. Smith (UTADC- 6736).
FIGURE 9. Type locality of Calliophis castoe, Amboli, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India, elevation ca. 750 m, 1 July 2005. Image shows leaf litter and moss covered tree trunks. Photo by E. N. Smith (UTADC- 6735).
FIGURE 8. Distribution of Calliophis castoe in India.
FIGURE 7. Right hemipenis of Calliophis castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461. Sulcate (left) and asulcate (right) views showing spinulated body from base to tips and sulcus spermaticus dividing towards lobes.
FIGURE 6. Right-lateral aspect of head of Calliophis castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461, showing head glands and associated structures after skin reflection: rostral gland (r); salivary gland (s); nasal gland (n); Harderian gland (h);... more
FIGURE 6. Right-lateral aspect of head of Calliophis castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461, showing head glands and associated structures after skin reflection: rostral gland (r); salivary gland (s); nasal gland (n); Harderian gland (h); venom gland (v); venom duct (d); infralabial gland, with two areas differentiated, anterior (ai) and posterior (pi); m. adductor mandibulae externus superficialis (AES).
FIGURE 5. Left-lateral aspect of head of Calliophis castoe, adult male paratype, from Karwar, Karnataka, India, elevation ca. 15 m, BNHS 2191, showing contact between prefrontal and second supralabial, anterior preocular and small... more
FIGURE 5. Left-lateral aspect of head of Calliophis castoe, adult male paratype, from Karwar, Karnataka, India, elevation ca. 15 m, BNHS 2191, showing contact between prefrontal and second supralabial, anterior preocular and small supralabial 7. Maxillary fang is visible, arising between supralabials 2 and 3.
FIGURE 4. Dorsal (top), right-lateral (middle), and ventral (bottom) aspects of the head of Calliophis castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461, showing distinct color pattern of long and medially broken nuchal band, bicolored lateral body... more
FIGURE 4. Dorsal (top), right-lateral (middle), and ventral (bottom) aspects of the head of Calliophis castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461, showing distinct color pattern of long and medially broken nuchal band, bicolored lateral body pattern, and immaculate chin and throat area.
FIGURE 3. Comparison of left lateral aspects of heads of species of Calliophis from India. A. C. beddomei, subadult female holotype, BMNH 1946.1. 17.99. B. C. bibroni, subadult male, BMNH 1946.1. 17.93 (C. cerasinus holotype). C. C.... more
FIGURE 3. Comparison of left lateral aspects of heads of species of Calliophis from India. A. C. beddomei, subadult female holotype, BMNH 1946.1. 17.99. B. C. bibroni, subadult male, BMNH 1946.1. 17.93 (C. cerasinus holotype). C. C. castoe, adult male holotype, BNHS 3461. D. C. melanurus, adult female, BMNH 74.4. 29.45. E. C. nigrescens, subadult male, BMNH. 74.4.29.239.
FIGURE 2. Calliophis castoe, venter of subadult female paratype (BNHS 3474), 313 mm TL, from Ambe Ghat, South Goa district, Goa, India, elevation 295 m. Photo by V. Giri (UTADC- 6832).
FIGURE 1. Calliophis castoe, dorsum of live adult male specimen (not collected) from Dicholi, Goa, India, elevation ca. 10 m. Photo by H. Ogale (UTADC- 6738).
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We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible... more
We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible and well populated. The new species differs from all other Calliophis, the Tropical Asian coralsnakes, in having unicolored and dark body and tail dorsa, an orange head band, a salmon color to scarlet body and tail underside, four maxillary teeth behind the fang (the highest number, except for some individuals of C. maculiceps) and, in having the prefrontals touching the third supralabial while having both a preocular and a nasal (except for some C. beddomei). Calliophis castoe also differs from all other Indian coralsnakes, with the exception of some Sinomicrurus macclellandi, in having an unpatterned body, no dark pigmentation on the last supralabial, and a wide post-temporal band. We also present mitochondrial DNA sequence differences between the n...
Research Interests:
We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible... more
We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible and well populated. The new species differs from all other Calliophis, the Tropical Asian coralsnakes, in having unicolored and dark body and tail dorsa, an orange head band, a salmon color to scarlet body and tail underside, four maxillary teeth behind the fang (the highest number, except for some individuals of C. maculiceps) and, in having the prefrontals touching the third supralabial while having both a preocular and a nasal (except for some C. beddomei). Calliophis castoe also differs from all other Indian coralsnakes, with the exception of some Sinomicrurus macclellandi, in having an unpatterned body, no dark pigmentation on the last supralabial, and a wide post-temporal band. We also present mitochondrial DNA sequence differences between the n...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible... more
We describe a new species of coralsnake, Calliophis castoe, from western peninsular India. The discovery of this new species comes as a surprise because it is a venomous snake from both lowland and mountainous areas that are accessible and well populated. The new species differs from all other Calliophis, the Tropical Asian coralsnakes, in having unicolored and dark body and tail dorsa, an orange head band, a salmon color to scarlet body and tail underside, four maxillary teeth behind the fang (the highest number, except for some individuals of C. maculiceps) and, in having the prefrontals touching the third supralabial while having both a preocular and a nasal (except for some C. beddomei). Calliophis castoe also differs from all other Indian coralsnakes, with the exception of some Sinomicrurus macclellandi, in having an unpatterned body, no dark pigmentation on the last supralabial, and a wide post-temporal band. We also present mitochondrial DNA sequence differences between the new taxon and C. nigrescens. The new specie is the second species of coralsnake known from the state of Goa (beside C. nigrescens), the third known from Maharashtra (beside C. melanurus and C. nigrescens), and the fifth known from the state of Karnataka (beside C. beddomei, C. bibroni, C. melanurus, and C. nigrescens).