On the diversity and abundance of riparian odonate fauna (Insecta) of the midstream Chalakkudy River, Kerala, India

The riparian Odonate insect diversity of the midstream Chalakudy River at six locations assessed from February 2018 to January 2019 has revealed the occurrence of 25 species of odonates. Among them,10 species are dragonflies belonging to seven genera of the family Libellulidae and the remaining 15 species are damselflies belonging to six families and 11 genera. Five endemic damselfly species have been recorded. Pseudagrion indicum is endemic to the Western Ghats, while the remaining four species, Vestalis apicalis, Libellago indica, Dysphaea ethela, and Heliocypha bisignata, are endemic to India. Diversity indices of the odonates in all the six locations were analyzed and it showed less abundance at sites where tourist activities are more and with thin native riparian vegetation. Further, the study has unequivocally revealed that thick native riparian vegetation is essential for their perching and existence. By and large, the uncontrolled tourism activities and habitat alteration interfere with the density and diversity of these endemic species.

Download Full-text

Rediscovery, systematics and proposed Red List status of Ledebouria junnarensis S.S. Rahangdale and S.R. Rahangdale nom. nov. (Asparagaceae) - an endemic species from the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.2167.8.2.8421-8433 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 8421 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Savita Sanjaykumar Rahangdale ◽

Sanjaykumar Ramlal Rahangdale

Keyword(s):

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Red List ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

New Name ◽

Threat Status ◽

The Family ◽

The Status ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

Iucn Criteria

A new name in the genus Ledebouria Roth is validated for Scilla viridis Blatter & Hallberg [non Scilla viridis (L.) Salisbury]. It is rediscovered after about 85 years of its first and only report. It is also redescribed on the basis of morphology, anatomy, cytology and assigned the name Ledebouria junnarensis S.S. Rahangdale & S.R. Rahangdale belonging to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Hyacinthoideae. As this is a species endemic to the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India, it is studied for threat status as per IUCN criteria & guidelines and assigned the status Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii). Identification keys for the genera and species of subfamily Hyacinthoideae reported from India are prepared on the basis of reported and observed characters.<div> </div>

Download Full-text

PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEDICINAL PLANT SPECIES, THALICTRUM JAVANICUM BLUME IN THOTTABETTA, NILGIRIS, THE WESTERN GHATS

Kongunadu Research Journal ◽

10.26524/krj68 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 56-62

Author(s):

Abinaya G ◽

Paulsamy S

Keyword(s):

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Degree Of Dominance ◽

The Family ◽

Qualitative Characters ◽

The Nilgiris ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

Study Species ◽

Phytosociological Study

Phytosociological study is the most essential in any community to know its structure and organization. The various qualitative characters obtained are used to determine the level of distribution, numerical strength and degree of dominance exhibited by the constituent species in the community. Thalictrum javanicum belongs to the family Ranunculaceae family, it is medium sized erect herb, found in the temperate Himalayas from Kasmir to Sikkim in Khasi hills, and Kodaikanal and Nilgiri hills of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India. At global level, it is generally distributed in the hilly tracts of India, Srilanka, China and Java at the altitude of around 2400 m above msl. The present study was undertaken in Thottabetta , the Nilgiris by sampling using belt transects of 10x1000m size which further divided into 100 segments each which 10x10m size. The total number of species encountered in the study area is 45 which includes 5 grasses and 40 forbs. The quantitative ecological characters of the study species, T. javanicum is a detailed below: frequency 11%, abundance 3.82 individuals/m2, density 0.42 individuals/m2, basal cover 172.20/mm2/ m2, relative frequency 0.55% and relative density 0.08%, relative dominance 0.16%. Based on the ecological attributes it is determined that the species, T. javanicum is less perpetuated in the community studied. Hence, further studies on the determination of propagation strategies for population enhancement and conservationof wilds are suggested.

Download Full-text

Notes on the extended distribution of Humboldtia bourdillonii (Fabales: Fabaceae), an Endangered tree legume in the Western Ghats, India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.5424.11.14.14886-14890 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (14) ◽

pp. 14886-14890

Author(s):

Anoop P. Balan ◽

A. J. Robi ◽

S. V. Predeep

Keyword(s):

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Type Locality ◽

Tree Legume ◽

Endangered Tree ◽

Conservation Measures ◽

Tiger Reserve ◽

Kerala State ◽

Periyar Tiger Reserve ◽

The Western Ghats

Humboldtia bourdillonii is an Endangered tree legume; considered endemic to its type locality in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Idukki District of Kerala State. A new population of this highly threatened endemic species is located in the Vagamon Hills of Kottayam District which is about 70km away from its original locality. The newly located population is drastically affected by the severe floods and landslides that occurred in Kerala state during August 2018. Urgent conservation measures are needed to protect the population from further loss.

Download Full-text

A new species of rock-dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tamil Nadu, southern India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4571.3.6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4571 (3) ◽

pp. 383

Author(s):

AKSHAY KHANDEKAR

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Southern India ◽

Peninsular India ◽

Tamil Nadu State ◽

The Rich ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

A new species of the gekkonid genus Cnemaspis is described based on a series of nine specimens from near Sankari in Salem district, Tamil Nadu state, southern India. The new species is diagnosable by the following suite of characters: a small-sized Cnemaspis (adult snout to vent length less than 33 mm); heterogeneous dorsal pholidosis consisting of weakly keeled granular scales intermixed with large strongly keeled, conical tubercles, 9–11 rows of dorsal tubercles, 12–17 tubercles in paravertebral rows; spine-like scales absent on flank, 17–20 lamellae under digit IV of pes. Males with 4–6 femoral pores on each thigh, separated on either side by eight poreless scales from four precloacal pores; precloacal pores separated medially by a single poreless scale; two single dorsal ocelli on occiput and between forelimb insertions, two pairs of ocelli on either side just anterior and posterior to forelimb insertions. Cnemaspis agarwali sp. nov. is the fifth endemic species of Cnemaspis from peninsular India outside the Western Ghats and highlights the rich and unique diversity of this understudied region.

Download Full-text

VEGETATION COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE AND PATTERNS OF DIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY FROM THE TROPICAL WET EVERGREEN FORESTS OF THE WESTERN GHATS, INDIA

Edinburgh Journal of Botany ◽

10.1017/s0960428608004952 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 65 (3) ◽

pp. 447-468 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

A. Giriraj ◽

M. S. R. Murthy ◽

B. R. Ramesh

Keyword(s):

Western Ghats ◽

Forest Type ◽

Local Level ◽

Basal Area ◽

Woody Species ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Evergreen Forests ◽

Composition Structure ◽

The Western Ghats

The composition, abundance, population structure and distribution patterns of the woody species having a girth at breast height of ≥ 10 cm were investigated in the tropical wet evergreen forests of the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the southern Western Ghats, India. A 3 ha plot was established with an altitudinal range of 1170 to 1306 m. In the study plot 5624 individuals (mean density 1875 ha−1) covering 68 woody species belonging to 52 genera and 27 families were enumerated. The mean basal area was 47.01 m2 ha–1 and the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were 4.89 and 0.95, respectively. Of these woody species nearly 51% are endemic to the Western Ghats. The four dominant species, Cullenia exarillata, Palaquium ellipticum, Aglaia bourdillonii and Myristica dactyloides, account for 34% of the trees and 67% of the basal area, and therefore constitute the main structure of the forest. Within this forest type, five species assemblages corresponding to altitudinal gradient were identified using correspondence analysis. Management of such mid elevation evergreen forests necessarily depends on knowledge of recognisable community types and their environmental variables. The present study provides essential background for formulating strategies for sustainable conservation of forest communities at the local level.

Download Full-text

A new record of the family Isonychiidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from the Western Ghats, India with a description of new species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4586.1.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4586 (1) ◽

pp. 162

Author(s):

M. VASANTH ◽

C. SELVAKUMAR ◽

K. A. SUBRAMANIAN ◽

R. BABU ◽

K. G. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

New Record ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Abdominal Segment ◽

Uniformly Convex ◽

The Family ◽

Lateral Margins ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

A new species belonging to the subgenus Isonychia, of the genus Isonychia Eaton, 1871, is described based on larvae and imagoes collected from Moyar River, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu, India. The imagoes of I. moyarensis n. sp. can be distinguished from other described Oriental species of Isonychia (Isonychia) by the combination of characters: (i) forewing with rusty brown maculae in the costal, subcostal, and median areas; (ii) femur and tibia brown, fore leg pale, apices of tarsal segments brownish; (iii) males with distal angles of penes rounded, without serrations; (iv) second segment of gonostylus uniformly convex; and (v) sterna of tenth abdominal segment in female deeply cleft. Isonychia (Isonychia) moyarensis n. sp. can be distinguished in the larval stage from other known Oriental species by the following combination of characters: (i) abdominal terga II–IX with median dark brown maculae progressively larger with dark brown slanting streaks in lateral margins; (ii) trachea of abdominal gills I–VII unbranched; (iii) posterolateral projections on abdominal segments I–VII blunt and progressively longer than those of segments VIII–IX, sharp and distinct; and (iv) abdominal terga X pale yellow in anterior ⅓, and dark brown in the posterior ⅔. A key to the known larvae of Oriental species of Isonychia is also provided.

Download Full-text

Revisiting the taxonomy of Ophiorrhiza codyensis and lectotypification of O. pykarensis (Rubiaceae), two endemic taxa of the Western Ghats

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.452.2.6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 452 (2) ◽

pp. 173-179

Author(s):

VADAKKOOT SANKARAN HAREESH ◽

SIDHABHAVAN NANJAN PREETHAMOL ◽

MAMIYIL SABU ◽

JOHN ERNEST THOPPIL

Keyword(s):

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Type Locality ◽

The Western Ghats

Taxonomic identity and occurrence of Ophiorrhiza codyensis (Rubiaceae), a little known endemic species from the Western Ghats is discussed along with its rediscovery after a gap of 106 years outside from its type locality. Detailed description of the species is provided with colour photographs, ecology and conservation status. In addition, a lectotype is designated for O. pykarensis, another endemic species of the Western Ghats. A new occurrence of O. trichocarpon in the Western Ghats is also discussed.

Download Full-text

Molecular Identification and Ecology of a Newly Discovered Population of Sun Catfish Horabagrus brachysoma from Northern Western Ghats of India

ISRN Zoology ◽

10.5402/2012/419320 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Unmesh Katwate ◽

Rupesh Raut ◽

Mayura Khot ◽

Mandar Paingankar ◽

Neelesh Dahanukar

Keyword(s):

Detailed Analysis ◽

Molecular Identification ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Habitat Requirements ◽

Potential Habitat ◽

Western Ghats Of India ◽

In The Wild ◽

The Western Ghats

Horabagrus brachysoma, thought to be endemic to the southern parts of the Western Ghats of India, is recorded for the northern parts of the Western Ghats, extending the species distribution range by 180 km. We have confirmed the identity of the species and the fact that the species is indigenous to this area and not an artifact of recent introductions using molecular methods. Apart from the range extension we have also provided detailed analysis regarding the nature of morphometric variations between the sexes, length-weight relationship, and a brief discussion about the potential habitat requirements and threats to this species. By documenting the possible threats to this threatened and endemic species, we have commented on the possible measures to conserve the species in the wild.

Download Full-text

Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3640 (2) ◽

pp. 177-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

ROBIN KURIAN ABRAHAM ◽

R. ALEXANDER PYRON ◽

ANSIL B. R. ◽

ARUN ZACHARIAH ◽

ANIL ZACHARIAH

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Reproductive Mode ◽

Restricted Area ◽

Western Ghats Of India ◽

The Family ◽

Rapid Pace ◽

One New Species ◽

The Western Ghats

Amphibian diversity in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot is extremely high, especially for such a geo-graphically restricted area. Frogs in particular dominate these assemblages, and the family Rhacophoridae is chief among these, with hundreds of endemic species. These taxa continue to be described at a rapid pace, and several groups have recently been found to represent unique evolutionary clades at the genus level. Here, we report DNA sequences, larval and breeding data for two species of rhacophorid treefrog (Polypedates bijui and a new, hitherto undescribed species). Re-markably, they represent unique, independent clades which form successive sister groups to the Pseudophilautus (Sri Lan-ka) + Raorchestes (India, China & Indochina) clades. We place these species into two new genera (Beddomixalus gen. nov. and Mercurana gen. nov.). Both of these genera exhibit a distinct reproductive mode among Rhacophoridae of pen-insular India and Sri Lanka, with explosive breeding and semiterrestrial, unprotected, non-pigmented eggs oviposited in seasonal swamp pools, which hatch into exotrophic, free-living aquatic tadpoles. Relationships and representation of re-productive modes in sister taxa within the larger clade into which these novel genera are placed, is also discussed. These results suggest that more undescribed taxa may remain to be discovered in South Asia, and the crucial importance of con-serving remaining viable habitats.

Download Full-text

Revisiting the taxonomy of Strobilanthes lawsonii and S. pushpangadanii (Acanthaceae), two endemic taxa of Western Ghats, India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.4801.13.3.18054-18058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 18054-18058

Author(s):

Blessy Cherian ◽

K.M. Prabhukumar ◽

R. Jagadeesan ◽

V.V. Naveen Kumar ◽

Indira Balachandran

Keyword(s):

Species Identification ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Detailed Comparison ◽

Southern India ◽

Taxonomic Key ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

The Western Ghats

Strobilanthes lawsonii was described by Gamble based on a collection made from Sispara Ghat of Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu. Later researchers reported its distribution in Kerala, and S. gamblei and S. pushpangadanii, two endemic species of the Western Ghats, were synonymised with S. lawsonii during the genus revision in southern India in 2006. During a recent expedition to Muthikulam forest of Palakkad, Kerala the authors collected typical S. lawsonii. After comparing the new collections with S. gamblei and S. pushpangadanii, it was found that both taxa are distinct from S. lawsonii, with the most notable morphological differences being partially fused corolla lobes and exserted stamens. A detailed comparison of the three taxa is provided here, along with color photographs and a taxonomic key for easy species identification.

Download Full-text