Callophis Nigrescens (Gunther), (Serpentes: Elapidae) a colour variation from Silent Valley National Park, Kerala

2 Pages·1997·2.1 MB·

by  Joseph Thomas

166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.94 (1997)
feet anddigits, keepingits wholebody offtheground. of its occurrence and rarity. In addition, the present
It cannot move or walk on a vertical wall but specimen exhibits a noteworthy variation in its
mm
sometimes raises the whole body vertically with the measurement (145 mm. vs 195 as referred by
support of the forelimbs on the wall and the tip of Smith, 1935) and colouration or banding pattern (a
the tail on the ground. Information regarding the single creamy band at the base of the tail vs 4-5
natural habitat of this lizard is not well known. creamy bands as referred by Smith, 1935). The tail
of the present specimen is dotted with deep brown
Identification and remarks: spots instead ofbands as described by Smith (1935).
In spite of these variations, it is not possible to
Fourspecies oftheFat-tailed Geckobelonging describe this specimen as a new variety, since the
to genus Eublepharis Grey are so far known from present find is based on a single specimen.
the Indian region, of which E. hardwickii Grey is
known to occur in the Eastern Indian states with Acknowledgement
particularly in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and
West Bengal (Smith, 1935). The present specimen We are indebted to Dr. S.K. Talukdar, Scientist,
has been identified as Eublepharis hardwickii Grey Division ofHerpetology, Zoological Survey ofIndia
(Family Gekkonidae) by the Herpetology foridentifying thespecimen and valuablesuggestions.
Department of Zoological Survey of India. The
CHANDRA
Accession Registrar of the National Zoological June 4, 1996 G.
CHATTERJEE
collection (Z.S.I. Calcutta) reveals that a single S.N.
specimen was collected and reported for the first C. DATTA
time from the southern part of West Bengal by a M. MAJUMDAR,
British scientist in 1858. The collection of the ZoologyDepartment, Burdwan University
present specimen is therefore significant as thge West Bengal India.
NATH
second report of the species after a lapse of 137 A.
years. The present record of the specimen signifies Ecological Park, Krishnasayar, Burdwan
,
interesting zoogeographical implications in terms University, West Bengal, India.
Reference
1
Smith, M.A. (1935): TheFaunaofBritishIndiaincluding Ceylon and Burma,Reptiliaand AmphibiaVol. 2. Sauria. Taylorand
Francis, London, xii, 440 pp.
24. GALLOPHIS NIGRESCENS (GUNTHER), (SERPENTES: ELAPIDAE) A COLOUR
VARIATION FROM SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, KERALA
A
Gunthei (1864) described the colour the tail. series of small ovate black spots,
characteristics ofCallophisnigrescensashaving dark indistinctlyridgedwith awhitishtint, ispresentalong
blackish ash or black upper side and uniformly red each side ofthetrunk, which disappears posteriorly.
ventral side. Upper part ofthehead is symmetrically Thetail iscoloured like thebody withoutblackrings.
marbled with black, a black spot below the eye, Later, Smith (1943) described three colour forms of
another descending from the occipital to the angle Callophis nigrescens. (1) Pale reddish or brownish
of the mouth, a black horse-shoe like marking is above with 5 black stripes on the body, a vertebral
present on the collar with the convexity directed and two lateral pairs, and three stripes on the tail,
A
forwards. narrow black vertebral line slightly the outermost stripes being on scale rows one and
edged with yellow runs from the collar to the tip of two. The top of the head is black with light regular
1
Plate
Bengal
West
in
lizard
tailed
Fat
hardwickii
94
Eublepharis
Soc.
Hist.
al.
et
nat.
Chandra
Bombay
J. G.