Notes on Distribution, Natural History and Habitat Use of a Colubridae Snake, Rhabdops olivaceus (Beddome, 1863)

Harshal Satish Bhosale, Devavrat Joshi

Abstract


Rhabdops olivaceus is a poorly known endemic Indian colubrid snake, reported only from few localities in the Western Ghats. The species is believed to be a nocturnal semi-aquatic forest species restricted to high elevation forest streams. Apart from this, little is known about its natural history and distributions. Herein, we present our observations on the occurrence and natural history of multiple individuals of R. olivaceus from Satara district, Maharashtra. Nearly all observed individuals were found to inactive during the day, suggesting nocturnal activity which is concurrent with previous knowledge. However, in addition to perennial forest streams, the species was also frequently encountered on lateritic plateaus, inhabiting small season pools. These findings suggest that the species might be more widespread than previous thought to be, occupying a range of habitats.

Keywords


lateritic plateaus; seasonal pools; habitat use; distribution; natural history

Full Text:

PDF

References


Chikane S. and Bhosale H. (2012), «Reptiles of Kaas, Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India, with comments on their habitat and abundance», Sauria, 34(3), 3 – 15.

Das I. (1997), «Checklist of the reptiles of India with English common names», Hamadryad, 22(1), 32 – 45.

Das I. (2002), A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India, New Holland publishers (UK) Ltd., London.

Dowling H. G. (1951), «A proposed standard system of counting ventrals in snakes», Br. J. Herpetol., 1(5), 238.

Ganesh S. R., Chandramouli S. R., and Gauri Shanker P. (2011), «Record lengths of two endemic caenophidian snakes from the Western Ghats Mountains, India», Hamadryad, 36, 44 – 46.

Smith M. A. (1935), The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II. Sauria, Taylor and Francis.

Whitaker R. and Captain A. (2004), Snakes of India. The Field Guide.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2014-21-3-166-168

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


You can subscribe to the print or electronic version of the journal on the site of EastView Company. If you have any questions, please write to the email sales@ivis.ru