Study of Ophidian Faunal Diversity in Amravati Region of Maharashtra, India

India is also known as the ‘Land of Snakes’. as there are  Out of venomous species main are Cobra, Russell’s Viper, Saw Scaled Viper , and Krait, the remaining species are either semi-venomous or non-venomous. But still most  people are afraid of snakes as they don’t know much about them, is the prime reason for decline of this fascinating creature.  Vidarbha has an arid topography with high temperatures, and other climatic conditions that favour the reptilian fauna. Very few researcher studied snakes diversity in Vidarbha, and hence there is a need to study ophidian fauna.  

The specimens were observed during the visit of the probable habitats or the rescuers  associated with different NGOs, photographed, and identified with the help of keys, and methods suggested by Daniel (2002) Whitaker, and Captain (2004) , and Khaire (2010).

In the present study, diversity of this ophidian fauna is identified, and found six families of snakes namely Typhlopidae, Pythonidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, , and Viperidae , and  represent 19 species. Out of the total identified species four venomous snakes, thirteen non-venomous, and two semi- venomous are reported during the month from August 2018 to March 2019. The habitats, and other ecological parameters along with the existence of ophidian form we can correlate in the future part of the study.  

Ophidian fauna, Venomous, Semivenomous, Nonvenomous, Amravati

1. Alford, R. A. & Richards, S. J. (1999), Global amphibian declines: a problem in applied ecology, Annual Review in Ecology and Systematics 30: 133-165. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ash A.N. (1996) Disappearance , and return of plethodontid salamanders to clearcut plots in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains Conserv. Biol., 11: pp. 983-989 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Baruh M. , and Sengupta S. (1996 a) Food , and feeding habits of Amphiesma stolatum (Linn). Annual Tech Session. Assam Sci. Soc. Jorhat, pp: 54. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bawaskar H. S. , and Bawaskar P. H. (1992) Treatment of envenoming by Mesobuthus tamulus (Indian Red Scorpion) Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 86: 459. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bawaskar H. S. , and Bawaskar P. H. (2002) Profile of snakebite envenoming in Western Maharashtra, India. Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 96(1): 79-84. DOI: 10.1016/50035-9203(02)90250. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Beaupre SJ, Douglas LE. (2009) Snakes as indicators , and monitors of ecosystem properties. In: Mullin SJ, Seigel RA, editors. Snakes: ecology and conservation. New York , and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press, 244–61. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bennett A. F., and Saunders D. (2002) Habitat fragmentation, and Landscape change, Conservation Biology for all PP: 88-99. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Chetty D. T. (2010) Diversity of Herpetofauna in , and around the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Bibechana 6:15-17 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. D’Abreu E. A. (1928) Records of Nagpur Museum No VI A list of the Reptiles of the Central Provinces, Govt. Press Nagpur: 1-13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Das, I. (1997) Rediscovery of Lipiniamacrotympanum (Stoliczka, 1873) from the Nicobar islands, India. Asiatic Herpetological Research, 7: 23-26. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Dhamankar, A. (2006) Aranya Vachan, Shri Vidya Prakashan, Pune. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Dodd, C. K., Jr., (1987), Status, conservation, , and management, in R. A. Seigel, J. т. in Collins, and S. S. Novak, eds., Snakes: Ecology , and Evolutionary Biology, MeGraw- Hill, New York, pp. 478-513. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Gibbons, J. W., Scott, D.E., Ryan, T. R., Buhlmann, K. A., Tuberville, T.D., Metts, B.S., Greene, J.L., Mills, T., Leiden, Y., Poppy, S., and Winne, C. T. (2000). The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians, Bioscience 50: 653-666. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Harney, N.V. (2011) Studies on snakes of Bhadravati, District Chandrapur (M.S.) India, Intern. Interd. Res. J. I (1): 12-17. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Inskipp Tim (1981) Indian Trade in Reptile skin, International Union For Conservation Of Nature, and Natural Resources Conservation Monitoring Centre. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. J.P. Gibbs (1998a) Distribution of woodland amphibians along a forest fragmentation gradient Landsc. Ecol., 13: 263-268 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Jamir, N.S. , and Lal, P., (2005), Ethnozoological Practices among Naga Tribes. Indian J. Traditional Knowledge, 4(1): 100-104. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Joshi Prasanna (2011) A Preliminary Survey on the Snakes of Buldhana district, Maharashtra, Golden Research Thoughts, Vol.1(2):1-4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. K.J. Martin, W.C. McComb (2002) Small Mammal Habitat Associations at Patch and Landscape Scales in Oregon Forest Science, 48: 255-264. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Khaire A. , and Khaire N. (1985) A list of snakes in neighbourhood of Poona, Maharashtra with some observations, Geobios News Reports 4: 112-114. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Khaire N. (2010 ) Snakes, Indian Herpetological Society, Pune. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Murthy, T. S.N. (1985) Classification and distribution of reptiles of India. The snake, 17(1): 48-71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. N, ande Raghvendra , and Deshmukh Sawan (2007) Snakes of Amravati disctrict including Melghat, Maharashtra with important records of the Indian egg eater, Montane trinket snake and Indian smooth snake, Zoos’ Print Journal Vol. 22 (12) pp: 2920-2924. DOI:10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.1653.2920-4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Negi, C.S. , and Palyal, V., (2007). Traditional Uses of Animal, and Animal Products . Indian J. Traditional Knowledge, 7(2): 326-329. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Petranka, J.W., Eldridge, M.E., Haley K.E., (1993) Effects of timber harvest on southern Appalachian salamanders Conserv. Biol., 7, 363-370 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Rage, J.C. (1987) Fossil History, In “Snakes Ecology and Evolutionary, v. Biology” (eds. Seigel, R.A- Collins, J.T. , and Novak S.S.), Macmillan publishing company, New York, 51- 76. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Steven J. Beaupre , and Lara E. Douglas (2009) Snakes as Indicators and Monitors of Ecosystem Properties, Snakes: ecology , and conservation, 244-261. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Tasoulis T., Isbister K.G, (2017) A review and database of snake venom proteomes. Toxins, 9:290. doi: 10.3390/toxins9090290. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Ufri, A. J. (1999). The snake conservation programme of Sundarvan Nature Discovery Centre, Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India): en evaluation. Zoos’ Print Jr 14: 7-10. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Vyas Raju (2013) Snake diversity , and voluntary rescue practice in the cities of Gujarat state, India: an evaluation Reptile RAP 15: 27-39. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Vyas, R. 1998. Notes on growth and maturity in Python molurus molusus, Hamadryad (23): 69-71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Wadatkar, J. (2004) Herpetofauna of the Amravati University campus, District Amravati, Maharashtra. Zoos’ Print Journal 19(2): 1381-1382. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Warrell David A. (2010) Snake bite, The Lancet, 375( 9708), 77-88. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61754-2. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Whitakar, R., Captain, A. (2004): Snakes of India. The field guide, Chennai, India: Draco Books, 500. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Whitaker, and Captain (2008) Snakes of India, The Field Guide, Zoos’ Print Journal, Chennai: 385. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. https://mahabal.com/deforestation- and-its-impact-on-biodiversity-in-India [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• "Towards GDP to GEP-Centric Model: A Proposed GEP Index Framework and Its Application in Haryana"
• Physicochemical Analysis of Petroleum Products in Selected Depots in Calabar Metropolis Cross River State and The Effects on Motor Engine
• Impact of Employee Welfare Measures on Workforce Well-Being in SBI: Insights from the Public Banking Sector
• Problem of Small-Scale Farmers in Agricutlure Sector in Tirunelveli Taluk
• Globalization, Economic Development, and Ecological Footprint in Tunisia: A QARDL Approach