Distribution of Ecnomus McLachlan, 1864 (Trichoptera, Ecnomidae) from the Lower Mekong River with a description of Ecnomus stungtrengensis new species

Trichoptera were surveyed from four different physiographic regions of the Lower Mekong River, including the Northern Highlands, the Khorat Plateau, the Tonle Sap Basin and the Mekong Delta in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.Twenty-three species of the genus Ecnomus, including a new species, were identified and mapped. Ecnomus mammus Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1993 is a common species which is found from Tonle Sab Basin and Mekong Delta. Ecnomus alkmene Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1997, E. volovicus Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1993 and Ecnomus quordaio Malicky, 1993 are the common species in the area of the Northern Highlands and the Khorat Plateau. Ecnomus plotin Malicky & Laudee 2010 is found in the Mekong Delta. Ecnomus triangularis Sun, 1997 is a new species record for Southeast Asia. In addition, E. stungtrengensis sp. n. is described and illustrated. The male genitalia of E. stungtrengensis sp. n. are clearly different from those of other species in the genus Ecnomus by the shape of superior appendages which are slender and bent downwards distally in lateral view

Clinical importance of the Mandalay spitting cobra (Naja mandalayensis) in Upper Myanmar – Bites, envenoming and ophthalmia

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Toxicon on 03/06/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.05.023 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Examination of 18 cobras brought to three hospitals in the Mandalay Region by patients bitten or spat at by them distinguished 3 monocled cobras (Naja kaouthia) and 15 Mandalay spitting cobras (N. mandalayensis), based on their morphological characteristics. We confirm and extend the known distributions and habitats of both N. mandalayensis and N. kaouthia in Upper Myanmar. Clinical symptoms of local and systemic envenoming by N. mandalayensis are described for the first time. These included local swelling, blistering and necrosis and life-threatening systemic neurotoxicity. More information is needed about the clinical phenotype and management of bites by N. mandalayensis, the commoner of the two cobras in Upper Myanmar. Since the current cobra antivenom manufactured in Myanmar has lower pre-clinical efficacy against N. mandalayensis than N. kaouthia, there is a need for more specific antivenom therapy.Published versio

The rediscovery of the Common Water Monitor Lizard Varanus salvator (Squamata: Varanidae) in northern Myanmar

On 09 June 2015, a Common Water Monitor Varanus salvator (Laurenti, 1768) was observed and photographed (Image 1) on the Campus of Banmaw University, Banmaw (Bhamo), Kachin State, Myanmar (24˚ 18' 15" N and 97˚ 15' 52" E). Subsequently, a second individual was observed 140 km to the west at Banmauk, Sagaing Division (24˚ 24' N and 95˚ 51' E). These two observations are the first records of Varanus salvator from Upper Myanmar since Anderson (1878). It would be interesting to conduct follow-up studies to determine whether this is indeed a relict northern population

White-throated Laughingthrush Garrulax albogularis in Imawbum, Kachin State: a first record for Myanmar

Between 1 December 2016 and 15 April 2017, during camera-trap surveys in the proposed Imawbum National Park in Kachin State, northern Myanmar (Meyer et al. 2017) we recorded White-throated Laughingthrush Garrulax albogularis on 16 occasions, the first time it has been recorded in the country (Plate 1). The area lies along the Chinese border and connects with the Gaolingongshan National Park in China; it is expected to be gazette as Imawbum National Park by the Myanmar government in 2019 (Meyer et al. 2017). Whitethroated Laughingthrush is common and widespread in Nepal and Bhutan, locally frequent in India, fairly common to locally common in China and uncommon in Vietnam (Collar & Robson 2019). As far as we are aware, the species has never been recorded previously from Myanmar

Some recent evidence of the presence of the Critically Endangered Gyps vulture populations in northern Shan State, Myanmar

Presence of the Critically Endangered Gyps vulture populations in northern Shan State, Myanmar. On 27 November 2018, we observed a flock of G. bengalensis, G. tenuirostris, and G. himalayanensis in Man Sant Village, Mong Yai Township, Northern Shan State, Myanmar. The most notable feature of our observation was the presence of G. bengalensis and G. tenuirostris: we could observe as many as 38 vultures of three species

Nonbreeding Bird Communities Along an Urban–Rural Gradient of a Tropical City in Central Myanmar

Urbanization is known to be a major driver in abundance and species richness of birds. However, how birds respond to urbanization in tropical cities is understudied in general and entirely absent from Myanmar. We conducted a study in and around Mandalay, a large city in central Myanmar to gather first data on birds and their response to urbanization.We selected four habitats with 10 sampling points each in November 2015. We made 1,536 observations of 68 bird species. The number of species and diversity significantly differed between the four localities. Mandalay Hill and Downtown Mandalay had the lowest number of species and diversity, whereas the University Campus and Paddy Fields had the highest. The highest number of observations was in Downtown Mandalay (1,003 counts) and the lowest on Mandalay Hill (103). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination techniques showed that the four habitat types had significantly different bird species composition. Our results indicate a large effect of urbanization on species diversity, species richness, and species composition of birds

First record of Bourret's Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus paradoxolophus (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from Myanmar with a review of the taxonomy, distribution and ecology of the species

Two specimens of Bourret’s Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus paradoxolophus, were recently collected from near Kalaw, western Shan State, Myanmar. They represent the first country record of the species as well as a considerable western range extension. A brief discussion of the taxonomic history of R. paradoxolophus is included along with a summary of its known ecology. The distribution is mapped and shows a correlation with areas of limestone karst

Results of a recent bat survey in Upper Myanmar including new records from the Kachin forests

Recent studies have shown the importance of Myanmar for the conservation of bat diversity. In March–April, 2003, twenty-five localities in Kachin and Shan States and Mandalay and Sagaing Divisions in Upper Myanmar were surveyed using mist nets and harp traps. Of the twenty-three bat species collected, thirteen were recorded from two localities in Kachin State, one of which has already been described as a new species, Kerivoula kachinensis, and a further two (a Rhinolophus and a Kerivoula) are putative new species. Murina tubinararis, Murina cyclotis and Rhinolophus shameli were recorded for the first time in Myanmar for over 65 years, while our records of Rhinolophus stheno and Rhinolophus malayanus are the most northern localities for these species in Myanmar. Species are discussed individually with external, cranial and dental measurements summarised. We also present descriptive statistics for echolocation calls recorded from five taxa. This represents the first bat survey of northern Myanmar forests for nearly 70 years. Kachin is already known to support high biodiversity and these recent records confirm the importance of its forests for the conservation of Myanmar's mammal fauna

A new species of Kerivoula (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae) from Myanmar (Burma)

A new species of Kerivoula is described. Currently, it is known only from Namdee Forest in southern Kachin State, Myanmar. Externally, superficially similar to Kerivoula papillosa and with a dentition comparable to that of Kerivoula lenis, it is distinguished by its flattened skull. It was collected in evergreen forest in an area that also includes some mixed deciduous forest, shifting cultivation, and bamboo groves