Rameshwaran, M.

Sayyed, Amit

English

The University of Kansas: Journals@KU

Recent sightings of the Malabar Toad, Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther 1876), from Tamil Nadu, India

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 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS  •  25(2):142–144 •  AUG 2018Recent Sightings of the Malabar Toad, Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther 1876),  from Tamil Nadu, IndiaM. Rameshwaran1 and Amit Sayyed21Reptile Conservation of India (RCI), No: 9/98, Dr. Chelladurai Nagar, Krishnapuram, Tirunelveli – 627 011,Tamil Nadu, India (mrameshwaran@gmail.com)2Wildlife Protection and Research Society, 40, Rajaspura Peth, Satara, Maharashtra 415002, India (corresponding author: amitsayyedsatara@gmail.com)142IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS  •  VOL15, NO 4  •  DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTST A B L E  O F  C O N T E N T SF E A T U R E  A R T I C L E S Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198R E S E A R C H  A R T I C L E S The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas .......................  Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida  .............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212C O N S E R V A T I O N  A L E R T World’s Mammals in Crisis  .............................................................................................................................................................   220 More Than Mammals  ......................................................................................................................................................................   223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity  ...........................................................................................................................................   225H U S B A N D R Y Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon  ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226P R O F I L E Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology  ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234C O M M E N T A R Y The Turtles Have Been Watching Me  ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238B O O K  R E V I E W Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young  ..............................................................................................................  Robert Powell 243 CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS:   Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports  .................................  245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS:   Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History .................................  247 NEWBRIEFS  ......................................................................................................................................................................................  248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION  .....................................................................................................................................................  251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION:   A Project You Can Support  ...............................................................................................  252Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, asIRCFREPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N  A N D  N AT U R A L  H I S T O R YCopyright © 2018. M. Rameshwaran. All rights reserved. WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTI SANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALThe Malabar Toad, Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther 1876), also known as Günth r’s Toad (Fig. 1), is a rare Indian endemic (Biju et al. 2004). Recent studies (Satyamurthi 1967; Thurston 1888; Pillai and Ravichandran 1991; Daniels 1992; Chandramouli et al. 2011; Adimallaiah et al. 2012; Kalaimani et al. 2012; Srinivasulu et al. 2013) cited records from Vishakhapatnam, Nellore, and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh; from Nalgonda, Telangana, Krishnagiri, Villupuram, and two sites at Vellore in Tamil Nadu; and from Bannerghatta and Ramanagara in Karnataka; all are in the Eastern Ghats. Herein, we document a new southernmost locality in Tamil Nadu (Fig. 2). On 24 October 2013, MR visited the historic Chithannavasal (10°27'59.53"N, 78°44'0.42"E; elev. 127 m), Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu. At about 1810 h, he encountered seven toads on rock boulders near the stairs and on the rock wall near naturally flowing water. Considerable rain had fallen two days prior to this sighting. Subsequently, at 1800 h on 14 February 2014, a return to the site revealed no toads. The surrounding grassy area had burned. Again, on 12 September 2017, both authors visited the site and encountered four toads at about 1830 h near puddles and in grassy patches. T e toads were examined (not collected) and identified as Duttaphrynus hololius. We also saw Common Fig. 1. A Malabar Toad (Duttaphrynus hololius) encountered at Chithannavasal, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu. Photograph by M. Rameshwaran.IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324143Indian Treefrogs (Polypedates maculatus) and Five-fingered Frogs (Euphlyctis sp.). Habitat in the area (Fig. 3) is a boulder-strewn mountain slope with thorny scrub, small to medium-sized trees, grassy patches, and shallow puddles. Uncontrolled tourism and fires started inadvertently (or intentionally) likely pose substantive threats to this population.AcknowledgementsWe are thankful to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Government of India, Tamil Nadu; the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu; and Mr. K. Ramnath Chandrasekar, Co-Founder, Youth for Conservation (YFC), for help in the field; and to Mr. Brawin Kumar for his constant encourage-ment of MR.Literature CitedAdimallaiah, D., V.V. Rao, and G. Surender. 2012. Report of Günther’s Toad Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther, 1876) from Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh. Cobra 6: 8–11.Biju, S.D., S. Dutta, K. Vasudevan, S.P. Vijayakumar, C. Srinivasulu, and G. Dasaramji Buddhe. 2004 (errata version published in 2016). Duttaphrynus hololius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T54665A86102727 (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/54665/0).Chandramouli, S.R., S.R. Ganesh, and N. Baskaran. 2011. On recent sightings of a little known toad, Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther, 1876) with notes on its morphological characterization and ecology. Herpetology Notes 4: 271–274. Daniels, R.J.R. 1992. Range extension in some south Indian amphibians. Hamadryad 17: 40–42.Kalaimani, A., A. Nath, and R.B. Kumar. 2012. A note on the records of rare and endemic Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther, 1876). Frog Log 18: 27–30. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS  •  25(2):142–144 •  AUG 2018RAMESHWARAN AND SAYYEDFig. 2. Map of peninsular India showing the distribution of the Malabar Toad (Duttaphrynus hololius).Fig. 3. Habitat at Chithannavasal, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu where Malabar Toads (Duttaphrynus hololius) were encountered. Photograph by M. Rameshwaran.144 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS  •  25(2):142–144 •  AUG 2018RAMESHWARAN AND SAYYEDPillai, R.S. and M.S. Ravichandran. 1991. On a rare toad Bufo hololius Günther from Nagarjunsagar, Andhra Pradesh. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 88: 11–14.Satyamurti, S.T. 1967. The South Indian Amphibia in the Collection of the Madras Government Museum. Madras Government Museum, Madras, India.Srinivasulu, B., S.R. Ganesh, and C. Srinivasulu. 2013. New regional record and notes on historical specimens of Günther’s Toad Duttaphrynus hololius with comments on other southeastern Indian congeners. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5: 4784–4790.Thurston, E. 1888. Catalogue of Batrachia, Salientia and Apoda (Frogs, Toads and Cœcilians) of Southern India. The Superintendent, Government Press, Madras, India.

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Recent sightings of the Malabar Toad, Duttaphrynus hololius (Günther 1876), from Tamil Nadu, India

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