“Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram is rich in biodiversity, especially with the inhabitants of lowland tropical evergreen forests,” Abhijit Das of the WII and corresponding author of the study told EastMojo.
The study, which is the result of two separate field surveys in March and September 2021, was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
The authors of the study titled ‘An updated checklist of reptiles from Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram, India, with sixteen new distribution records’, include Abhijit Das, faculty in the department of Endangered Species Management at WII; Malsawmdawnglianais, researcher in the Department of Environmental Sciences at MU; Bitupan Boruah, researcher at WII, Naitik Patel, PhD student at WII; Samuel Lalronunga, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Zoology, MU; Isaac Zosangliana and K. Lalhmangaiha, naturalists interested in herpetology.
While the herpetological season in the Northeast is the monsoon period, June-July, the survey was conducted before and after monsoon.
The researchers surveyed the region for four days each in March and September, the off-peak herpetological season, and found 33 species of lizards and snakes. Of these, approximately 16 species were recorded for the first time in the protected area.
“With the updated checklist of Dampa’s reptilian diversity, the species richness now stands at an astounding 54 species,” Das said.
Emma Forest Lizard (Photo Credit: Abhijit Das) Systematic herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians of the region) reports from the protected areas of the state were until now only partially available in the Nengpui Wildlife Sanctuary and Dampa Tiger Reserve. The study, however, addresses the unknown richness of reptile species in Dampa Tiger Reserve and presents an updated checklist of the reptile fauna.
“I feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Very shy and secretive, very seasonal, fossorial or largely arboreal species to be recorded,” Das said, who believes that many will now depend on local herpetologists to keep an eye for the rarest ones.
Snake species reported for the first time in DTR include Hebius khasiensis, Rhabdophis himalayunus, Smithophis bicolor, Smithophis atemporalis, Boiga ochracea, Boiga quincunciata, Oligodon cf. cinereus, Oligodon dorsalis, Dendrelaphis cyanochloris, Ahaetulla flavescens, Pseudoxenodon macrops, Pareas monticola, Naja kaouthia, Bungarus fasciatus, Trimeresurus erythrurus, and Agyrophis diardiiwere.
The map of Dampa Tiger Reserve highlights the headquarters village of two ranges, ie Teirei village and Phuldungsei village. Located in the Mamit district of Mizoram on the Bangladesh border, the natural vegetation of Dampa Tiger Reserve is tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest. The region also has one of the last remaining natural low- to mid-elevation forests in western Mizoram.
The study was conducted in Phuldungsei and Teirei. In the Phuldungsei range, surveys were made on the Saithah road to Phuldungsei and in the Teirei range, surveys were made on the Teirei road to Damparengpui village. Both route segments form the boundary between the core and the DTR buffer.
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Visual encounter surveys and opportunistic searches were also deployed to assess the reptilian diversity during the survey period. Data on road-kill specimens found during the survey period were also recorded.
In the present study, 10 species of lizards from four families and eight genera; 23 species of snakes from seven families and 16 genera have been documented. Among the 33 reptile species, one species was identified as ‘Near Threatened’, one species was recorded as ‘Data Deficient’ and the rest were identified as ‘Least Concern’ or ‘Not Assessed according to the IUCN Red List’.
Banded Krait (Photo credit: Abhijit Das) Mizoram is the southernmost state in northeast India and part of the India-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot. Low to medium elevation hill slopes and abundant forested areas are contributing factors to its native biodiversity. Reptilian diversity in the state so far includes more than 60 species of snakes.
The first attempt to document the herpetofauna of DTR was made about two decades ago, which recorded 22 species of amphibians, 16 species of lizards, seven species of snakes, and four species of cheloneans.
“The maximum number of encounters during the study was recorded in roadside vegetation, forest trails and rivers flowing along the road while there were many encounters in the oil palm plantation,” the study noted.
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He said the expansion of road networks is one of the biggest threats to wildlife as a result of habitat destruction and population fragmentation.
Studies show the impact of roads as manifested in direct wildlife mortality through wildlife-vehicle collisions. Vehicle collisions are a major cause of mortality for a wide variety of herpetofauna.
Bicolor Snake (Photo Credit: Abhijit Das) “During the survey in DTR, the researchers observed a gravid female that died on the road Trimeresurus erythrurus . As much as the road connectivity is essential for the communities living in the fringe villages of the DTR, detailed study of the impact of the roads on DTR wildlife in general and herpetofauna in particular, will help in formulating mitigation measures, “researcher associated with the study said.
The researchers hoped that the inventory of local herpetofauna diversity presented in this study will ultimately contribute to the understanding of biodiversity and will be valuable information for policy makers.
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