Abstract
Rashtrapati Bhavan Estates is a large semi-natural area comprising significant patches of secondary forest, cultivation, wetlands and parks in the heart of Delhi, the capital city of India. An inventory of herpetofauna was undertaken from May 15 to July 31, 2015, which revealed four species of amphibians and eight of reptiles. One reptilian species—Striped Keelback—was a new record for the Delhi region. In addition, secondary records of the presence of five snake species were obtained. Given the paucity of published data on natural history of the national capital, this annotated species checklist assumes importance and will be of use for urban planning and conservation.
Highlights
Today, amphibians and reptiles are among the most threatened groups of vertebrate fauna (Böhm et al 2013)
A total of 12 species of herpetofauna were recorded in the Rashtrapati Bhawan (RB) Estates in this study
The presence of five additional species of reptiles were reported by the gardening staff— the Common Indian Monitor Varanus bengalensis, the Common Krait Bungarus caeruleus, Russell’s Viper Daboia russelii, Red Sand Boa Eryx johnii and the Rat Snake Ptyas mucosa—but were not recorded by us
Summary
Amphibians and reptiles are among the most threatened groups of vertebrate fauna (Böhm et al 2013). 32.5% of amphibians and 19% of recorded reptile species are Red Listed and have been assigned threatened status (Stuart et al 2008; Böhm et al 2013). A large number of taxa are as yet datadeficient; the actual numbers of threatened species may be higher (Stuart et al 2008). There are 417 amphibian species in India (AmphibiaWeb 2018; Frost 2017). Herpetofaunal taxa, are distributed in all the biomes in India from grasslands to the high Himalaya
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