Abstract
Reptile surveys were conducted in the Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh during 3-10 December 2006 and 16-19 February 2007. Sixteen species of reptiles (10 lizards and 6 snakes) were observed. Distribution data for three little known species of reptiles, Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus, Calodactylodes aureus and Uropeltis ellioti are provided.
Highlights
JoTT NoteThree little known reptile species from the Araku Valley, Eastern Ghats with notes on their distribution
Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus (Beddome, 1870) Three specimens of Hemiphyllodactylus were observed on hilltops (1400m)
Based on the reduced number (2) of paired lamellae beneath the 4th toe, bolder dorsal patterns, brighter orange-red tail ventrally and males possessing nine preanal pores, these specimens were identified as Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus (Images 1-2)
Summary
Three little known reptile species from the Araku Valley, Eastern Ghats with notes on their distribution. The Eastern Ghats represent broken and isolated hills of the Deccan Plateau, unlike the continuous mountain range of Western Ghats of the southwestern India. These hills (11003’-22003’N & 77002’- 87002’E) extend over 1750km from south of the Chota-Nagpur Plateau, Orissa to the southwestern Peninsula in Tamil Nadu (Mani 1974). They are included under 6C Eastern Highlands of the Deccan Plateau, one of the biologically richest Biogeographic Zones of India (Rodgers et al 2008).
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