Mysore State Research Articles

A guide to the identification of all stages of the Haemaphysalis ticks of South India

Investigations of the natural history of the virus of Kyasanur Forest disease since its discovery during 1957 in Shimoga District, Mysore State, south India have concentrated much attention on ticks of the genus Haemaphysalis in the region, as virus has repeatedly been isolated from them.Keys are provided for larvae, nymphs and adults of both sexes of the 14 species of Haemaphysalis that have been taken in the area, with supplementary comments on six other species of the genus recorded, or likely to occur, elsewhere in south India. Illustrations are given showing the characters of the larvae and nymphs that are used in the keys.

A bio-ecologial study of Nuggikari lake in Dharwar, Mysore State, South India

The bio-ecological conditions of a perennial piece of water, called Nuggikari lake in Dharwar, Mysore State, were investigated for one year from the view-point of regional limnology of South India. The lake is filled with rain water during the south-west monsoon and a part of the north-east monsoon season from a lateritic catchment area containing cultivated land. The inter-relationship existing between the physico-chemical variables and the biological conditions are discussed. The water is turbid and reddish during June to November when the majority of the algal organisms found is Chlorophyceae with a dominance of Desmids. Later, the water becomes pale-green to dark-green when blue-green algae become abundant in summer. The figures for albuminoid nitrogen and oxygen are then highest.

Cosmic-ray intensity measurements deep undergound at depths of (800÷8400) m w.e.

An experiment has been carried out to investigate the variation of vertical cosmic-ray intensity with depth in the range (800÷8400) m w.e. Counter telescopes with plastic scintillator layers and Geiger counter trays, kept in the horizontal plane and in coincidence, were employed. The experiment was carried out in the Kolar Gold Fields (Mysore State, India). The results obtained at depths of 816, 1812, 3410, 4280, 6380 and 8400 m w.e. are given.

Conflict and Interlocal Festivals in a South Indian Region

In Yadgiri Tahsil, an administrative subdivision of Mysore State, many villages stage annual fairs or festivals in honor of local deities. These festivals, known locally as “jātras,” usually involve the enactment of ritual, competition between villages, public entertainment, commercial activities, and feasting and celebrating. Description of the jātra as an “interlocal festival” emphasizes its distinguishing feature, the entertainment of reified guest villages by an equally reified host village. Participants in a jātra consist of guests representing neighboring villages and of hosts representing the village where the jātra is held. Comparison of the jātra with such cultural features as the American county fair, the Creek Indian ball game, the Olympic games, the Mexican fiesta, Pueblo Indian ceremonials, and medieval European tournaments may well, at a later date, make possible the establishment of the concept of interlocal festivals as a basis for cross-cultural generalizations. For the present, four jātras held in Yadgiri Tahsil will be described and some of their possible functions suggested.

Haemaphysalis cornigera shimoga subsp. n. from Southern India (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae)

Males, females, nymphs, and larvae of Haemaphysalis cornigera shimoga subsp. n. are described from southwestern India where Kyasanur Forest disease occurs. A combination of characteristics of some of the bizarre spurs and projections in this population readily distinguishes the subspecies from several others (some of which remain to be described) elsewhere in continental Asia and nearby islands. Population samples of Haemaphysalis cornigera shimoga subsp. n. from Shimoga District, Mysore State, India, where Kyasanur Forest disease occurs (Work, 1958), have been compared with numerous others from different areas of continental Asia and nearby islands. It has become apparent that this bizarrely spurred species forms a series of clines that may be distinguished, characterized, and named as subspecies. Some of these are more structurally variable than others. The purpose of the present brief paper is to characterize and define the Indian population in order to make this name available for use in biological studies awaiting publication. The H. cornigera complex as a whole will be dealt with more thoroughly in a subsequent report. Haemaphysalis cornigera shimoga new subspecies The Indian Multispurred Haemaphysalid

Haemaphysalis kyasanurensis sp. n., a Member of the formosensis Group in Southern India and Ceylon (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae)

Haemaphysalis kyasanurensis sp. n. is described from adult and immature stages from areas of southwestern India where Kyasanur Forest disease occurs and from Ceylon. This species is compared with syntype adults of H. formosensis Neumann of Formosa, a closely related species for which a diagnosis is provided, and with other samples from Assam and Burma. Adult palpi of the new species have a small, abrupt basolateral salience that is lacking in H. formosensis. Immature stages of the new species have more salient palpi than adults. Haemaphysalis kyasanurensis sp. n. is described from males, females, nymphs, and larvae from areas of Shimoga District, Mysore State, India, in which Kyasanur Forest disease was first discovered in 1957 (Work, 1958) and from Ceylon. A diagnosis of syntype adults of H. formosensis Neumann is provided as a baseline for establishing differences between these two species, which are part of a cline in which H. kyasanurensis sp. n. of high rainfall areas of southwestern India and Ceylon is distinctly separated from H. formosensis of high rainfall areas of Formosa and Southeast Asia. Haemaphysalis kyasanurensis sp. n. The Kyasanur Forest Haemaphysalid

The Sensitivity of the Taxes of the New Mysore State

The Sensitivity of the Taxes of the New Mysore State

Status and Descriptions of Haemaphysalis p. papuana Thorell (n. comb.) and of H. papuana kinneari Warburton (n. comb.) (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae) of Southern Asia and New Guinea

This study was undertaken in order to determine the correct name and relationships of tick populations previously referred to as Haemaphysalis papuana in epidemiological studies on Kyasanur Forest disease in Mysore State, India, and to establish a comparative baseline for delineating several closely related, undescribed Asiatic species. The male and female of H. papuana papuana Thorell, 1883, n. comb., are redescribed, and the nymph is described for the first time. Type material in the Genoa museum was studied, as well as other samples from New Guinea and nearby islands, Java, Sumatra, Sarawak, Malaya, Thailand, and the Philippines. Wild pigs are the chief hosts of adults. The closely related H. papuana kinneari Warburton, 1913, n. comb., of southern India was previously known by only a single female which was also examined for this study. All stages of the subspecies kinneari are described from samples from Mysore State, India. These taxa comprise a separate complex related to the H. bispinosa group. The adults have compact palpi with a dorsobasal spur or plate on segment 3 while the immature stages have basolaterally salient palpi. Haemaphysalis papuana Thorell, 1883, was described and figured from a male and a female specimen from New Guinea. Several authors have applied this name to various ticks from southeastern Asia and the East Indies. This species was not considered by Warburton (1913) in his description of H. kinneari based Received for publication 11 October 1963. *From Research Project MR005.1402.3, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department, Washington 25, D. C. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the naval service at large. t Entire costs of printing this paper have been paid by the Rockefeller Foundation. t Staff Member, the Rockefeller Foundation, Virus Research Centre, Poona, India. The Virus Research Centre is jointly maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Rockefeller Foundation. ? Department of Medical Zoology, United States Naval Medical Research Unit Number Three, Cairo, Egypt, UAR. 1I Department of Entomology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Formerly at Virus Research Centre, Poona, India. on a single female specimen from an Indian

Sample Villages of Mysore State, India

Sample Villages of Mysore State, India

On the possibility of experiments with natural neutrinos deep underground

Measurements on the cosmic-ray muon intensity at very large depths underground (up to a maximum depth of 8400 mwe) were recently carried out in the Kolar Gold Fields (Mysore State, India). The penetrating component deep underground consists primarily of atmosperic'' muons which arise from the decay of pions and kaons produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. Experiments were carried out involving natural neutrinos deep underground using parallel detector layers in coincidence mounted vertically and with exposures of the order of 10/ sup 4/ m/sup 2/-days. (R.E.U.)

Thermal study of some manganese oxide and hydrous oxide minerals

The minerals manganite, pyrolusite, ramsdellite, cryptomelane, psilomelane, braunite, lithiophorite and woodruffite from Sandur manganese ore deposits, Bellary District, Mysore State, which have been investigated by microscopic, chemical and X-ray methods (Naganna, 1963) are subjected to thermal study through differential thermal analysis and gravimetric thermal analysis. The hydrous oxides of manganese undergo dehydration below 400° C. and subsequent changes follow later. Most of the minerals containing MnO2 thermally react in two stages, one at about 600° C. and the other beyond 800° C. The thermal behaviour of pyrolusite is seen to be similar to that ofβ MnO2, while the thermal behaviour of ramsdellite is found to be similar to those ofα orγ MnO2. Further the study suggests that ramsdellite may change over to pyrolusite below 500° C.

Animal Remains from Brahmagir (Mysore State, India)

Animal Remains from Brahmagir (Mysore State, India)

X-ray study of woodruffite from Sandur ore deposits, Mysore State, India

SummaryThe mineral woodruffite, which has so far been reported from only one locality, Sterling Hill, New Jersey, has been found to occur in the Sandur area. Its physical and chemical characters are given. Indexing of the X-ray powder photograph shows that the mineral is most probably tetragonal with a 8·42, c 9·28 Å.

Tumor Inhibitors II: Alkaloids of Ervatamia dichotoma. Isolation, Crystallization, and Pharmacological Properties of Coronaridine

Extraction of the fruit, root bark, and stem bark of <i>Ervatamia dichotoma</i> (Roxb.) Blatter from Mangalore, Mysore State, afforded substantial yields of alkaloids. Column chromatography of the petroleum ether-extractable alkaloids yielded coronaridine, which was obtained in crystalline form for the first time. Preliminary pharmacological testing in a variety of pharmacologic procedures revealed that the alkaloid mixtures and coronaridine possess interesting biologic activities.

Business Organization, Caste and Technical Change in a Fishing Community

THE fishing communities in India are caste-cum-occupation groups. Caste, apart from the technique of fishing plays an important part in production organization of the fishing industry. The degree of necessary labour co-operation, varies from technique to technique, and depends upon the size of the required operational unit of the organization. When new techniques are introduced, they lead to a change in the organizational set-up. It is the object of this paper to study these organizational changes that occurred, from time to time, in the fishing industry of a coastal village in South Kanara district of Mysore State.

Stone Age Tools from Mysore State

Stone Age Tools from Mysore State

Haemaphysalis megalaimae sp. n., a New Tick from the Small Green Barbet (Megalaima viridis) in India

Haemaphysalis megalaimae sp.n. is described from males, females, nymphs, and a larva collected from small green barbets (Megalaima viridis Boddaert) taken in Shimoga District, Mysore State, India. The species appears to be host-specific on the small green barbet. It is closely related to the Haemaphysalis hoodi-doenitzi-centropi group of bird parasitizing haemaphysalids but differs in several distinct morphological features. While studying ticks of birds of Shimoga District, Mysore State, South India, several adults, nymphs, and one larva of a distinctive Haemaphysalis tick were collected from the small green barbet Megalaima viridis. In consultation with Dr. Harold Trapido and Dr. Harry Hoogstraal these were recognized as close to, but differing from, Haemaphysalis centropi Kohls, 1949. The species has thus far been found only on one host species, Megalaima viridis, and is named for this genus of birds. In the following description measurements given are the averages from three specimens. Haemaphysalis megalaimae sp. n. Holotype: Male, A 27957, collected on small green barbet Megalaima viridis from Sagar (elevation approx 1,900 feet), 1 February 1960. Allotype: Female, A 36352, collected on Megalaima viridis from Gilalagundi (elevation approx 1,800 feet), 28 July 1960. Paratypes: Specimens listed in Table I other than the holotype and allotype. The holotype and allotype are deposited in the collection of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, Montana. Paratypes will be deposited in the collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, the Virus Research Centre, Poona, the British Museum (Natural History), and the collection of Harry Hoogstraal. Male (Figs. 1, 2, 5 to 8) Body: Length from tips of palpi to posterior margin, 1.62 mm. Width, 1.11 mm. Brownish yellow in color, ovoid, widest at about the level of the spiracle. Capitulum (Figs. 5, 6): Length from tips of palpi to tips of cornua, 0.37 mm. Length of basis, 0.17 mm. Width, 0.31 mm. Dorsal basis finely punctate, rectangular, lateral margins slightly divergent anteriorly, width about twice the length. Cornua moderate, sharp. Ventral basis broadly rectangular, with external corners rounded. Dorsal internal margins of palps straight. Palpal article 2 v ry salient laterally, flared, basal margin semicircular in outlin . Basal margin dorsally broken midway between inner and outer margins by commencement of more heavily chitinized distal portion of margin. Lateral margins acutely recurved from basolateral salience approximately to the level of juncture between articles 2 and 3, thence converging to moderately rounded apex. Palpal articles 2 and 3 subequal in length, dorsally and ventrally. A posteriorly directed short, broad, triangular, bladelike spur situated at the distal margin of palpal article 3 on the ventral side. Three to four infrainternal bristles on article 2 and two infrainternal bristles on article 3, situated near ventral spur. Hypostomal teeth 5/5 apically, diminishing to 3/3 proximally, about ten per file. Length of hypostome 0.17 mm. Scutum: Length, 1.41 mm. Punctations fine, numerous, and evenly distributed. Prominent lateral grooves, beginning at a point between legs II and III and continuing posteriorly across two festoons on either side. Scapulae acute. Cervical grooves moderate, deep anteriorly, and slightly diverging posteriorly. Festoons long, well separated, eleven in number. Spiracular plate (Fig. 7): Ovoid in shape, without dorsal process. Genital aperture: At level of coxa II. Legs: Coxae I to III with short ridgelike projections, that of coxa I larger and more prominent than II and III. Coxa IV with a short triangular spur. Distinct dorsal spur on trochanter I; trochanters I to III with weak ventral spurs, decreasing from I to III. Tarsi as illustrated in Figure 8. Received for publication 18 December 1962. * The Virus Research Centre is jointly maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Ootacamund in the Nilgiris: Some Notes

THE TOWN OF OOTACAMUND in the Nilgiri Hills in South India was a foundation of the English early in the 19th century. The hills are in fact a mountainous plateau, some 40 miles long by 15 miles broad, at the junction of the ranges of the Eastern and Western Ghats, and higher than either of the ranges at that point. The Nilgiri summits go over 8,000 feet, high above the plains to the north and east. The plateau is excessively rugged, composed of many small ranges and many peaks, with many steep, narrow valleys between them. The eastern and northeastern part of the plateau is in general some 1,000 to 1,500 feet lower than the remainder. Ootacamund is roughly in the middle of the plateau, just to the west of the short Doddabetta-Snowdon range which is part of the line of demarcation between the higher and lower levels and which in Doddabetta contains the highest of the Nilgiri peaks (some 8,640 feet). From shortly after its foundation Ootacamund was the most important of the health-restoring and playground hill stations founded by the English in South India for the use of the governing classes of the Madras Presidency, Mysore State, and even more distant parts of South India. Since Independence also, it has retained some of its usefulness for some governmental activities and as a playground. Its early history has been recorded in a number of books, especially H. B. Grigg (and others), A Manual of the Nilagiri District in the Madras Presidency (Madras, Government Press, 1880) and Sir Frederick Price, Ootacamund, a History (Madras, Government Press, 1908).1 Both of these are based in part on early government files, government gazettes, and Madras journals, and probably there is little more to be gleaned from such sources. However, even yet, not everything that might be gained from aboriginal oral sources has been put on record. The present notes on several small points come from such sources and in one way or another supplement the large accounts. They are based on linguistic and ethnological fieldwork done on the Todas, one of the aboriginal communities, in the years 1935-1938. What is presented here was recorded only incidentally to the chief interests, and it is evident that at some points inquiry was not pushed far enough. It is evident, too, that inquiry among the Badagas, another of the communities of the area, would add something-in fact, would solve completely the second point examined.

Mysore State: Volume I, An Atlas of Resources. By A. T. A. Learmonth and L. S. Bhat. Indian Statistical Series No. 13, New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. xii, 291. Maps, Tables, $16.50.

Mysore State: Volume I, An Atlas of Resources. By A. T. A. Learmonth and L. S. Bhat. Indian Statistical Series No. 13, New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. xii, 291. Maps, Tables, $16.50. - Volume 21 Issue 4

Mysore State: Volume I, An Atlas of Resources. By A. T. A. Learmonth and L. S. Bhat. Indian Statistical Series No. 13, New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. xii, 291. Maps, Tables, $16.50.

Mysore State: Volume I, An Atlas of Resources. By A. T. A. Learmonth and L. S. Bhat. Indian Statistical Series No. 13, New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. xii, 291. Maps, Tables, $16.50.