Submitted date: 18 July 2014 Accepted date: 14 October 2014 Published date: 19 January 2015 Pp. 54–55.
Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) egg is hatched by a domestic hen
M. Sandeep, P. Srinivas, B.L Narayana* & D. Adimallaiah *Corresponding author. E-mail: narayana.laxmi8@gmail.com
Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, has been involved in captive breeding programmes, including eggs of silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) and golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) incubated by domestic hen (Gallus gallus domesticus). It proved successful in almost all cases. Here, we attempted to do the same for the sarus crane (Grus antigone), which is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, vulnerable species on IUCN Red List 2012, Appendix II of CITES, and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species. It is the largest bird in India and the tallest flying bird in the world.
Submitted date: 3 May 2014 Accepted date: 3 December 2014 Published date: 19 January 2015 Pp. 53.
Cannibalism in Ophisops microlepis (Lacertidae) in Rajastan, India
S. Vivek, K. K. Rakesh & K. K Sharma *Corresponding author. E-mail: sharmakeviv@gmail.com
Ophisops microlepis (Blanford, 1870), the Cutch snake-eyed lacerta, is a common and widely distributed lacertid in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan of western and central India. It is a fairly large diurnal lacertid having a SVL of 65 mm and a tail length of 145 mm.
Submitted date: 7 May 2014 Accepted date: 5 January 2015 Published date: 19 January 2015 Pp. 49–52, Pls. 20–21.
Fish die-off in the Attanagalu-Oya River, Sri Lanka: a provisional checklist of icthyofauna
H. Sudasinghe*, P. Suranga & D.M.S.S. Karunarathna *Corresponding author. E-mail: hsudasinghe@gmail.com
Attanagalu Oya basin is situated between the two major river basins Kelani and Maha Oya in Western province of Sri Lanka and has an extent of 779 km2. It plays a major role in national water supply since it contains four major national water supply and drainage board intakes. This short communication intends to provide a recent report of fish die-off in the Attanagalu Oya and also include provisional checklist of icthyofaunal diversity in the area. The fish faunal data were collected from the catches of fishermen using cast nets, and hooks. In addition, fish in shallow areas were sampled by using small trawl nets and hand nets. Freshwater fish species were identified and classified by using published field guides and recent taxonomic research papers.
Submitted date: 16 April 2014 Accepted date: 2 January 2015 Published date: 19 January 2015 Pp. 47–48, Pls. 18–19.
Range extension of Pethia nigripinna (Cyprinidae) to Karnataka, India
J.D.M. Knight*, A. Rai, R.K.P. D’souza & B. Vijaykrishnan *Corresponding author. E-mail: jdmarcusknight@yahoo.co.in
The black-finned barb, Puntius nigripinnis Knight et al., 2012 currently designated to the genus Pethia Pethiyagoda et al., 2012 is a little known barb described from the east flowing Cauvery River basin. The present knowledge on the range of Pethia nigripinna is based only from its original description, as there have been no subsequent records of this species from the Western Ghats. Until now, P. nigripinna is known to occur only in Kalindhi stream, Kabini River in Wayanad, Kerala and Kakkan halla, Moyar River, Tamil Nadu.
Submitted date: 14 May 2014 Accepted date: 20 July 2014 Published date: 19 January 2015 Pp. 45–46.
Velella velella (Hydrozoa) on the coast of Pakistan along the northern Arabian Sea
S. Gul *Corresponding author. E-mail: gulshahnawaz@yahoo.com
Taxonomic information on Hydrozoa from waters of Pakistan is limited to relatively few studies. None of them reported the pleustonic species Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758). Daniel (1976) reviewed the worldwide distribution of the two dimorphic forms of V. Velella (with the sail oriented either Northwest or Southeast), but no occurrences of the species were recorded in the northern Arabian Sea. The aim of this report is to record this hydrozoan found on the coast of Pakistan, as knowledge of its occurrence in the region is lacking in the scientific literature.