Meliolaceae fungul species are biotrophic on the leaves and stems of plants and most species do not cause severe damage to the host plant. The genus Prataprajella Hosag. currently contains three species: P. turpiniicola (Hosag.) Hosag. 1992; P. subacuminata (W. Yamam.) B. Song & Y.X. Hu 1999; and P. rubi Hosag., C.K. Biju & T.K. Abraham 2005. I found an unknown fungal species infecting the leaves of Memecylon edule (Melastomataceae). Microscopic examination of the black mildew on the leaves revealed that it is a hitherto undescribed species. Hence, based on the host specificity and other morphological features, here I describe and illustrate a fourth species collected from Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary of Kozhikode District, Kerala, India.
[MycoBank#850802] Section Editor: Samantha C. Karunarathna
Submitted date: 9 January 2023 Accepted date: 7 November 2023 Published date: 18 November 2023 Pp. 101–103.
Are Indian foxes vulnerable in degraded habitat in North Gujarat?
P. Desai, V. Rabari* & N. Dharaiya *Corresponding author. E-mail: rabarivasant016@gmail.com
The Indian fox, Vulpes bengalensis (Shaw, 1800), one of the smallest canids, is restricted to the Indian subcontinent except the Western Ghats. They prefer dry vegetation cover including scrub, grassland and agricultural habitat where they can easily feed on rodents, crabs and insects. The Indian fox is listed in Schedule I under the Wildlife Amendment Act 2022 and classified as a Least Concern (LC) species by IUCN, which affords it less attention and a lower degree of protection compared to threatened species.
Submitted date: 29 December 2022 Accepted date: 29 October 2023 Published date: 18 November 2023 Pp. 98–100, pls. 27–28.
On the keeled box turtle (Cuora mouhotii) from reforested land in Vietnam
T.H. Thu Nguyen*, T. Thanh Nguyen, V.Q. Tran Le, S. Vo Thanh, K. To Dang & Yingshan Lau *Corresponding author. E-mail: hoaithu.nguyenhsht@gmail.com
The keeled box turtle (Cuora mouhotii Gray, 1862) is endangered and native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. First described in 1862 by Gray, its numbers have declined by 50-80% in the past 75 years, particularly in China due to harvesting. Other research has also shown that C. mouhotii is very rare in Myanmar and at risk in Laos. In Vietnam, C. mouhotii has been found in the mountainous areas from North Central to Central Vietnam such as Cuc Phuong National Park, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces, as well as in the Truong Son mountains as far as Quang Nam province in Central Vietnam. However, the population of C. mouhotii in Vietnam has also decreased significantly because of overexploitation and habitat destruction.
Submitted date: 19 February 2023 Accepted date: 29 October 2023 Published date: 18 November 2023 Pp. 96–97, pl. 26.
Sightings of the witch (Lepidoptera: Araotes lapithis) in Northeast Bangladesh
T. Akhter*, A. Ullah, M.S. Siam, H. Naher, S. Biswas & K. Mree *Corresponding author. E-mail: taniaaktar733@gmail.com
Biogeographically situated between the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese subregions, Bangladesh is home to over 400 species of butterflies. Lacking sufficient surveys of butterflies, the distribution and occurrence of many species in the country are still not well known. Hence, reports on the sightings of any poorly known butterfly species may help to develop a baseline for designing precise research and open windows for conservation efforts. The global distribution of the witch (Araotes lapithis Moore, 1858) butterfly ranges throughout south and southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia. There are few records of the species from different states of northeast India including Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, and West Bengal.
The Indian millipede fauna is diverse with many families and genera but remains seriously underexplored. Among the families of the order polyzoniida, Siphonotidae is the only family to have reports from the southern hemisphere. The tropical tramp species of this family, Rhinotus purpureus (Pocock, 1894) shows a cosmopolitan distribution. It has been repeatedly described as a new species leading to more than a dozen synonyms. It is designated as a common tramp species as it is frequently found in green houses and other synanthropic habitats from many different parts of the world including Kew Gardens in England, green houses in Germany, Central America and Southern USA, Comoro Islands, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands. The present study provides the first record of R. purpureus, from the Indian subcontinent.