Morphometry and Aspects of Breeding Biology of Trachischium guentheri Boulenger, 1890 (Serpentes: Colubridae) in North Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India

Basundhara Chettri, S. Bhupathy, Bhoj Kumar Acharya

Abstract


Aspects of life history and morphometry of Günther’s oriental slender snake Trachischium guentheri (Boulenger, 1890) was studied along the Lachen and Lachung valleys of North Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India during 2003 – 2005. A total of 360 snakes were observed in 1026 man-hours of time constrained visual encounter surveys. Females were significantly larger (t = 3.19, df = 144, P < 0.01) and heavier (t = 3.04, df = 144, P < 0.01) than the males. Tail was longer in males compared to females having the same snout vent length (ANCOVA; F = 21.42, P < 0.001). Size structure of this species was unimodal right-skewed favoring adults. Both males and females showed normal distribution with respect to size classes (Z = 0.548, P > 0.05; Z = 0.813, P > 0.05) respectively. Encounter rate was highest during June – July. At ten locations, 2 – 130 eggs were found in piles under boulders, fallen logs and roots covered with mosses indicating communal egg laying. Clutch size of this species was 1 – 4 and highest number of nests and eggs were observed during August.

Keywords


Trachischium guentheri; size structure; morphometry; communal egg laying; Sikkim; Eastern Himalaya; India

Full Text:

PDF

References


Anonymous (2006), www.bcreptiles.ca, Contia tenuis (Sharp tailed Snake).

Adolph S. C. and Porter W. P. (1993), «Temperature activity and lizard life histories», Am. Naturalist, 142, 273 – 295.

Bauer A. and Günther R. (1992), «A preliminary report on the Reptile fauna of the Kingdom of Bhutan with the description of a new species of Scincid Lizard», Asiatic Herpetol. Res., 4, 23 – 36.

Bhupathy S. and Nixon A. M. A. (2002), «Communal nesting of Cnemaspis indica in Mukurthi National Park, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats, India», J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 99, 330 – 332.

Blueweiss L., Fox H., Kudzma V., Nakashima D., Peters R., and Sams S. (1978), «Relationships between body size and some life history parameters», Oecologia, 37, 257 – 272.

Chettri B. (2007), Distribution and Resource Use Patterns of Reptiles Along the Teesta Valley, Eastern Himalayas, Sikkim, India. Ph.D. Thesis, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India.

Daniel J. C. (2002), The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians, Oxford Univ. Press, Mumbai.

Fisher R. A. (1930), «The genetical theory of natural selection», in: Sexual Reproduction and Sexual Selection. Chapter VI, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 123 – 131.

Forsman A. and Shine R. (1995), «Parallel geographic variation in body shape and reproductive life history within the Australian scincid lizard Lampropholis delicate», Funct. Ecol., 9, 818 – 828.

Gibbons J. W. and Semlitsch R. D. (1987), «Activity patterns», in: Seigel R. A., Collins J. T., and Novak S. S. (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Vol. II, Macmillan Publ. Co., New York, pp. 396 – 421.

Gower D. J. and Winkler J. D. (2007), «Taxonomy of the Indian snake Xylophis Beddome (Serpentes: Caenophidia), with description of a new species», Hamadryad, 31(2), 137 – 151.

Heyer W. R., Donnelly M. A., McDiarmid R. W., Hayek L. C., and Foster M. S. (1994), Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity: Standard Methods for Amphibians, Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington.

Joy J. E. and Crews D. (1988), «Male mating success in red-sided gartersnakes: size is not important», Anim. Behav., 36, 1839 – 1841.

Keogh J. S., Branch W. R., and Shine R. (2000), «Feeding ecology, reproduction and sexual dimorphism in the colubrid snake Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia in southern Africa», Afr. J. Herpetol., 49(2), 129 – 137.

Kindlemann P., Dixon A. F. G., and Dostálková I. (1999), «Does body size optimization result in skewed body size distribution on a logarithmic scale?», Am. Naturalist, 153, 445 – 447.

Krysko K. L., Sheehy C. M., and Hooper A. N. (2003), «Interspecific communal oviposition and reproduction of four species of lizards (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the lower Florida Keys», Amphibia–Reptilia, 24, 390 – 396.

Lillywhite H. B. (1987), «Temperature, energetics, and physiological ecology», in: Seigel R. A., Collins J. T., and Novak S. S. (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Vol. II, Macmillan Publ. Co., New York, pp. 422 – 477.

Madsen T., Shine R., Loman J., and Håkansson T. (1993), «Determinants of mating success in male adders, Vipera berus», Anim. Behav., 45, 491 – 499.

McFarland D. (1998), Animal Behaviour, Psychobiology, Ethology and Evolution. Third Edition, Longman Scientific and Technical, Harlow, UK.

Mushinsky H. R. (1987), «Foraging ecology», in: Seigel R. A., Collins J. T., and Novak S. S. (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Vol. II, Macmillan Publ. Co., New York, pp. 302 – 334.

Mittermeier R. A., Gill P. R., Hoffman M., Pilgrim J., Brooks T., Mittermeier C. G., Lamoreux J., and da Fonseca G. A. B. (2005), Hotspots Revisited: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions, CEMEX, Mexico.

Myers B. C. and Eells M. M. (1968), «Thermal aggregation in Boa constrictor», Herpetologica, 24, 61 – 66.

Oda W. Y. (2004), «Communal egg laying by Gonatodes humeralis (Sauria, Gekkonidae) in Manaus primary and secondary forest areas», Acta Amazon., 34(2), 331 – 332.

Parker W. S. and Plummer M. V. (1987), «Population ecology», in: Seigel R. A., Collins J. T., and Novak S. S. (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Vol. II, Macmillan Publ. Co., New York, pp. 253 – 301.

Seymour R. S., Vleck D., and Vleck C. M. (1986), «Gas exchange in the incubation mounds of Megapode birds», J. Comp. Physiol., 156B, 773 – 782.

Shah K. B. and Tiwari S. (2004), Herpetofauna of Nepal: a Conservation Companion, IUCN, Katmandu Nepal.

Shine R. and Bull J. J. (1977), «Skewed sex ratios in snakes», Copeia, 1977(2), 228 – 234.

Shine R. (1986), «Sexual differences in morphology and niche utilization in an aquatic snake, Acrochordus arafurae», Oecologia, 69, 260 – 267.

Shine R. (1994), «Sexual dimorphism in snakes revisited», Copeia, 1994, 326 – 346.

Shine R., Harlow P. S., Keogh J. S., and Boeadi (1998), «The allometry of life-history traits: insights from a study of giant snakes (Python reticulatus)», J. Zool., 244, 405 – 414.

Shine R., Olsson M. M., Moore I. T., LeMaster M. P., and Mason R. T. (1999), «Why do male snakes have longer tails than females?», Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., 266, 2147 – 2151.

Shine R., Olsson M. M., Moore I. T., Lemaster M. P., Greene M., and Mason R. T. (2000), «Body size enhances mating success in male garter snakes», Anim. Behav., 59, 4 – 11.

Smith C. C. and Fretwell S. D. (1974), «The optimal balance between size and number of offspring», Am. Naturalist, 108, 499 – 506.

Smith M. A. (1943), The Fauna of British India: Reptilia and Amphibia, including the whole of the Indo-Chinese region. Serpentes. Vol. III, Taylor and Francis, London.

Vitt L. J. (1987), «Communities», in: Seigel R. A., Collins J. T., and Novak S. S. (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Vol. II, Macmillan Publ. Co., New York. pp. 335 – 365.

Wallach V. (1988), «Status and re-description of the genus Padangia Werner, with comparative visceral data on Collorhabdium Smedley and other genera (Serpentes: Colubridae)», Amphibia–Reptilia, 9, 61 – 76.

Willson J. D. and Dorcas M. E. (2004), «Aspects of the ecology of small fossorial snakes in the western Piedmont of North Carolina» Southeast. Nat., 3(1), 1 – 12.

Winne C. T., Dorcas M. E., and Poppy S. M. (2005), «Population structure, body size, and seasonal activity of Black Swamp snakes (Seminatrix pygaea)», Southeast. Nat., 4(1), 1 – 14.

Zar J. H. (1999), Biostatistical Analysis. Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall Int., NJ, pp. 475 – 485.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2009-16-3-177-182

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


You can subscribe to the print or electronic version of the journal on the site of EastView Company. If you have any questions, please write to the email sales@ivis.ru