A note on opportunistic records of reptiles from the Moyar River Valley Landscape, Tamil Nadu, southern India

A comprehensive record of reptiles found in the Moyar River Valley Landscape (MRVL) is presented in this manuscript. The observations did not adhere to standardized survey methods, and are based on opportunistic encounters during our vegetation survey in different habitats of the MRVL between December ۲۰۱۷ and December ۲۰۱۹. A total of ۱۳۵ live individuals and ۳۱ road-killed specimens, representing ۳۷ species of reptiles were recorded of which two species are Vulnerable, ۱۳ are Least Concern and ۲۲ species are Not Evaluated in accordance with the criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The recorded species belonged to six families of lizards (Agamidae, Chamaeleonidae, Gekkonidae, Lacertidae, Scincidae, and Varanidae), six families of snakes (Colubridae, Elapidae, Erycidae, Pythonidae, Typhlopidae, and Viperidae), two families of chelonians (Geoemydidae, and Testudinidae), and one family of Crocodylia (Crocodylidae,). The road-killed specimens were recorded between the year ۲۰۱۸ and ۲۰۲۰ and come under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, ۱۹۷۲. Though the present work did not follow a specific survey method, the contribution provides baseline information on the reptile diversity of the MRVL and presents interesting findings from the Sathyamangalam and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves in north-western Tamil Nadu, India.

Keywords:

Checklist , conservation , diversity , protected area , reptiles , wildlife-vehicle collisions