GOTUMB

i*
'%, *u:..

ts,

r*l w*

rssN - 0972-0847

Columban J. Life Scr.

Vol.10

No.1&2

9-14

2009

REPORT ON THE SNAKE FAUNAOFHAZARIBAGDISTruCI

JHARKHAND,INDIA
Satya Prakasht and M. Raziuddin2
INeo Human Foundation, College More, Hazaribag 825 301, Jharkhand' India ,University Depaftment of Zoology, vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag 825 3 0 I '

ABSTRACT
Ninteen species ofsnakes belonging to five families are recorded lrom clilferent parts of Hazaribag district of Jharkhar.rd. Out of these only six species v\2.. BtLngarus caeruleus' B fasciattts' (Gray) Naja naja, Daboia nLsselii'; Cryptelytrops albolabris total recorded species' and L'iriclovipera sp arevenomous Of the P.rthon molttrus (Linnaeus) is specified in Schedule I, Part Il of

49'24"N latitude. The average elevatiotl is 604 meters. It is a region of residuary 'hills and
intermountain valleys. lt is predominantly a forest district with about 36.05 % forest areas. The climate is moderate but tlie later part of December to early part of January have chilly days and night, the mercury dropping down to an average of 40C to 50C or even less. During peak summer (May) maxitnum
temperatttre shoots up to more than 400C' This region gets more thang0o/o of total rainfall from the monsoon during the rainy season. The average annual rainfall is 1234.5 mm. Between July to mid October prevails

Wildlii'e Protection Act 1972, while Amphiesma stolata (Linnaeus). Mcrcropisthodon plumbicoior (Cantor)'

.Xenochrophis piscalor (Schneider). Naja naja (Linnaeus) and Dctboia rttsselii (Shaw & Nodder) are in Schedule iI of Part II 'lhe IUCN statuses ofthe species are also provided'

Key words: Snakes, Jharkhand, Hazaribag, Nortli

Chhotarragpur. Fauna.

high Humidity.

INTRODUCTION
The reptile fauna of India is unique in its diversity' Sr-rakes belonging to the order Squamata are the most fascinating legless predators characterized by their elongated bodies covered with overlapping scales

MATERIAL AND METHODS A through survey of different areas of the district was made with a view to locate snakes between
2001-2009. lnformation received by Neo Humat.r Foundati on ( a Hazaribagbased NGO worki n g n th e
i

movable leitner smooth or keeled) and lacking eyelids and external ears. These feed upon live
animal prey and are widely distributed al1 over India' Like other reptiles of India, the snake fauna are

slorvly disappearing rnainly becattse of the growing their demancl for their skin in the intemational market,
habitats.

field of Wildlife Conservation) frorn different sources about the presence of any snake in and around Hazaribag were irnmediately looked into and the rescued snakes were identified and then handed over

to the Department of Forest and Environmellt

(Wildlife Division) Hazarlbag. Snake sticks were for rescuing the snakes safelY.
used

ruthless killing and destruction of their natural

Ahmad and Dasgupta (1991) have studied lizards and snakes of north Bihar but no such record is

available for north Chhotanagpur division of

Jharkhand. In the present papr an attempt has beBn made, perhaps for tlie first time, to record the snake fauna of Hazaribag district. It is based on our surveys

Photographs of the snakes were taken using Nikon D60 (SLR) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 cameras' Snakes were identified with the help of keys provided by Deoras (1970), Whitaker (1978), Daniel (2002) and Das (2008).

to different localitiesiareas of Hazaribag district

including forest areas ftom200'7 -2009
'

PHYSIOGRAPHY OF HAZARIBAG Hazaribag district of Jharkliand forms a part of

Chhotanagpur plateau and has an area of 5998 Km'?'

OBSERVATIONS ANN bTSCUSSION There are about 240 species of snakes in India of which only 52 species are venomous (Murthy and
Ravichandran,
Phone
1

998).

It lies between exteut from84a2l'E longitude to 850 29 "N latitude to 240 5 5' 32" E lon gitude and 230 25'

number' + 91 - 9934509213 I 993419098'7 e-mail- nhfsatya@hotmail.com, mrazi vbu@Bmail com 2009 Received I 7 October 2009; Accepted 1 4 November

SNAKE FALINA OF HAZARIBAG

PLATE. I

Fig: I . Ramphotyphlops braminus 2. Python molurus 3. Lycodon aulicus 4. Oligodon arnensis

Amphiesma stolats 6. Macropisthodon plumbicolor 7. Xenochrophis
10

5.

piscator

8.

Atretium schistosum

COLUMBAN J. LIFE SCr. VOL. 10 (t&2),2009

PI,ATF,-IT

;,t'

{F:

#'

l*
i.l:i

f4.

f,
i

,t

t6
Dendrelaphis tristis ll. Boigaforsteni L2. Bungarus caer,uleus 13. Bungarus fasciatus 14. Naja naja 15. Daboia russelii 16. Viridovipera sp.

Fig:

9. Ptyas mucosus 10.

11

SNAKE FATINA OF HAZARIBAG

'!

a o
tr
bo

o 6

"u
d
(d

d
LV a_ =o

J6 Aa :o

I
d 6 I

.T
U)

d 'J a
o

o o
d d

J a
od

z
E

o o
d

d !

.t> a= do d
ood ?6 ^a1 o)q

E
:!E

p, o
F

.l

o o 3
oa
L

J
.A

s
bo

o
o

z
J a j

a o

a E

o
Eo 6 J 6 g o

-v 6

>str ;O

d'

5U n

A
6 6

bo

o
d d
u0

o
-E rc

o
d

.2+

v,2

o
bt
d a

U)

fi> z";
"a +.<

o
3-

Eo
@

9.:
sF

o a

.d

i
Cm o
t^=

J !
E
I

a o

Jd o o.d Z o=
6
oo

o.

z
ic

z
d o

d o

E<

o o-

6
11

o
d

ids.

6 bo: c= Fi;
t

z
d q d t

6 E

tro
o d

d q d

;-s
a-

o;'

_do
E

LA
at^

9<
I f
U
q o =e6 oqE: o

.:2 E

d
I

gL
E
Qc

aU o,

Eq>
q

-9
.=!

_bo

dp

;ts
\

-O-d-

z 5<D

l?
!; Ep a)

aJ
EH

'&

-o oF: NJ

od ha
O

=t oi q?l '5 c(l EE -rl t,J

;l

:t

t/ OF

#il .tL -rl

Eel odl

=-l ;:l

r3l ='& oJ

it

ul
=l :-t ;FI

Z6
oo E oo
qq

E:
tk d

JI

o tO Ep

a-laa,

Eel AJ - -rl i5cl

E o

=
AJ

<nJ a

trci

!! E:
Ed ad

oJ a-

,&

pJ

,&

E: 66
aQ,
6

ss

7. o.=a 'ae

EZ e> z o a7.
=CcJ
il-:

7.

7.

7.

7.

Z
N I c.

zz
z
J

\
citr
7ld o
d :!d

d! cl
a
cd

Ha

:
E

56

dbr 6v.
ilA ad

E
E

oa
aa

l:< a
E9
E
q

u0

a.o d o

d7l

v
v d
! o o
J<

t
o

dcd rd :lv o

v
l-!

n
T
o
d d

EE
aa

u2
d

@t 60

o; :o 66

z
(,
I a
b0 ti N

>;

o
o

JZ

o o o
E

o o

o o 3o -d
d

E o

6 o g
-o

3 o

IZ

o q o o o

l!

Q6
d !

o )

o O

d .iz Ju od o o; oli o -:l

o
'o o

oo oo oo

9b

o d

trNd)

o
o o
O

o o 6

6
=

n
o o
't)

Q
o a

o J

o a

.9 t

a)

.a

\ o
$
o
q

J
o o

s
a.

o
o

/)
B

o o

i s

E a

o o o

a J
B

z
d
d

a\

a
B

CI

c
u
B

J
o

o d

(/)

c
s

o o
aa_

a so

B
U

a q)

\ s

\
U
60

o-

*l
d g

\ \

\
o
B

o,

\ \ \ o
9d

bo

t$

.o
B

ll

b0

B'

bo

o a

a
E o
!.1

o 6

\, =

+l

TR

\s

0
c)

o a F

o o
_)

az

.j

\
tz

COLUMBAN J. LIFE SCr. VOL. 10 (1&2),2009

In the past Herpetofauna of various parls of India have been studied by a number of workers viz,. Biswas and Sanyal (1977), Sharma (i982), Ahmad arrd Dasgupta (1992), Sanyal (1993, 1995), Das
(1991),Gyan (1999), Ingle (2002, 2003), Negi (2004),

localities in and around Hazaribag district Head Quarters were rescued, which after proper identification were handed over to the Deparlment of Forest and Environment (Wildlife Division), Hazaribag.

Chandra and Gajbe (2005) and others.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In Hazartibag district ofNorth Chhotanagpur
a

total

The authors are extremely thankful to Dr. Anil I(umar

of 1 9 speices of snakes belonging to 5 families viz., Typhlopidiae, (l sp.) Boidae (1 sp.) Colubridae (11 sp.). Elapidae (3sp.) and Viperidae (3 sp.) have been observed and identified (Table i) during the period 2001 to 2009. Further, of the Ninteen species reported here only Six species viz., Bungarus caeruleus, B. fasciatus, Naja naja, Daboia r u s s e I i i. C ryp t e ly tro p s a I b o I ab r i s and Vir id ov ip er a sp. (Figs. 12,13,14, l5 and 16) are venomous and the rest (Figs.1-1 1) are nonvenortous. Table I also shows the status of the snakes as specified in the Willd Life Protection Act (WPA), 1972 (as ammended up to date), IUCN status and their distribution. Python molurus (Linnaeus) as listed in Schedule I Part II of the WPA, 1972. Five
species of snakes viz., Atretium schistosum (Daudin),

Mishra, DFO, Wildlife Division,Hazarlbag for his help in manifold ways. We are also thankfulto Shri

B.R.Rallan, RCCF, Department of Forest &

Environmen t, Hazaribagand Sh ri Mahend ra Prasad, DFO, East Division, Hazaribagfortheir ever helping attitude and co-operation during the survey. Special thanks are due to Shri Murari Singh, member IBCN

(BNHS) and Neo Human Foundation for his

continued supporl and help.

REFERENCES
Ahmed, S. and G. Dasgupta 1991. Studies on tl're lizards ar.rd Snakes ofNorth Bihar. Records of the Zoological survev o/ IndiaSS(1):7 5-80.
Ahmed, S. and G Dasgupta 1992. Reptilia, pp. 1-65. |n; Stdte Fauna Series 3 ; Fattna of West Bengal, Part 2 . Zoological survey of Ind ia. Bisrvas, S. and D.P, Sanyal 1977. Fauna of Rajesthan. India. Reptilia. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 73. 247'
269. Chandra, K and P. Ga.1be 2003. New record of Ocellate Shield Tail Llropeltis oceLLata (Beddome), (Uropeltidae) frorn Pachmari Biosphere Reserve, Nladhya Pradesh. Cobra 52 l5-16. Chandra, K and Gajbe P.U. 2005. An Inventory ofherpetofauna ofMadhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Zoos' Print Journal 20(3):

Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider), lVaia naia (Linnaeus), Ptyas rnucosels (Linnaeus) and Daboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder) are specified in Schedule

II of Part II and thirteen species viz.,

Romphotyphlops braminus (Daudin), Lycodon aulicus (Linnaeus), Oligodon arnensis (Shaw), Antphiesma stolata (Linnaeus), Macropisthodon plumbicolor (Cantor), Argyrogena fctsciolata (Shaw). Dendrelaphis tristis (Daudin), Ahaetulla nasuta (Lacepede), Boigaforsten I (Dum. & Bibr.), Bunp;arus caeruleus (Schneider), Bungarus Jasciatus (Schneider), Cryptelytrops albolabris (Gray 1812) and Viridovipera sp.are specified in schedLrle lV of the WP{,1912.
So far as the green pit viper (also local name 'Basar

t8l2-18r9
Daniet, J.C, 2008. The Book of Indian Reptiles and Arnphibians. vi + 236 pp. Bontbay Natu'al I-Iistory Society, Oxford UniversiQ

Press, Mumbai.

Das,

I.

1997. Checklist

ol Reptiles of India with

English

Common names. Hamadryad 22:32-45.

Das, I . 2008. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. 4-142 pp. Om Books International, New
Delhi.
Deoras. P.J. 1970. Snakes of India. National Book'Irust, Ner.v

samp') listed at serial number 18 in table

concerned, we have not yet been able to identif species. This snake was observed for about half an hour and photographed in a small forest near Chharwa Dam area, a suburb of Hazaribag town. It closely resembled in all details with that of the Medo Pit Yiper (Viridovipera medoensis) described by Das (2008) except for the absence ofbicoloured white/red ventrolateral stripes. During the period ofsurvey nearly hundred snakes
,

is its

Delhi.
Gyan, N.C. 1999. Asynopsis of the reptiles of Gujrat, western Ind'ta. Hamadryad 24(1): 1-22.

Ingle, M.2002. Ecology and status pf eight districts ol Malrva region of Madhya Pradesh. Cobra 50: 1-77.

Ingle, M. 2003. A preliminary survey olthe herpetofauna of Naglok area, Jashpur. Chhattishgarh State. Cobra54: 1-5. Link: http :// jharenvis.nic. in/animals-j har.html Link: http://hazaribag. nic. in/page/hiehlights
1

.htm

both venomous and noltvenomous, from different

13

Murthi',T.$.5. and Ravichandran, M.S. 1998. Faunal Diversity in India: Reptilia. In 'Faunal Diversity in India' (Eds. J.R.B.

SNAKE FALINA OF HAZARIBAG

Alfred, A.K.Das and A.K. Sanyal), Zoological Survey of Inclia, Calcutta. pp 435-447. Conservation Areas No. 6: Fauna oflndravati Tiger Reserve. ZooIogical Snrvey of I ndia.
Sharma, R.C. 1982. Taxonomic and ecological studies on the reptiles ofGujrat. Record Zoological Survey oflndia 80: g51

Negi, H.S. 2004. First record of copperhead snake Elaphe radiate from N{adhya Pradesh. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
101(1):166.
Sanyal, D.P. 1993. Reptilia, pp. 51-74. In: State Fauna Series I: Fauna ofOrissa, Part 4, Zoological Survey oflndia.

06.

Whitaker, R. 1978. Common Indian Snake- A field Guide. xiii + 154 pp. Macmillan India Ltd., New Delhi.

Sanyal, D.P. 1995. Reptilia, pp. 17-83.

In; Fauna of

14