NOTES ON TYPHLOPS DIARDI SCHLEGEL, 1839, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SUBSPECIES
Muhammad Mahendra independent.academia.edu
NOTES ON TYPHLOPS DIARDI SCHLEGEL, 1839, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SUBSPECIES
Recently six species and subspecies of typhlopid snakes are described from Pakistan. Since description of most of the new taxa is published in Russian Journal of Herpetology, which is not available to most of the workers in Pakistan, present paper gives salient features of the new taxa to facilitate further work on blind snakes in Pakistan.

Checklist and key for identification of Pakistani snakes is presented, with notes on type locality and distribution in and outside Pakistan of each species. Snakebite problem in Pakistan is discussed and a key for identification of Pakistani venomous snakes is provided. Notes on zoogeography of venomous snakes are presented. INTRODUCTION Snakes are the most feared of the reptiles since the evolution of human conscious, and have evolked several cults and beliefs where snakes are revered. Temples are erected for snake worship, and snakes are interwoven in folklores and myths (Khan, 1993). More or less it was the state of knowledge befor Europeans invasion of the subcontinent. Local knowledge was based on fragmentary episodes and stories told by cattle herders and travellers who freely mixed facts with fiction to attract and impress people around or it was based on Arabian and Hindi literature, which was equally unscientific. Fearsome stories were told about firespitting dragons, snakes who change their form into humans and other after attaining age of hundred years, and snake the mere sight of which liquefies humans and animals, etc (Khan, 1993). When invading armies moved into jungles and uninhabited parts of the subcontinent, they soon realized the venomicity and paucity of factual knowledge about local snakes. Scientific studies on local snakes were started in ernest. Army personals,

With every growing human population and the resultant shrinkage of natural habitats, snakes are frequently encountered in and around human settlements, leading to widespread human-wildlife conflict. Conservation efforts involve rescue & relocation of &#39;stray&#39; snakes, to mitigate snakebites, human deaths & snake mortality. We utilized snake rescue data of Friends of Snakes Society, Hyderabad, Telangana, recorded between the years 1995 and 2020, to present an annotated snake checklist for Telangana, along with their distribution. Further, opportunistic encounters and temporary captive care of the rescued species yielded significant insights into habitat preferences, dietary choices, aposematic responses, breeding cycles, etc., of various species of this region.

Snakes are one of the most diverse vertebrates on the globe, mostly prefer arid zones. Nepal harbors a high unrecognized reptilian diversity. Information on the diversity and distribution of snakes in the western Nepal are derived from relatively from old literatures. This study updated the diversity and distribution of snakes from the Kaski district based on rescuing activities, field survey and literature review. Altogether 40 species of snake from five families were recorded in the Kaski district. The family Colubridae (70%) had the highest species diversity followed by Elapidae (12.5%), Viperidae (12.5%), Pythonidae (2.5 %), and Typhlopidae (2.5 %) respectively. Based on the IUCN global status of snake, 5 % are vulnerable, 5 % data deficient, 27.5 % are Least Concern and 62.5 % are Not Evaluated. Six species were found new distribution records in Kaski. Four species were the species listed on CITES II. Out of 40 species, 27.5% venomous (2.5 % were venomous but not fatal to human...