Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2023 | 15(9): 23917–23919
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8643.15.9.23917-23919
#8643 | Received 22
July 2023 | Final received 17 August 2023 | Finally accepted 22 August 2023
New locality record of the
Asiatic Long-tailed Climbing Mouse Vandeleuria
oleracea (Bennett, 1832) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae)
from Kohora River Basin, Assam, India
Sourav Gupta 1, Ramie
H. Begum 2, Jayanta Kumar Roy 3, M. Firoz Ahmed 4
& Shyamkant S. Talmale
5
1,3,4 Aaranyak, 13, Tayab
Ali Byelane, Bishnu Rabha
Path, Guwahati, Assam 781028, India.
1,2 Department of Life Science and
Bioinformatics, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Karbi Anglong, Assam 782460,
India.
5 Zoological Survey of India,
Western Regional Centre, Vidyanagar, Sector 29, Ravet
Road, PCNT Post, Pune, Maharashtra 411044, India.
1 souravassamwild@gmail.com, 2
ani.ara73@gmail.com (corresponding author), 3 roy.jayantakumar47@gmail.com,
4 mfa.aaranyak@gmail.com, 5 s_talmale@yahoo.co.in
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publication: 26 September 2023 (online & print)
Citation: Gupta, S., R.H. Begum, J.K. Roy, M.F. Ahmed & S.S. Talmale (2023). New locality
record of the Asiatic Long-tailed Climbing Mouse Vandeleuria
oleracea (Bennett, 1832) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae)
from Kohora River Basin, Assam, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(9):23917–23919.
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8643.15.9.23917-23919
Copyright: © Gupta et al. 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Aaranyak, IUCN-KfW, and USFWS.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We are
grateful to Rong Asar Amei, of Rongtara for permission
and support. We sincerely thank our field assistant Mr. Bimol
Rongpi and Mr. Rajib Hanse
for his help in the field. The author, SG, gratefully acknowledges receiving a
research stipend and field expenses support from Aaranyak
through funding provided by IUCN-KfW and USFWS.
Vandeleuria oleracea (Bennett, 1832) is a
‘Least Concern’ species belonging to the genus Vandeleuria
found in southern and southeastern Asia (Aplin & Molur 2017). Although Agrawal & Chakraborty (1980),
Agrawal (2000), and Srinivasulu & Pradhan (2003)
mention that Vandeleuria oleracea has
two subspecies, namely, V. o. oleracea from southern India and V. o. dumeticola from northern India, the present taxonomic
changes indicate that V. oleracea may be a species complex with
subspecies recognized by earlier workers synonymized under V. oleracea,
pending further studies (Musser & Carleton 1993, 2005; Srinivasulu
& Srinivasulu 2012; Wilson et al. 2017).
On 5 June 2023, during our
regular field survey, we encountered a small dead individual of a mouse at Rongtara Village of Kohora River
Basin, (26.53–26.60 0N & 93.33–93.43 0E; covering an
area of 31.50 km2) Karbi Anglong District, Assam (Figure 1). Morphological
measurements were taken (Head and body length: 60.66 mm; tail length: 100.31
mm; hindfoot: 14.12 mm, and ear length: 11.35 mm). The mouse was identified as Vandeleuria oleracea by its rusty brown
dorsum and white ventral coloration with the head and body length less than 100
mm, unicoloured tail, which was much longer, about
one and a half times the head and body length; hallux and fifth toe clawless;
fifth toe appeared to be opposable (Agrawal 2000) (Image 1).
The mouse was seen dead in the
Jhum plantation near a bamboo clump. Later that day, we conducted informal
interviews among the local community in Rongtara
Village and showed community members photographs of the species (Image 1).
According to the local community, the species is rarely seen in the forest
(Image 2). The species was known to them and they call it ‘Jukikso’
in Karbi dialect.
The only known record of Vandeleuria oleracea from Assam was from Angarkhata, North Kamrup
(Ellerman & Morrison-Scott 1951; Ellerman 1961; Molur
et al. 2005; Chatterjee et al. 2020; Talukdar et al. 2021). The new site record
from Rongtara Village is approximately 215 km from
the earlier report by Ellerman (1961) (Figure 1). The species inhabits
agricultural regions (Jhum) in close proximity to secondary bamboo forests.
This species is arboreal and exhibits nocturnal behavior, primarily consuming
fruits, buds, and flowers.
The present study reported the
new locality record from Karbi Anglong
that confirms its distribution in Assam and Northeast India with an addition of
a second confirmed locality in Assam.
Further studies on the ecology
and the habitat of the species are needed to understand the species’ habitat
requirements. Studies involving an integrative taxonomic approach including
phylogenetic studies will help resolve this species complex.
For
figure & images - - click here for full PDF
References
Agrawal, V.C.
(2000). Taxonomic
studies on Indian Muridae and Hystricidae
(Mammalia: Rodentia). Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional
Paper No. 180, viii+186 pp.
Agrawal, V.C.
& S. Chakraborty (1980). Intraspecific geographical variations in the Indian Long-tailed Tree
Mouse, Vandeleuria oleracea (Bennett). Bulletin
of the Zoological Survey of India 3(1&2): 77–85.
Aplin, K. & S. Molur (2017). Vandeleuria
oleracea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22845A22430846. Accessed on 22 August 2023. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T22845A22430846.en
Chatterjee,
P., D. Dam, B. Tripathy & K. Chandra (2020). Status, distribution, and
research gaps of rodents (Mammalia: Rodentia) in north-eastern states of India.
Travaux du Muséum
National d’Histoire Naturelle
“Grigore Antipa” 63(2):
261–277. https://doi.org/10.3897/travaux.63.e48607
Ellerman,
J.R. (1961). Rodentia.
Vol. 3., pp. 483–884. In: Roonwal, M.L. (ed.). The
Fauna of India including Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. Mammalia, 2nd
Edition. Manager of Publications, Delhi. Part 2, 884 pp.
Ellerman,
J.R. & T.C.S. Morrison-Scott (1951). Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals 1758–1946. British
Museum (Natural History), London, 810 pp.
Molur, S., C. Srinivasulu,
B. Srinivasulu, S. Walker, P.O. Nameer
& L. Ravikumar (2005). Status of South Asian Non-volant Small Mammals: Conservation
Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) Workshop Report. Zoo Outreach
Organization/CBSG-South Asia, Coimbatore, India, 618 pp.
Musser, G.G.
& M.D. Carleton (1993). Family Muridae, pp. 501–755. In: Wilson, D.E.
& D.M. Reeder (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and
Geographic Reference, 2nd Edition. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington D.C., xviii + 1206 pp.
Musser, G.G.
& M.D. Carleton (2005). Superfamily Muroidea, Order Rodentia, pp. 894–1531. In: Wilson, D.E.
& D.M. Reeder (eds.). Mammal Species of The World: A Taxonomic and
Geographic Reference, 3rd Edition, Johns Hopkins University
Press, Baltimore, 2141 pp.
Srinivasulu, C. & M. S. Pradhan (2003). Checklist of Murids (Mammalia:
Rodentia: Muridae) of South Asia. Zoos’ Print
Journal 18(12): 1286–1310. http://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.18.12.1286-310
Srinivasulu, C. & B. Srinivasulu
(2012). South Asian
Mammals. Their Diversity, Distribution, and Status. Springer, New York, 468 pp.
Talukdar,
N.R., P. Choudhury, R.A. Barbhuiya, F. Ahmad, D. Daolagupu & J.B. Baishya
(2021). Mammals of
northeastern India: an updated checklist. Journal of Threatened Taxa
13(4): 18059–18098. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6010.13.4.18059-18098
Wilson, D.E.,
T.E. Lacher & R.A. Mittermeier (2017). Handbook of The Mammals of
the World. Vol. 7. Rodents II. Lynx Edicions,
Barcelona, 1008 pp.