Fowlea tytleri ( Blyth, 1863 )
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5209.3.1 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BAB92ED9-AB04-49FE-9453-882CAB65D177 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7329635 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039487D5-FFE6-FFA3-5E80-F903FE49FC17 |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Fowlea tytleri ( Blyth, 1863 ) |
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( Figs. 6C & D View FIGURE 6 , 11C View FIGURE 11 )
Material studied: Four adults; CSPT/S-24 from South Andaman; CIARI uncatalogued from Sippighat, South Andaman ( Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 ); DOSMB 05067, an adult from Brookshabad, South Andaman; ANFD uncatalogued from Mayabunder, Middle Andaman.
Morphology: Three distinct and discrete colour morphs were observed during this study. One with distinctly striped pattern, bearing two dark stripes continuing from the eye-streak posteriorly throughout the length of the body on the brown background colour. The second morph with circular black blotches along the body, the third morph with large black checkered pattern with each check occupying about 7–8 scales. These patterns were neither correlated with age, sex of the individuals, nor the region of origin and hence, were just random variations that do not have any taxonomic value. Dorsal scales keeled, in 17:17–19:15–17 rows; ventrals 139–147; preventral 1; subcaudals 75–85, divided; preocular 1; postoculars 3; anal divided; supralabials 9 (4–5 entering orbit); infralabials 10 (1–6 contacting genials); temporals 2+3, loreal 1.
Distribution:An endemic species occurring throughout the Andaman Islands. Several individuals were recorded during this study from South, Middle, North and Little Andaman Islands, Rutland, Havelock, Long, Neil and Interview Islands from a variety of habitats ranging from human habitation, secondary forests, and littoral forests to primary evergreen forests. Often seen in freshwater bodies such as ponds and streams and found crossing roads in human habitation.
Remarks: This species is endemic to the Andaman archipelago. It was transferred from Xenochrophis Günther, 1864 to Fowlea Theobald, 1868 by Purkayastha et al. (2021). Köhler et al. (2021) synonymized F. tytleri with F. piscator (Schneider, 1799) based on a 16s phylogeny of some samples, which they regarded to be F. piscator , including those from Tanintharyi, Myanmar and some unknown locations, but did not include a topotypical sample of F. piscator from the eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. As Vogel and David (2011), while revising the genus Xenochrophis , restricted the type locality of F. piscator to ‘northern coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh state, eastern India’, the synonymisation of Tropidonotus tytleri with Hydrus piscator by Köhler et al. (2021) based on samples of the latter, that do not originate from the type locality is rejected here, and Fowlea tytleri is regarded as a distinct and valid species, endemic to the Andaman Archipelago (also see Amarasinghe et al. 2022).
Status: Common.
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