Fauna of Andhra Pradesh: Reptilia, Amphibia and Fishes (Part I)

"There is very little information about reptilian fauna of Andhra Pradesh. Sharma (1971 recorded 34 species of reptiles from Nagarjunasagar of Andhra Pradesh and besides some scattered records by Annandale (1906, 1912, 1915), Beddome (1870), Bhaskar (1982), Biswas (1984), Boulenger (1890), Constable (1949), Daniel et. al. (1983, 1985, 1986), Das (1991), Dutt (1979), Ganapati et. al. (1952), McCann (1945), Moll et. al. (1986), Murthy (1980, 1986), Sharma (1969, 1976), Rao (1991) and Smith’s works on the reptile fauna of India (1931, 1935, 1943), no other consolidated faunal account on the reptiles from the state as a whole is available. So, this will be first detailed account on the reptilian fauna from the state as a whole is available. The present work on Andhra Pradesh reptiles is based largely on the extensive collections in the Zoological Survey of India made during faunistic surveys between the years 1962 to 1988. A few examples collected prior to that and available with the named collections of reptilia section have also been utilized. It comprises 837 examples belonging to 78 species, 56 genera and 18 families. Out of which 55 species have actually been collected from the above region by the various survey parties of the Zoological Survey of India, and the rest 23 species are known otherwise from adjacent region and are likely to occur in the state have also been included in this paper."