Addressing Wallacean shortfall using small sampling approach: a case study with endemic Lycodon flavicollis (Squamata: Colubridae) Mukherjee & Bhupathy, 2007

Abstract

Delineating species distribution comprising information on habitat suitability is vital for developing conservation strategies. Like many other snake species, Lycodon flavicollis is a poorly studied peninsular Indian endemic species known only from few locality records. We used MaxEnt following the small sampling approach to determine the probable distribution of the species. We found that the majority of the predicted area falls under Deccan Peninsular (Central Plateau and Deccan South) region of India followed by parts of Western Ghats. Isothermality and mean temperature of wettest quarter had considerable influence on the predicted distribution range of the species. The findings of the present work show that our modelling approach may help in identifying new areas where this species may occur. We discussed the usefulness of this approach in determining potential distribution of data deficient species such as L. flavicollis. Additionally, we have also provided significant information on morphology and natural history to enrich our current knowledge on the species.

Keywords

• Deccan plateau
• Distribution modeling
• Lycodon
• Ophidia
• Covert species
• Small-sample approach