Mahendra Devanda

During the July 2025 monsoon season, Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803), a parthenogenetic fossorial snake species belonging to the family Typhlopidae, was opportunistically recorded from two separate locations - Cheethwari and Kaladera villages in Jaipur district, Rajasthan. In both instances, individuals were observed on the surface of moist soil following nocturnal rainfall, suggesting rainfall-induced emergence behavior. The first sighting occurred on 22 July 2025 in Cheethwari village, and the second on 30 July 2025 in Kaladera village. Both specimens measured approximately 7-13 cm in length and displayed typical worm-like morphology with indistinct heads and tails. These incidental records represent new locality data for I. braminus within semi-arid, human-modified agro-ecosystems in eastern Rajasthan. The observations highlight the ecological influence of rainfall on subterranean reptile activity and underline the importance of documenting such rare, cryptic species to better understand their distribution and behavior. According to the IUCN Red List, the conservation status of this species is Least Concern.

DOI: 10.22271/23940522.2025.v12.i4b.1118

Pages: 116-118  |  223 Views  50 Downloads