Chapter outline and page reference:
Introduction 296
Protozoans 297
Land Planarian 297
Flukes 297
Nematodes 297
Molluscs 298
Octracod 300
Scorpions 301
Spiders, Mites and Ticks 301
Dragonflies 302
Mantid 302
Termites 303
Scale Insect 303
Beetles 303
Flies 304
Butterflies 306
Ants 308
Some Invertebrates of Gir 309
Chapter preview (first three pages only):
Introduction
Other than the occasional cursory and taxonomically focussed surveys, almost nothing is known about what must be an exceeding rich invertebrate fauna of the Girnar area. It is inevitable that an area of natural, unalienated dry deciduous forest, spanning an altitude range of over 1000 m, as large and varied as the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, will be found to support a diversity of many thousands of invertebrate species, the most conspicuous and abundant of which will be arthropods, particularly insects and spiders, and it will undoubtedly be found to well deserve its categorization as a Rich Biodiversity Area (Pilo et al 1996). The subcontinent of India has an enormous invertebrate biodiversity, and may have a total of a few hundred thousand species, given that there are over 61,000 species of insects alone, so far recognised from the country (Goyal and Arora 2009, page 19).
Potential studies of the invertebrates at Girnar are obviously extremely numerous, but a start could be made on compiling diagnostically useful photographs of the species. A study of Girnar’s invertebrate biodiversity, with the aim of creating a list of the species present, is a very ambitious objective. Nevertheless, a start might be made with some of the more charismatic taxonomic groups. For instance, one attractive group of insects that generates much interest is the butterflies, and photographing these at Girnar would make for a valuable small-scale project by amateur entomologist enthusiasts.
A study of invertebrate species-diversity at Girnar that is likely to prove exceptionally fruitful is a microscope taxonomic study of the probably very large and varied assemblage of aquatic micro-organisms in a broad range of water storages of Girnar. Collection of water samples could very readily be obtained from a extensive variety of natural and man-made water sources, scattered widely across the Girnar Compound, such as wells, tanks, kunds, reservoirs, waterholes and waterways.
Protozoans
Das (2004) reported from the Junagadh District, Plasmodium falciparum (falciparum malaria parasite, malignant tertian malaria parasite), P. malariae (quartan malaria parasite), and P. vivax (benign tertian malaria parasite), all human parasites, infecting the blood, liver, kidney, spleen, bone marrow, brain, etc.
A study of cattle and buffaloes at Junagadh recorded the following protozoan parasites (Maharana et al 2015):
coccidia
Eimeria sp. (Family: Eimeriidae, Phylum: Apicomplexa, Kingdom: Chromalveolata),
Cryptosporidium sp. (Family: Cryptosporidiidae, Phylum: Apicomplexa, Kingdom: Chromalveolata),
ciliate
Buxtonella sulcata (Family: Pycnotrichidae, Phylum: Ciliophora, Kingdom: Chromalveolata).
Land Planarian
Kapadia (1947) reported that the land planarian Bipalium sylvestre (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria: Tricladida: Bipaliidae) was found in Junagadh town, at Motibag and Datar Manzil, in 1938–39, and on stones and tree trunks of the Girnar Hills in 1944. Bipalium species, hammerhead worms, are predators of earthworms, and are generally long and slender.
Flukes
A study of cattle and buffaloes at Junagadh recorded the following fluke parasites (Maharana et al 2015):
Fasciola sp. (Family: Fasciolidae, Order: Echinostomata, Class: Trematoda, Phylum: Platyhelminthes),
amphistomes (Family: Paramphistomatidae, Order: Echinostomata, Class: Trematoda, Phylum: Platyhelminthes).
Nematodes
A study of cattle and buffaloes at Junagadh recorded the following nematode parasites (Maharana et al 2015):
Toxocara vitulorum (Family: Toxocaridae, Order: Ascaridida, Phylum: Nematoda),
strongyles (Family: Strongylidae, Order: Rhabditida, Phylum: Nematoda),
Strongyloides sp. (Family: Strongyloididae, Order: Rhabditida, Phylum: Nematoda).
Molluscs
Benson (1858) described a new genus and species of small terrestrial mollusc, Camptonyx theobaldi (Gastropoda: Helicidae), from the central ridge of Mount Girnar. It coexists with a much larger mollusc species, Succinea girnarica