Herpetofaunal Diversity
and Conservation Status in Amchang
Wildlife Sanctuary of Assam, India
Jayaditya Purkayastha, Shubhadeep Roychoudhury , Bhim B. Biswa,
Madhurima Das and Saibal Sengupta
Abstract A bio-inventory of herpetofauna occurring in Amchang wildlife sanctuary
was made along with identification of perceived threats, the herpetofauna faces in
the sanctuary. During the study period 22 species of amphibians representing seven
families and 41 species of reptiles representing eleven families were encountered.
According to conservation concern based on categorization by IUCN redlist, amongst
amphibians a single species was vulnerable, four species were data deficient and the
rest were least concern and amongst reptiles, two species were vulnerable, 13 species
were least concern and the rest of 26 species were yet to be evaluated. According to
India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, 13 species of amphibians fall under Schedule
IV; five, three and twenty species of reptile come under Schedule I, schedule II
and Schedule III respectively. The remaining species are non-scheduled. The major
threats in the sanctuary includes habitat degradation, encroachment of forest land
and lack of people awareness regarding herpetofauna.
Keywords Herpetofauna · Amphibians · Reptiles · Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary ·
Guwahati
1 Introduction
Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary (Fig. 1) is situated at the eastern border of Guwahati city
between 91°49
54.46
E to 91°59
31.93
E and 26°6
22.14
N to 26°14
46.07
N with
elevation varying from 54 to 545 m ASL. The area of the sanctuary is about 78.64 km
2
which comprises Amchang Reserve Forest (53.18 km
2 ), Khanapara Reserve Forest
J. Purkayastha (B) · B. B. Biswa · M. Das
Help Earth, Guwahati, Assam 781007, India
e-mail: mail.jayaditya@gmail.com
S. Roychoudhury
Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar, India
S. Sengupta (B)
Assam Don Bosco University, Kamarkuchi, Sonapur, Assam 782402, India
e-mail: senguptasaibal@yahoo.co.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_9
217
and Conservation Status in Amchang
Wildlife Sanctuary of Assam, India
Jayaditya Purkayastha, Shubhadeep Roychoudhury , Bhim B. Biswa,
Madhurima Das and Saibal Sengupta
Abstract A bio-inventory of herpetofauna occurring in Amchang wildlife sanctuary
was made along with identification of perceived threats, the herpetofauna faces in
the sanctuary. During the study period 22 species of amphibians representing seven
families and 41 species of reptiles representing eleven families were encountered.
According to conservation concern based on categorization by IUCN redlist, amongst
amphibians a single species was vulnerable, four species were data deficient and the
rest were least concern and amongst reptiles, two species were vulnerable, 13 species
were least concern and the rest of 26 species were yet to be evaluated. According to
India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, 13 species of amphibians fall under Schedule
IV; five, three and twenty species of reptile come under Schedule I, schedule II
and Schedule III respectively. The remaining species are non-scheduled. The major
threats in the sanctuary includes habitat degradation, encroachment of forest land
and lack of people awareness regarding herpetofauna.
Keywords Herpetofauna · Amphibians · Reptiles · Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary ·
Guwahati
1 Introduction
Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary (Fig. 1) is situated at the eastern border of Guwahati city
between 91°49
54.46
E to 91°59
31.93
E and 26°6
22.14
N to 26°14
46.07
N with
elevation varying from 54 to 545 m ASL. The area of the sanctuary is about 78.64 km
2
which comprises Amchang Reserve Forest (53.18 km
2 ), Khanapara Reserve Forest
J. Purkayastha (B) · B. B. Biswa · M. Das
Help Earth, Guwahati, Assam 781007, India
e-mail: mail.jayaditya@gmail.com
S. Roychoudhury
Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar, India
S. Sengupta (B)
Assam Don Bosco University, Kamarkuchi, Sonapur, Assam 782402, India
e-mail: senguptasaibal@yahoo.co.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_9
217