Catalogue of Indian Herpetological Specimens in the Thiruvananthapuram Natural History Museum, Kerala, India

Abstract

We catalogued entire, fluid-preserved, voucher specimens of native Indian amphibian and reptilian specimens in the Thiruvananthapuram Natural History Museum (TNHM), Kerala, India. We inventoried and found a total of 153 species, comprising of 1 caecilian, 96 anurans, 11 saurians, 44 serpents and 3 chelonians. Barring a few recently deposited / described primary and secondary types of some rhacophorid frogs (Ghatixalus, Mercurana, Raorchestes) and gekkonid lizards (Cnemaspis), most are non-type specimens. The collections almost wholly come from within Kerala, including both historical and recent materials deposited. A few materials are those procured by exchange, or purchased or collected from elsewhere in India (e.g. Pondicherry; Tamil Nadu). Most of the recent collections are anurans collected by two noted batrachologists Drs. Sujith V. Gopalan and Anil Zachariah plus their parties. Most of the snake and a few lizard collections were century old historical material collected from Thiruvananthapuram by a pioneering naturalist H.S. Ferguson.