Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.
+91-0135-2646205
abhijit [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in
About
My academic qualification includes a PhD in Zoology from Utkal University, Orissa and M. Sc from Gauhati University, Assam. I got interested in the study of reptiles and amphibians while pursuing my bachelor degree in zoology.
My primary research interest includes morphological and molecular systematics, biogeography and conservation. I wish to initiate herpetofaunal inventory and monitoring programme for the protected areas of India to generate information on diversity and endemism. My long time research interest lies in understanding evolutionary origin and diversification of Himalayan herpetofauna.
Education
PhD in Zoology from Utkal University, Orissa
MSc from Gauhati University, Assam
Research Interest
Systematics
Macroecology
Cladistic Biogeography
Publications
Boruah, B., Narayanan, S., Aravind, N. A., Lalronunga, S., Deepak, V., & Das, A. * (2024). Description of six new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northeastern India. Vertebrate Zoology, 74, 453-486.
Nawani, S., Goswami, D.S., Das, A., Banerjee, K., & Das, A. * (2024). Home range and seasonal movement of Nanorana vicina (Stoliczka, 1872)(Anura: Dicroglossidae) in Himalayan streams, India. Journal of Wildlife Science, 01-06.
Gerard, J.D., B. Boruah, V. Deepak & Das A* (2024). First record of two species of venomous snakes Bungarus suzhenae and Ovophis zayuensis (Serpentes: Elapidae, Viperidae) from India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(6): 25385–25399. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8935.16.6.25385-25399
Jain A, Akshay V.A, Deepak V, Das A, Barnes P, Tapley B, 2024. Using local ecological knowledge to determine the status of Cantor’s giant softshell turtle Pelochelys cantorii in Kerala, India. Oryx.;58(3):300–9. doi:10.1017/S0030605323001370
Padhy, S.P., Vassa, C.N., Anand, D., Das, P., Jha, R.R., Das, A*. and Gopi, G.V., 2024. Herpetofauna diversity in and around Gautam Buddha and Koderma Wildlife sanctuaries of Jharkhand, India. Herpetology Notes, 17, pp.639-652.
Patel, N.G, Boruah,B, Narayanan, S and Das A * 2023 First record of Amolops beibengensis Jiang et al., 2020 from India, along with a detailed morphological description. Herpetology Notes, volume 16: 865-875 (2023) (published online on 25 November 2023).
Boruah, B, Narayanan S, Gerard JD, Das A* & Deepak V. (2023) Discovery of a new species of dwarf frog (Anura: Ceratobatrachidae: Alcalus) extends the northwestern distributional limits of the genus to Northeast India, Systematics and Biodiversity, 21:1, 2249891, DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2023.2249891
Boruah, B., Deepak, V., Patel, N. G., Jithin, V., Yomcha, T., & Das, A*. (2023). A new species of green tree frog of the genus Gracixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the evergreen forest of Northeast India. Vertebrate Zoology, 73, 557-574
Boruah, B, Deepak V & Das A* 2023 Musicians in the marsh: a new species of music frog (Anura: Ranidae: Nidirana) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Zootaxa 5374 (1): 051–073
Gautam KB, Kumar A, Das A, Gupta SK (2023). Himalayan upliftment and Shiwalik succession act as a cradle for divergence in Bengal monitor lizard Varanus bengalensis (Reptilia: Varanidae) in India. Cladistics. doi:10.1111/cla.12542
Dolia, J., Das, A., & Kelkar, N. (2023). House-warming: Wild king cobra nests have thermal regimes that positively affect hatching success and hatchling size. Journal of Thermal Biology, 112, 103468.
Boruah, B., Narayan, S. Deepak, V., ans Das, A* . 2022. Morphological and molecular differences in two closely related Calotes Cuvier, 1817 (Squamata: Agamidae: Draconinae) with the first record of Calotes medogensis Zhao & Li, 1984 from India. Zootaxa. 5219(5): 433-45
Malsawmdawngliana, Boruah, B., Patel, N.G., Lalronunga, S. Zosangliana, I., K. Lalhmangaiha & Das, A* . 2022. An updated checklist of reptiles from Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram, India, with sixteen new distribution records. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 14(10): 21946–21960
Jithin, V. And Das, A. 2022. Deaths of overwintering Nanorana sp tadpole due to desiccation during check dam maintenance in a Western Himalayan Stream, India. Herpetological Bulletin. 162: 23-25.
Das, A. Gower, DJ, Narayanan, S. Pal, S. Boruah B. Sanjay Magar, Das, Moulick, S. Deepak, V. 2022.Rediscovery and systematics of the rarely encountered Blue- bellied kukri snake (Oligodon melaneus Wall, 1909) from Assam, India. Zootaxa 5138 (4): 417–430
Jithin, V., J. A. Johnson and Das A., 2022. Understanding the influence of check dam and season on habitat use to develop habitat suitability criteria for overwintering tadpoles of Nanorana spp. River Research and Applications 38(9):1629-1641
Jithin V, Johnson JA, Das A 2022. Influence of check dams on the activity pattern and morphometric traits of overwintering tadpoles in the Western Himalaya. Limnologica 95:125992
Deepak, V., Cooper, N., Poyarkov, N.A., Kraus, F., Burin, G., Das, A., Narayanan, S., Streicher, J.W., Smith, S.J. and Gower, D.J., 2021. Multilocus phylogeny, natural history traits and classification of natricine snakes (Serpentes: Natricinae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
Das, A, Smith, E.N., Sidik, I., Sarker, G.C., Boruah, B., Patel, N., Murthy, B.H.C.K. and Deepak, V., 2021. Hidden in the plain sight: a new species of Rhabdophis (Serpentes: Natricinae) from the Rhabdophis himalayanus complex. Zootaxa, 5020(3), pp.401-433.
Patel, N.G., Garg, S., Das, A., Stuart, B.L. and Biju, S.D., 2021. Phylogenetic position of the poorly known montane cascade frog Amolops monticola (Ranidae) and description of a new closely related species from Northeast India. Journal of Natural History, 55(21-22), pp.1403-1440.
Lalronunga, S., Lalhmangaiha, K., Zosangliana I., Lalhmingliani E., Gower D.J., Das, A., Deepak, V. 2021. A new species of Stoliczkia Jerdon, 1870 (Serpentes: Xenodermidae) from Mizoram, India. Zootaxa. 4996 (3): 569-580. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4996.3.9 [1.09]
Deepak, V., Lalronunga, S., Lalhmingliani, E., Das, A., Narayanan, S., Das, I. and Gower, D.J., 2021. Phylogenetic relationships of xenodermid snakes (Squamata: Serpentes: Xenodermidae), with the description of a new genus. Vertebrate Zoology, 71, p.747
Rathore, R.S. Pati, J., Das, A., Pandav, V., 2021. Population status and distribution of Mugger Crocodile Crocodylus palustris in Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha, India. The Herpetological Bulletin. 156:28-30
Nawani S, Deepak V, Gautam K. B., Gupta, S. K., Boruah, B. and Das A* . 2021. Systematic status of the rare Himalayan wolf snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906. (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa 4966 (3): 305–320 [1.09]
Muliya, S.M, Nath A, Kumar G.C, Visvanathan A, Selvan M,v Gowda R, Santra V, Das, A* 2021. Addressing Wallacean shortfall using small sampling approach: a case study with endemic Lycodon flavicollis (Squamata: Colubridae) Mukherjee & Bhupathy, 2007. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 14(2): 159- 168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2020.12.005 {0.80}
Das A, Deepak V, Captain A, Edward E.O Z & Gower D.J 2020 . Description of a new species of Smithophis Giri et al. 2019 (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Zootaxa 4860 (2): 267–283
Dolia J. Das, A. 2020. Ophiophagus hannah, Nesting Behaviour. Herpetological Review. 51 (3): 624.
Das, A. Gower D. J. Deepak V. 2020. Lost and found: rediscovery and systematics of the Northeast Indian snake Hebius pealii (Sclater, 1891). Vertebrate Zoology. 70(3): 305–318. DOI:10.26049/VZ70-3-2020-04
Patel N and Das A*. 2020. Shot the Spot: A reliable field method for identification of Amolops formosus (Anura: Ranidae). Herpetozoa. 33:7-15 10.3897/Herpetozoa@47279
Prasad V. K, Gautam K. B, Gupta S. K, Murthy S. K., Ramesh K, Shinde A. D, & Das A*. 2020. Identification of anuran species diversity of the Panna Tiger Reserve, Central India, using an integrated approach. Zootaxa 4851 (3): 450–476
Books Authored
Das, I. and Das A. (2017). A Naturalist’s guide to the Reptiles of India including Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. John Beaufoy publishing limited, UK.
Das, A. (ed) 2017. Diversity and Ecology of Amphibians of India. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected areas. Vol. 19. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun 248001, India.
Dutta SK, Vasudevan K and Das A. 2015. Manual of Herpetology (First Edition). Print Version, Dehradun, India. Pp. 178
Ahmed, M.F., A. Das and S. K. Dutta, 2009. Reptiles and Amphibians of Northeast India. A Photographic Guide. Aaranyak. Guwahati. 168 pp
Dr. Abhijit Das
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.
+91-0135-2646205
abhijit [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in