Trichotaxonomy of Species of Lagomorpha

About this book

It is globally known that we are loosing species of mammals due to habitat fragmentation and poaching. Identification of mammalian species through hair, i.e. trichotaxonomy, has practical applications in forensics, taxonomy, ecology and management of wildlife. The study of predator feeding habits from the analysis of prey hairs found in scat has been widely used for describing the diet of mammalian carnivores. However, few studies have been done in India for trichotaxonomy of small mammals like species of Lagomorpha. The species of the order Lagomorpha present in India are data deficient and also listed under the Indian Wildlife (protection) Act 1972. The present study thus will be useful in identification of the species of this order for their status survey, prey-predator relationship and for other ecological studies, as well as for providing strong scientific proof for wildlife forensics. The document provides photomicroscopic details, with scanning electronmicrographs for medulla type, cross-section types, cuticular types with measurements of primary guard hairs of dorsal and ventral sides, and head and tail. The cuticular index is added as an additional parameter and introduced for the first time in trichotaxonomy.

Contents

Preface
Introduction

1. Material and methods with Appendix 1
2. List of species with their IUCN status
3. Description of species
4. Results with plates
5. Discussion

Key to identification of species
I Family: Leporidae
II Family: Ochotonidae
Bar diagram with cuticular index
Summary
References

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