Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal- Doctor of Philosophy
- Researcher at University of New England
Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Researcher at University of New England
Amphibians and Reptiles Researcher
About
94
Publications
39,967
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
819
Citations
Introduction
I work mostly on species and habitat relationships and I am particularly interested in understanding the interactions between different species in in-situ systems. I write novel reports for Bhutan’s herpetofauna since the taxon has never been properly explored. However, my interest is diverse and I collect all sorts of data on animal interactions to use when I need them. I run a Facebook group ‘’Amphibians and Reptiles of Bhutan’’ for people who want to know what species Bhutan got.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
June 2016 - May 2017
Territorial Forest Division
Position
- Senior Forest Officer
Description
- I was there in this office for a while when my office was closed in the District Administration (impact of a misplaced profession, such things happen when cats to dogs' duty) and this is another great place which actually can change the lives of community. But what could a fund-less office do? But I must admit that I couldn't do anything much as my presence there was just a few months. But the office I must say it has the potential to do many things.
February 2012 - May 2016
District Administration
Position
- District Forest Officer
Description
- I was head of the District Forest Sector heavily engaged for conservation management planning concerning Community Forestry, Non-wood Forest Products, Water Resources Management and rural development. It was here I produced maximum impact to the community and I remain very satisfied to look back what I did there then. Today, community members are still enjoying the fruit of our hard work in the form of engaging in natural resources business.
October 1998 - April 1999
Forest Resources Management Division
Position
- Forest Ranger
Description
- My first job. I scoured the country's Chirpine forests to monitor resin collection and involved in inventory of forest resources. As a new recruit I just got oriented to how forestry in Bhutan is being run. I observed and learned myself and got my things done as it must.
Education
August 2013 - November 2016
January 2010 - June 2012
May 2006 - September 2007
Publications
Publications (94)
The amphibian fauna of Bhutan remains poorly explored. At least one species, Scutiger bhutanensis, described by Delorme and Dubois (2001) is endemic to the Kingdom. Tylototriton verrucosus was confirmed by Palden (2003) from Thinleygang (formerly Thimphu) District. Das and Palden (2000) reported the presence of Duttaphrynus
melanostictus (Schneider...
This paper presents the state-of-the-knowledge on herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians) of Bhutan. Through a comprehensive review of literature, the paper identifies 84 snakes, 23 lizards, 20 tortoises and turtles, 56 anurans,
Social media has, in the past decade, emerged unexpectedly as a powerful tool in citizen science (Liberatore et al. 2018). Whether unintended or formally integrated, it offers, among other benefits, mass participation in activities such as data collection in inventories, monitoring, or natural history observations (Tulloch 2013). It can be argued t...
In the absence of systematic research institutions and local or long-term resident systematists added by Buddhist culture that discourages lethal sampling of animals, scientific collections are particularly sparse in Bhutan. Consequently, less charismatic taxa such as the reptile and amphibian fauna of Bhutan, including the Eastern-Himalayas, are p...
The goal of the Eastern Asian Salamander Task Force (EASal-TF) will be to understand and identify actions necessary to address the threats to Caudata in the region, through scientific research and the implementation of science-based conservation plans, at the regional or species level.
Bhutan, a small, landlocked country, is part of the eastern Himalayan Biodiversity hotspot characterized by diverse species, habitat types, and ecosystems (Myers et al. 2000; Mittermeier et al. 2005). The Kingdom is home to about 83 species of amphibians (Wangyal 2022) of which 21 are in the family Dicroglossidae. Research on the taxonomy and ecolo...
Systematic assessments of species extinction risk at regular intervals are necessary for informing conservation action1,2. Ongoing developments in taxonomy, threatening processes and research further underscore the need for reassessment3,4. Here we report the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment, evaluating 8,011 species for the Inter...
Systematic assessments of species extinction risk at regular intervals are necessary for informing conservation action1,2. Ongoing developments in taxonomy, threatening processes and research further underscore the need for reassessment3,4. Here we report the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment, evaluating 8,011 species for the Inter...
Bhutan has around 83 species of amphibians, most of which are confined to the warm and humid southern foothills and central mountain ranges (Wangyal, 2022; Wangyal et al., 2021, 2022). Data on amphibians are collected ‘wherever and whenever observed’ by interested Foresters and citizens although currently, as there are no amphibian-focused research...
Projected impact 2021–2025: Increased awareness of the amphibian decline and extinction crisis, increased support of amphibian conservation through updated Red List assessments, and evidence-based decision making, targeted and coordinated action through an updated Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP).
I am a Forester by trade, but my passion lies in herpetology. When I started my career in managing forests and wildlife, I noticed that the conservation plans often overlooked amphibians and reptiles. This motivated me to delve into the subject. Nowadays, I love discussing Bhutan's herpetology whenever the opportunity arises, regardless of whether...
The Jigme Khesar Strict Nature Reserve (JKSNR) in Bhutan, which is the country's only "Strict Nature Reserve" category of protected area, is home to the endangered Meconopsis superba, also known as Papaver superbum, a beautiful Superb Poppy that is endemic to Haa district and therefore of great importance. In this study in the Reserve, M. superba w...
Study of Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia, Schreber, 1775) using infrared camera traps along actively used tracks, scent-sprayed rocks, scats and scrape sites was conducted in the mountains of Jigme Khesar Strict Nature Reserve, Haa, Bhutan between October and December 2015 and it is still being continued. A total of 17 grids, each measuring 16km 2 wer...
We report the discovery of the Anderson's Bubble-nest Frog, Raorchestes andersoni, from Central Bhutan's Zhemgang district, in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The frog was found in moist dense forests with lots of green bushes. This record will help Bhutan understand its species diversity and help in prioritizing conservation actions for this spec...
Although several checklists exist of
herpetofauna in Bhutan, these are based on
citizen science data or report the diversity of
individual regions (Wangyal et al. 2020 and
references therein) and published records are
lacking for many areas. Like the country as a
whole, there is no formal checklist or report for
Sarpang District despite the...
Although several checklists exist of herpetofauna in Bhutan, these are based on citizen science data or report the diversity of individual regions and published records are lacking for many areas. Like the country as a whole, there is no formal checklist or report for Sarpang District despite the fact that most of this district is encompassed withi...
We report the first record of Maskey's Burrowing Frog, Sphaerotheca maskeyi (Schleich and Anders 1998) in Bhutan based on diagnostic morphological features such as the crepe-like (finely wrinkled) dorsal surface without warts, folds or tubercles with uniform colouration; the tibiotarsal articulation touching the tympanum; an inner metatarsal tuberc...
This species is endemic to the Himalayan belt of Nepal, Bhutan, India, and China (the extent of occurrence is >22,000 km2) and it likely occurs in more than ten locations based on the main threats affecting its population. It is therefore listed as Least Concern. However, there is a high rate of road kills throughout its range, and is persecuted wh...
This species is assessed as Least Concern on the basis that this species is widespread and has been recorded opportunistically in multiple recent surveys and appears to tolerate at least some disturbance.
This paper provides the distribution and morphometric measurements, along with locality information, of Oligodon cyclurus in Bhutan through the study of five specimen n=5 collected from 2016 to 2021. As a Least Concern (LC) species that is little known in the locality, the species faces threats from the community. The study suggests that awareness...
This species has a restricted distribution in northeast India and southern Bhutan (extent of occurrence (EOO) = 16,384 km2) and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat due to expansion of urban areas, tourism, and tea plantations. The number of locations cannot be determined as only two out of five localities are being...
This book: “The Amphibians of Bhutan” is all about the frogs, toads, salamander, and the obscure and enigmatic caecilians that occur in Bhutan. Of the more than 8,000 species of amphibians currently known worldwide, only 80 anurans, a single species of salamander (Caudata) and at least two undescribed caecilians (Gymnophiona) are recorded in Bhutan...
This species is listed as Least Concern because it has a wide distribution and it is unlikely that the identified threats are affecting the population to a degree that would warrant listing in a threatened category. Research is needed to resolve the taxonomic issues regarding this species.
This tree frog is present in India and Bhutan. In India, it has been recorded fromthe states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. In AssamState, it is present in Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve (Joshi 2014). InMeghalaya State, it has been recorded from East Khasi Hills District atMawphlang (Tron et al. 2015), Umshing, near Lawsohtun...
This species is mainly distributed in the major river systems of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra
Rivers of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Throughout its range, the species' population
has been heavily impacted by illegal collection for meat consumption and for its skin. Given that the
area where it occurs coincides with the highe...
This species has a very restricted distribution in southern Bhutan (its area of occupancy (AOO) is 8 km²) and it occurs in two locations, based on the main threat to the species. There is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat due to dredging of the river and boulder extraction. It is therefore listed as Endangered.
The world currently recognizes 214 species of Caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) most of which occur in the wet tropics and some adjacent subtropical regions. Of the ten-family classification known, three occur in Asia, viz. Chikilidae (endemic to northeast India, Indotyphlidae (India's Western and Eastern Ghats) and Ichthyophiidae. However, until...
Moneses uniflora (L.) A. Gray, commonly called Single Delight, a single member of the genus Moneses was observed twice by the authors in June 2015 and July 2018 on the ridges of Chelela, Paro, Bhutan at an altitude of 3430 m asl. The species could be identified by its short petiole, slender rhizome and five spreading slightly rumpled white petals....
Listed as Least Concern based on its wide geographic range and the lack of known major threats, and because this species is common in parts of its range.
The amphibian fauna of the Himalayan
Kingdom of Bhutan, sandwiched between India
and China, is poorly known. Most data collected
on this group of animals for the country comes
from a few interested individuals or citizen
scientists. Based on information provided by a
citizen scientist (third author of this paper), we
report for the first time on th...
This species is distributed in Chin State in Myanmar, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur) in India, eastern Bhutan (Mongar, Lhuentse), and southern China (Das 2010, Das and Das 2017). In Myanmar, recent records also exist from Kachin and Saigang States in Myanmar (G. Wogan, unpubl. data). Records have been taken from 573 to more than...
We report the discovery of the Sikkim Frog, Ombrana sikimensis from Central Bhutan's Zhemgang district, in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The frog which was found residing in a clean perennial stream is used by the local human population for consumption. It is supposed to heal stomach related ailments. This record will help Bhutan understand the...
We report the discovery of the Sikkim Frog, Ombrana sikimensis from Central Bhutan’s Zhemgang district, in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The frog which was found residing in a clean perennial stream is used by the local human population for consumption. It is supposed to heal stomach related ailments. This record will help Bhutan understand the...
This is a rare species that is only occasionally collected. However, it covers a wide geographic range from Nepal to Yunnan province in China, including Bhutan and northern Myanmar. Although it is likely used by people, due to its apparent rarity compared with other members of this genus, levels of exploitation are likely to below, and threats to i...
This species is endemic to Central Bhutan where it is known from only one locality. It was described in
1975 from only one specimen and it is confused with Calotes versicolor, which is a widespread species
that usually occurs below 1,000 m asl. Genetic studies are needed to determine the validity of this
species. It is therefore listed as Data Defi...
The Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) even though a widespread songbird species had not been recorded from Bhutan. The bird was observed in Jigme Khesar Strict Nature Reserve in a recent trip to Gakiling, Haa. With this new record, the number of bird species found in Bhutan has increased to 739 species.
New herpetofauna record from the kingdom of Bhutan obtained through citizen science
This species occurs in Nepal (Anders 2002, Shah and Tiwari 2004), in Samtse Hills and Haa in Bhutan (Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, pers.comm. October 2020), and adjacent northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh (Bordoloi 2001, Ohler et al. 2018), Sikkim (Subba etal. 2016, Alley et al. 2013), and West Bengal (Boulenger 1920, Pradhanet al. 2018) in India...
This bullfrog is present in India, Bangladesh, and South CentralMyanmar. In India, it is known from northern Tripura State(Purkayastha and Basak 2018), Khordanahala District in West Bengal State (Mondal et al. 2018), and Guwahati, Kamrup Metropolitan District, in Assam State (Bohra et al. 2019). It may be present in protected areas in the lowland a...
This species is known only from the vicinity of its type locality 62 km from Medog, Xizang (Tibet), China (Jiang et al. 2016). Reports of the occurrence of S. nyingchiensis in Sela Pass (Arunachal Pradesh), India from Sarania et al.(2015) are believed by Jiang et al. (2016) to be mistaken and are thought to be records of S. spinosus. However, this...
Herpetofauna are sensitive to environmental changes and their population is decreasing worldwide due to land-use change, depredation by introduced species, infection by diseases, release of toxic material in environment, overharvesting, and effect of climate change (Jolley et al., 2010; Colino-Rabanal and Lizana, 2012; Rais et al., 2015). So, the h...
This species occurs in northeastern India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizorum, Manipur, Meghalaya, West Beng northeastern India the species is present in the Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve and it presumably occurs in a number of other protected areas in India. It has been recorded from 500-2,000 m asl.
This toad species is known from southwestern Nagaland State in India, where it has been recorded from Thekhekhwei hill and the villages of Khonoma and Dzuleke in the district of Kohima (Das et al. 2013). It is also known from Hmuifang Community Reserve Forest,Mizoram State in India (Jayaditya Purkayastha, pers.comm. October, 2020). It is also prese...
This species was previously restricted to four areas of north-eastern India:Mouling National Park, and northern West Siang District, both in ArunachalPradesh; Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal; and the Garo Hills and TuraHills in Meghalaya, between 1,100-2,000 m asl. It now also occurs from DarjeelingHills east through Bhutan to at least the...
Bhutan Herpetofauna Monitoring Protocol
In many parts of the world, reptiles are feared and seen as lower or more
primitive than other animals. Not so for us followers of Shakyamuni or for us
Bhutanese.
In fact, we Buddhists have a long affection for and special connection with
reptiles. It was a snake, the king of the nagas, who protected Prince Siddhartha
while he sat under the bodhi t...
This is the first-ever color report on the mammal diversity of Jigme
Khesar Strict Nature Reserve. The book contains information on
forty-one species of mammals found in the Reserve under eighteen different families. Most of the species were identified based on photographs collected from camera traps while some were photographed and identified thro...
Developing Herpetofauna monitoring for Bhutan, we collected and analysed a few species posted on our online forum by citizen scientists and that's how we come up with he preliminary list of additional record for Bhutan.
This study provides the first report of Leptobrachium bompu Sondhi & Ohler, 2011 from Bhutan. The species was recorded from Simkhar watershed in Jigmecholing under Sarpang District, at an elevation of 1,610m. Simkhar Stream is small and perennial, shaded and swampy, with a few moss-laden flat stones along the course, and is pollution-free and slow-...
This study provides the first report of Leptobrachium bompu Sondhi & Ohler, 2011 from Bhutan. The species was recorded from Simkhar watershed in Jigmecholing under Sarpang District, at an elevation of 1,610m. Simkhar Stream is small and perennial, shaded and swampy, with a few moss-laden flat stones along the course, and is pollution-free and slow-...
In
the absence of a full-time research group on herpetofauna, Facebook has been an amazing source of information for the herpetofauna of Bhutan More than anything the group administrator is surprised at the volume of information gathered from this social media group New location of many species, many new pictures, many new records have emerged from...
The status of Snow Leopards in JKSNR, Haa
This study investigated the status and impact of community forest management groups (CFMGs) on wood based forest resources and the economy of community themselves in three CFMGs of Kuenzang Choeling, Udzorong and Joensham-Lamdoksa under Trashigang Dzongkhag. To assess the physical impact on the community forests, data collected for writing manageme...
Common species of amphibians and reptiles found in Bhutan
The Dzongkhag Forestry Sector in Merak under Trashigang is focusing on the formation of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) groups that are economically viable and sustainably manageable through support from projects like Market Access Growth Intensification Project (MAGIP), Participatory Forest Management Project, Global Environmental Facility and ot...
Ahmadabad and its surrounding region (Gujarat, India) is an important breeding area for the Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, currently with around 60 breeding pairs. The kite flying festival, celebrated on 14 and 15 January, poses a major threat to the vulture. Through rigorous awareness and rescue programs we encountere...
Good Governance and Management of Rural Development Programs in both countries are different in the sense that the mode of delivery is different. The mode of service delivery in India is more transparent as observed in the field than in Bhutan and it is also more people-centered than Bhutan as the decisions are entirely based on the demand of the p...
What do we know about herpetology in Bhutan? How did it start? Does it make any sense now?
Thirteen new species of anurans that include six dicroglossids (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis, Fejervarya pierrei, F. teraiensis and F. nepalensis, from Samdrup Jongkhar, Nanorana conaensis and N. pleskei from Haa), three megophryids (Xenophrys major and X. glandulosa from Trashiyangtse, and X. minor from Mongar) and four ranids (Amolops mantzorum from...
Rat snakes of the Old World
Five turtle species, Cuora amboinensis, C. mouhotii, Cyclemys gemeli, Melanochelys tricarinata, and Indotestudo elongata, are reported for the first time from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The record of C. mouhotii represents a significant range extension to the west; that of C. amboinensis represents a range extension across a political border...
(Delorme & Dubois, 2001),
and Ahmed et al. (2009) on
presence of Clinotarsus alticola
(Boulenger, 1882) do not
specify location.
In this study, the relationships between canopy-width, trunk girth and total tree-height of the Pinus roxburghii, Ficus auriculata, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Cupressus corneyana, and Albizia gamblei tree species growing in the College of Natural Resources located in Lobesa, Punakha Dzongkhag were examined. Five trees of each species which are notably...
In this study, presence-absence survey of the Himalayan Newts Tylototriton verrucosus was conducted in the Punakha-Wangdue Valley to confirm and validate the past information of the presence of the species. Toebisa and Kabjisa in Punakha District and Kazhi in Wangdue Phodrang districts were taken as the main study sites where many individuals of th...
This paper discusses the ethnobotanical knowledge of the three ethnic groups, viz. Sharchogpa, Zalakha speaking people and the Bhutanese of Tibetan origin, that inhabit the wildlife sanctuary. Of the 165 ethnobotanical species used by the communities, 67 are used for treating different diseases while 98 are used for woodcrafts, handicraft, vegetabl...
Ten snake species (Ramphotyphlops braminus, Python bivittatus, Lycodon fasciatus, Lycodon aulicus, Lycodon jara, Rhabdophis subminiatus, Chrysopelea ornata, Dendrelaphis tristis, Naja naja, Trimeresurus albolabris) and two lizards (Gekko gecko and Sphenomorphus maculatus) are reported for the first time from Bhutan. With the exception of a few spec...
There are no evidences to prove that macroinvertebrates in Bhutan"s river systems are studied. Hence, it is important that such studies are initiated. Further, it is more important to study the ecology of tributaries of the Punatsangchu owing to the impending impact the upcoming mega hydro power dam is expected to bring on the river ecology. Theref...
Amphibians simply are the land animals that spend a part of their life in water. The group is made of Salamanders (Caudata - tailed), Caecilians (Gymnophiona - limbless) and Anurans (Salientia - quadruped). The tailed Himalayan Newts, Tylototriton verrucosus, Anderson 1871 along with many other species are the long-lived residents of upland forests...
A study was conducted to quickly analyze diversity richness and correlation between different diversity richness at species level (trees, shrubs and herbs). The research exercise was done in the pure chirpine forest of College of Natural Resources campus. The numbers of chirpine trees, shrubs and herbs were recorded in the circular sample plot of s...
Collections were made mostly from the southern belt of the Sanctuary, an area classified as sub-tropical to warm broadleaved forest (Grierson and Long 1983). The altitudinal range of the current work ranged from 614 m, at Sheripam, Mongar to 2143 m at Barigang, Trashiyangtse. Collections were opportunistic, by me and colleagues, sometimes supplemen...
Common snakes of CNR, Royal University of Bhutan Compound
Under the South-South Cooperation Reciprocal Project titled “Systematization and
analysis of the contributions of the national parks and biological reserves to the social and
economic development in Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica” Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary
(BWS) was selected as one of the three case study parks in Bhutan for the study. The main
ob...
Preliminary information on amphibians of Bhutan - sketches from here and there.
Preliminary information on testudines of Bhutan - from here and there
The reptiles form one among the four classes of terrestrial or land-dwelling vertebrates or animals with a backbone. They have evolved from the amphibians, whose present-day representatives are the frogs, toads, newts, and caecilians and they have given rise to birds and mammals. As a group, the reptiles can be separated from the amphibians by thei...
Acclaimed as the cataclysmic event, damming of river has been known to bring about change in local ecosystem. Damming results in fragmentation of wildlife population into genetically isolated sub-populations, affect prey population, less diversity downstream due to lowered nutrient availability and limited dispersal of aquatic fauna between river s...
Questions
Questions (4)
Recently, my frogs and toads reported for the first time have been rejected by certain journals because the paper lacked genetic data. Now, the question is "Do we need to really get genetic codes for all species?" How can genetic data which comes as the outcome of laboratory works help us identify species in the field? Or we just keep the species name as just certain frog or toad (just example) and keep waiting until a genetic work is done? Don't species evolve and change their genetic content based on their evolutionary traits over time? Do we really trust the genetic codes for species identifications?
I submitted a number of papers in different journals but those in the West asked me to pay fees for publication? Can anyone tell me please.
How does high impact factor journals differ from low ones when the data submitted and published are same for both type of journal?
