Nilutpal Mahanta

World Wildlife Fund | WWF · Raprot Conservation Program

The bird dung crab spider Phrynarachne decipiens (Forbes 1884) is redescribed based on female specimens collected from Assam, India. Photographs and illustrations of the female genitalia are provided. This is the first record of P. decipiens from India.

A study was conducted on the current status of terrestrial vertebrates and butterflies in Garbhanga Reserve Forest. Data were compiled from field surveys and secondary sources like existing literature, and citizen science databases. We found that Garbhanga is represented by 254 species of butterflies (6 families), 29 species of amphibians (7 famili...

Birds play very essential ecological functions such as pest control, pollination, seed dispersal as well as nutrient dynamics and they are very good indicators of the ecosystem health in a landscape. Biodiversity inventory and their conservation including ecosystem restoration at landscape level has recently emerged as a global priority for effecti...

Francolinus gularis is a territorial bird resident of tall swampy grassland endemic to the Ganga and Brahmaputra River basins in India and Nepal. Due to its declining population IUCN has declared this species as vulnerable to extinction. Due to changes in the global climate the loss of biodiversity and changes in species composition are at its peak...

For a sit and wait forager like Argiope spiders, the web is their ultimate foraging strategy, therefore investment in web building is crucial for their survival. For understanding this foraging strategy, studying of web architecture and web symmetry become essential as any change in web can severely affect the prey capture success. The present stud...

Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884), commonly known as the bird dung crab spider belongs to the family Thomisidae. It was first reported by Simon in 1895 from India but henceforth no specimen has been studied or reported from India. This study reports of Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884)from India after a period of...

Wetlands outside protected area are under tremendous anthropogenic pressure such as agriculture expansion, alteration of wetlands and grasslands to farm lands etc. The present study was carried out to understand the avian species composition of Jhanjimukh-Kokilamukh Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of Jorhat District, Assam, India. The st...

Shorebirds are a diverse group of mostly small, long-legged and gregarious birds that live along shorelines and inland waterways worldwide. According to Thurston, 1996 waders fly swiftly in large flocks migrating long distances between their seasonal ranges. Limnodromus scolopaceus and Calidris ferruginea are two migratory waders which have never b...

Species living in close association with human being acquire direct or indirect benefits from them. Altered landscapes due to anthropogenic activities create new microhabitats for species that cohabits with human. Such species occurs at high disturbance level but may or may not act as synanthropic species. Argiope pulchella Thorell 1881, commonly...