Volume 66, Issue 1
July 1967, pages 1-36
pp 1-9 July 1967
The arachnids capture their prey, mince it and suck the juices through the pumping action of their pharynx. Although the chelicerae, the labrum and coxal endites of the first few paired prosomal appendages are known to be associated with feeding, the exact contribution of each of these has not been clearly known. The present investigation throws light on this aspect of feeding in the scorpion,Heterometrus fulvipes. There is a well-organised feeding apparatus with three components, the grinding mill, strainer and a sensory complement. The grinder is made up of the coxal endites of the first and second pair of ambulatory legs. The second coxal endite has a highly ramified sunken gutter system that conveys the liquid extracts of the prey to the mouth. The long hollow setae of the labrum and the coxal endites form an effective strainer and guard the mouth from being blocked or plugged. The sensory complement comprises short thin-walled pegs with clusters of sense cells at their bases. An explanation of hissing and stridulation in scorpions has been offered.
pp 10-18 July 1967
Neodiplostomum (Fibricola) singhi n. sp. is described from the intestine of a deer,Antilope cervicapra, shot in Tamia Ghat of Chhindwara, M.P. The subgenus is reviewed in detail. The author proposes synonymy ofNeogogatea Chandler and Rausch (1947) withGogatea Lutz (1935) as now the host specificity fails to be a criterion in taxonomic consideration.
pp 19-24 July 1967
An anatomical study ofOchna wallichii Planch,O. kirkii Oliver andO. squarrosa Roxb. shows that sclereids are totally absent fromO. squarrosa. Exclusively brachysclereids occur in the cortical region of the mature stem of the other two species. They occur in sub-epidermal rows and groups in the cortex. They are more abundant in the nodal regions, and form with the bast fibres a more or less continuous peripheral mechanical tissue cylinder. The adult empty sclereids which are oval or round inO. wallichii and a little squarish inO. kirkii have a thick, lignified, lamellated secondary wall traversed by pit-canals. Sclereid features are important in distinguishing the secondary woods of these species.
pp 25-36 July 1967
The paper is under PT (Production of Terrestrial Communities) section of the International Biological Programme (IBP). It is the first attempt in India on productivity of forests. Results form an exploratory application of methods for measurement of productivity in a tropical deciduous forest.
Trees of five important species of Dangs Forests in Gujarat State were studied. The species, arranged in decreasing order of their importance in the forests, are:Tectona grandis Linn.,Terminalia crenulata Roth.,Garuga pinnata Roxb.,Dalbergia latifolia Roxb., andOugeinia oojeinensis (Roxb.) Hochr. The trees were felled in a clear felling operation at Raiwad (Waghai range) during December 1966. Detailed description and classification of the forests are given by Kuruvilla (1967), and Pandeya and Kuruvilla (1967).
Methods of study are given in the paper.
The study area is situated at latitude N. 20° 34′ to 21° 5′ and longitude E. 73° 28′ to 73° 56·5′. Entire Dangs is undulating with chains of hills. Climate of the area is presented in the paper.
From the study it is concluded that:—
In all the five species, volume of bole, girth at breast height, total dry weight (of bole, branches and twigs and leaves) and height work out to be directly proportional to number of growth rings. Likewise, these measurements show an increase with increase in girth of bole.
Intercomparing the productivity of the five species, it is concluded that:
Distribution of net productivity (total dry weight of organic matter produced per year, except that lost by respiration or eaten away by herbivores) shows a trend of increasing concentration of growth in woody tissue with increasing size of plant.
Net yearly productivity is highest inOugeinia oojeinensis andGaruga pinnata followed by that inTerminalia crenulata, Tectona grandis andDalbergia latifolia.