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Python molurus molurus (Linnaeus, 1758) is 2000 m above sea level. The Indian Rock Python is a nocturnal snake that inhabits estuarine mangrove forests, arid scrub jungle, rain forests, feeds on mammals, birds, and reptiles, but seems to prefer mammals (Daniel 2002). Females lay them (Daniel 2002). Leucism is a form of albinism in which the eyes, legs and beak are normally pigmented, whereas the skin or feathers have either reduced coloration or lack it entirely (Sage 1962). Leucism or partial albinism (McCardle 2012) is controlled by a single recessive allele (Owen and Skimmings 1992), but albinism is caused by several genes (Summers 2009). Inherited color defects, such as albinism and leucism, are well known in several animal species, including

Background & objectives: Dakshina Kannada is one of the districts of Karnataka state of India with high incidences of mosquito-borne diseases, especially malaria and dengue. The larval stages of the mosquitoes are very important in determining the prevalence of adult mosquitoes and associated diseases. Hence, the occurrence of mosquito species was investigated by sampling different water bodies present in the Dakshina Kannada district from June 2014 to May 2017. Methods: Random sampling was carried out from permanent and temporary, artificial and natural water bodies belonging to 11 types of microhabitats using dippers and suction pumps. Results: A maximum of 37 mosquito species belonging to 12 genera were recorded with the dominant genera being Culex. Most species have been recorded from temporary bodies of water with the highest number of species in receptacles. Monsoon is the most productive season, both in terms of occurrence and abundance followed by post-monsoon and pre-monsoon. The abundance of mosquito larvae was significantly higher in temporary water bodies compared to the permanent. Interpretation & conclusion: Abundant rainfall in the study area which produces many natural and domestic temporary water bodies accounts for mosquito breeding throughout the year.

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SummaryThe karyotype and C-banding analysis of somatic metaphase chromosomes were attempted on 3 species of Indian frogs (Rana curtipes, R. temporalis, R. malabarica) which are distributed in the Western Ghats, Southwest India. All had 2nϭ26 chromosomes with invariably 5 pairs of large and 8 pairs of small chromosomes. Metacentric and submetcentric chromosomes were found in the complement, the former more common than the latter. A secondary constriction with a prominent satellite in the short arm of nos. 10 and 12 chromosomes are unique only in R. curtipes. The Cpositive telomeric bands were localized in the short arms of nos. 9 and 10 chromosomes of R. temporalis. Non-centric C-positive bands were observed in the distal half of the long arm of no. 10 chromosome of R. malabarica. None of the 3 species had an identifiable sex chromosome. There were variations in the centromeric position and secondary constriction of chromosome pair nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11 and 12. These variations might have arisen due to pericentric inversions. It seems likely from the inversion studies that R. curtipes and R. temporalis are chromosomally more closely related than R. malabarica. Comparative account of karyotypes are discussed.