Cubaris cavernosus Collinge, 1916

Kharkongor, Ilona Jacinta, Saikia, Uttam, Khynriam, Dimos & Saikia, Bhaskar, 2023, Current status of faunal diversity of Siju Cave, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 123 (3), pp. 283-303 : 292

18. Cubaris cavernosus Collinge, 1916 [ Fig. 9G ]

1916. Cubaris cavernosus Collinge, Rec. Ind. Mus., XII , pp. 123,124, pl. xvi, Figs. 1-9 .

Material examined: 3 ex. Siju Cave (~ 500m inside the Cave), Siju village , South Garo Hills District , Meghalaya, 25 o 21.061’N, 90 o 41.006’E, 119m, 4.i.2020, coll. I. J.Kharkongor & party, Reg. No. IV /CRU/ERS-588 ; 15 ex. Siju Cave (~ 850 m inside the Cave), Siju village , South Garo Hills District , Meghalaya, 25 o 21.061’N, 90 o 41.006’E, 119m, 3.i.2020, coll. I. J. Kharkongor & party, Reg. No. IV /CRU/ERS-592 ; 2 ex. Siju Cave (~ 300m from Cave entrance), Siju village , South Garo Hills District , Meghalaya, 25 o 21.061’N, 90 o 41.006’E, 119m, 3.i.2020, coll. I. J. Kharkongor & party, Reg. No. IV /CRU/ERS-608 ; 1 ex. Siju Cave (~ 200 m from the Cave entrance), Siju village , South Garo Hills District , Meghalaya, 25 o 21.061’N, 90 o 41.006’E, 119m, 4.i.2020, coll. I. J. Kharkongor & party, Reg. No. IV /CRU/ERS-609 ; 23 ex. Siju Cave, Siju village, South Garo Hills District , Meghalaya, 25 o 21.061’N, 90 o 41.006’E, 119m, 12.xii.2018, coll. I. J. Kharkongor & party, Reg. No. IV /CRU/ERS-611 .

Remarks: Cubaris cavernosus was described in 1916 from specimen(s) collected by R. Friel from an unspecified “caves near Cherrapunji, Assam, ca. 4000ft ”. There are several caves in the ‘Cherrapunji’ (a more popular name for Sohra) area in erstwhile Assam (now Meghalaya), but only two caves, Krem Mawsmai and Krem Mawkhyrdop (‘ Krem ’ is the Khasi word for ‘cave’), are located at an altitude close to 4000 ft. Taking into consideration the habitat preference of the species for dry cave passages, it is extrapolated that the type locality of the species is very likely Krem Mawsmai located in Mawsmai village about 6 km south of Sohra proper, EKH District, Meghalaya. After its description, the species was reported for a second time in 1924 from Siju Cave in South Garo Hills District, Meghalaya, extending its distribution range westwards. Since then, it has been found to occur in most of the caves in Meghalaya ( Harries et al., 2008; Kharkongor & Saikia, 2018). Chopra (1924) reported the occurrence of the species from 300 ft. to 3800 ft. (approx. 91.44m – 1158.24m) inside the Siju Cave. During the resurvey of the Cave, we found specimens of the species in drier parts of the Cave from about 200m to 850m from the cave entrance. The species is probably endemic to the karstic region of Meghalaya.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of Siju Cave showing the explored parts. (Courtesy: Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association, Shillong).

Figure 2. The cave entrance of Siju.

Figure 9. Fauna of Siju Cave. G. Cubaris cavernosus, H. Metassamia septemdentata, I. Heteropoda robusta, J. Typhloblatta caeca, K. Kempiola longipes and L. Tachys micraulax.