Zeeshan A. Mirza

Biologist

Gallery

King Cobra in northeast India
Python rescue
Fieldwork in Aarey Milk Colony
Fieldwork Bhadra Tiger Reserve
Woke up in Andaman Islands to this pretty gecko
Leopard gecko in Gautala Wildlife Sanctuaryy
Trying to photography a jumping spider
Examining specimens at the Natural History Museum, London 2013
Setting camera traps for monitoring leopards in Munmbai

Instagram posts

Letโ€™s celebrate a fascinating discovery! A brand new snake, the ๐‘ณ๐’š๐’„๐’๐’…๐’๐’ ๐’Š๐’“๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’Š or Irwinโ€™s wolf snake, has been found on the Great Nicobar Islands. This charming species is part of the rich, unique wildlife that the Nicobar Islands are famous for, and itโ€™s exciting to think there might be more new species waiting to be discovered soon. The exploration of the Western Himalayas continues! Following the discovery of two new snake species (๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ช and ๐˜–๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด), we have been extensively working to document the biodiversity of the Western Himalayas. From the 2024 expedition, we present two new species of geckos. The new species ๐˜Š๐˜บ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜บ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด (1) is described from Reasi, Jammu & Kashmir, and ๐˜Š๐˜บ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜บ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด (2) from Dharmshala, Himachal Pradesh. A juvenile ๐‘จ๐’๐’ˆ๐’–๐’Š๐’„๐’–๐’๐’–๐’” ๐’…๐’Š๐’„๐’‚๐’‘๐’“๐’Š๐’๐’Š that @himalayan_xplorer , other colleagues and I discovered last year in the Himalayas. The Royal snakes are really an interesting group of snakes. They are said to be an element of the xeric habitats. I, however, met with one in the Himalayas last year. It was quite a surprise but nonetheless rewarding. The tarantula subfamily Thrigmopoeinae is endemic to the Western Ghats and, until now, was represented by two genera (๐‘ฏ๐’‚๐’‘๐’๐’๐’„๐’๐’‚๐’”๐’•๐’–๐’” & ๐‘ป๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’Ž๐’๐’‘๐’๐’†๐’–๐’”) and seven species. With the help of numerous friends and colleagues, I was able to survey the Western Ghats in search of these tarantulas from 2012 to 2022. I made several trips to natural history museums that led me to present a preliminary revision of the subfamily and add a new genus and four new species. Finally saw the genus Haplocosmia on my recent trip to the Himalayas. This genus is endemic to the Himalayas and is represented by three species. Thanks to @purandarekunal @himalayan_xplorer @atish_s_gawai for lovely company and exhaustive field work! Colubrid snakes of the genera ๐‘ณ๐’Š๐’๐’‘๐’†๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’” and ๐‘ฎ๐’๐’๐’ˆ๐’š๐’๐’๐’”๐’๐’Ž๐’‚ are rare and poorly studied among Asian snakes. We undertook a study that helped define these genera and describe a new genus endemic to the Himalayas and a new species. An unending twine of โ€˜Vinesโ€™ Yet another Smithophis! Macrothele vidua was described by Simon in 1906 from the eastern Himalayas, and since then, it has not been formally reported in recent times. We found this species to be really common in most parts of Sikkim and Kalimpong. During our recent expedition to the Himalayas, our team came across the Walnut Kukri snake (Oligodon juglandifer). This species, first described by Frank Wall in 1909 from Darjeeling, is a rare and poorly studied one. Our find not only allows us to evaluate the validity of the species but also presents new information about it, which was previously known to science from just a few specimens from Darjeeling. The Ladakh racer snake (Platyceps ladacensis) from the western Himalayas One of the most stunning snake species that I have ever seen! Salazar's pit viper adult male (Trimeresurus salazar) Meet the Sahyadri Keelbacks (Sahyadriophis new genus) that contain the new species Sahyadriophis uttaraghati (Northern Sahyadri keelback) and Sahyadriophis beddomei (Beddome's Sahyadri keelback) A new tarantula species belonging to the Haploclastus genus from the Western Ghats. When threatened, most tarantulas in India will raise their front legs and expose their fangs and may produce a sound by rubbing a cluster of spines on their maxilla and chelicerae. Meet the showstopper, Mizoram parachute gecko (Gekko mizoramensis). This and other related species bear skin flaps that help the animal glide. The population from India was considered to be G. lionotum however our investigation suggested that the species is distinct and new.. The paper describing the species is out in the present issue of the journal Salamandra. Tigidia tangerina, a newly described trapdoor spider from Bangalore's outskirts One of the prettiest wolf snake species, Yellow-collared wolf snake (Lycodon flavicollis) Darwin can across tiny spiders dangling from short strands of the web onto the HMS Beagle far from any land mass. He marveled at their aerial antics, a debate was underway as to how spiders became airborne in the first place. Scientists suggest that the act of โ€œballooningโ€ might be orchestrated by the earth's natural electric field. The image shows a social spider (Stegodyphus sp.) ejecting a thin strand of the web which will help it to take off with the help of wind as well as the earth's electrostatic force. Large eyed false cobra (Pseudoxenodon macrops) A new species of horned frog from Arunachal Pradesh. Introducing the Painted leopard gecko (Eublepharis pictus), a new species of leopard gecko from the northern Eastern Ghats. The discovery was a result of surveys conducted in parts of the Eastern Ghats byย @gnaneswar._ch and museum work undertakenย by me. The finding of yet another distinct lineage from the Eastern Ghats highlights the importance of this region. More work on the biodiversity of this region is underway! A day old Bamboo pit vipers (Trimeresurus gramineus) A thoughtful gecko Cannibalism or courtship? Trapdoor spiders are one of the most fascinating spiders. Most species constructย a burrowย in the ground withย one or more entries or exits. Members of the genus Sason that belong to the family of Brush-footed spiders make a shallow nest with a double door mostly on tree trunks and even on moss-covered rocks. In the three images here one can see the camouflageย burrow in the firstย image and finally the spider in the three images. These spiders are common whereverย they occur but poorly documented. The Bamboo pit viper (Trimeresurus gramineus) from Vaizag