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We report the sighting record of the Orvakal two-tailed spider Hersilia orvakalensis Javed, Foord and Tampal (Araneae, Hersiliidae) from Pastapur, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India. This constitutes the first record of the recently described species from Telangana and extends its range 230 km northwards. Variations in characters in types and the new material are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a record of the endemic rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus from Sri Lankamalleshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is supported by 18 camera trap records of the smallest arboreal to semiarboreal collected between February 2011 and June 2014. It presents site records of the rusty-spotted cat from India based on published literature with insights on population distribution in its in scrub-dominated habitat.

Insularity provides ample opportunities for species diversification. Sri Lanka is home to a large diversity of species, many of which are endemic but morphologically similar to species found in southern India, due to recent speciation events, suggesting a complex evolutionary history. However, in some taxa although morphological diversity has been noted, the genetic level variations are minimal. Among the wide-ranging horseshoe bats such a phenomenon is noted. In this study, we used bioacoustics, morphometric and molecular data to evaluate the relationships between the taxa of lesser woolly horseshoe bats in the India and Sri Lanka. Our study reveals that the two taxa-Rhinolophus beddomei Andersen, 1905 and here we have validated the existing subspecies from peninsular India and R. sobrinus Andersen, 1918 from Sri Lanka are genetically very close to R. perniger Hodgson, 1843. Currently the taxa-beddomei and sobrinus are recognized as subspecies of Rhinolophus beddomei Andersen, 1905. We provide a detailed description of the taxa beddomei and sobrinus as the original descriptions are limited in nature.