**2. Conservation of Amphibian biodiversity by community reserved forests of Meghalaya**

The state of Meghalaya is blessed with a rich assemblage of diverse flora and fauna. Being part of the North east India, which falls under the Eastern Himalayas as well as Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspots, the state supports some of the rich and endemic species of both flora and fauna. Further, owing to its unique biogeographic position, Meghalaya serves as a corridor zone for the occurrence of flora and fauna of both Southeast Asia and Peninsular India. Some of the unique animals found in the forests of Meghalaya include the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon (*Hoolock hoolock*) whose distribution is restricted to the closed-canopy rainforests of North East India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In addition, the Capped Langur (*Trachypithecus pileatus*), Macaques (Rhesus *Macaca mulatta*, Assamese *Macaca assamensis*, Northern Pig-tailed *Macaca leonina* and Stumped-tailed *Macaca arctoides*) are also found in the forest canopies of Meghalaya. Among the carnivores, the Clouded Leopard (*Neofelis nebulosa*) is Meghalaya's state animal and other big cats such as Tiger (*Panthera tigris*) and Leopard (*Panthera pardus*) are found in the deep jungles of Meghalaya. Threatened and rare ungulates include the Himalayan Serow (*Capricornis thar*), Hog Deer (*Hyelaphus porcinus*), Sambar Deer (*Rusa unicolour*) and the globally endangered Indian Wild Water Buffalo (*Babalus arnee*). The endangered Chinese Pangolin (*Manis pentadactyla*) is also found in forest covers of Meghalaya. Adding to the list of wild animals is the endangered

Asian Elephant (*Elephas maximus*) which inhabit the wild forests of Meghalaya. In terms of the herpetofauna, the state of Meghalaya is a home to a diverse group of animals ranging from venomous snakes such as the King Cobra (*Ophiophagus Hannah*), MacClelland's Coral Snake (*Sinomicrurus macclellandi*), the White-lipped Pit Viper (*Cryptelytrops albolabris*) to the less venomous and non-venomous ones such as the Khasi Earth Snake (*Stoliczkaia khasiensis*) and the Khasi Keelback (*Amphiesma khasiensis*). In addition to snakes, the state also has records of lizards such as the Khasi Hills Bent-toed Gecko (*Crytodactylus khasiensis*), the Tokay Gecko (*Gekko gecko*) and some of the recently discovered Karst-dwelling bent-toed geckos (*Cyrtodactylus jaintiaensis, Cyrtodactylus karsticola* and *Cyrtodactylus agarwali*) [15] includinga skink *Spenomorphus apalpebratus* [16] from Mawphlang Sacred Grove. Apart from the wild animals, Meghalaya is also a home to wide variety of invertebrates such as spiders, colourful butterflies, moths, leeches, ants, giant earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, beetles as well as crickets and praying mantis.
