Fauna of India - Wikipedia Fauna of India Part of a series on the Wildlife of India Biodiversity Flora Fauna Lists Amphibians Ants Birds Butterflies Fish Mammals Molluscs Moths Odonates Reptiles Spiders Endangered animals Protected areas Biosphere reserves Wildlife sanctuaries Conservation areas Private protected areas Reserved and protected forests Conservation and community reserves Communal forests Lists National parks Ramsar Sites Conservation Projects Tiger Elephant Acts of Parliament Indian Forest Act 1927 Wildlife Protection Act 1972 Wildlife Protection Act 2002 Organisations National Ministry of Environment and Forests National Biodiversity Authority Indian Forest Service / Survey Forest Institute Wildlife Institute Tiger Conservation Authority Zoo Authority International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ) International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) South Asian Zoo Association ( SAZARC ) World Association of Zoos and Aquariums ( WAZA ) World Society for the Protection of Animals ( WSPA ) World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF ) Related topics Indian natural history Environmental issues Fossil parks Forestry Tourism Lists Ecoregions Botanical gardens Zoological gardens Portal Bengal tiger Indian elephant Asiatic lion Indian rhinoceros Snow leopard Indian bison Indian peafowl Indian cobra Elephas ganesa a fossil elephant from the Siwaliks Illustration of a Himalayan quail from A.O. Hume 's work. Last seen in 1876 Nilgiri langur Indian vulture Red panda Olive ridley turtle India has some of the world 's most biodiverse regions. The political boundaries of India encompass a wide range of ecozones -- desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. It hosts 4 biodiversity hotspots : the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Indo - Burma region and the Sundaland ( Includes Nicobar group of Islands ). These hotspots have numerous endemic species. India, for the most part, lies within the Indomalaya ecozone, with the upper reaches of the Himalayas forming part of the Palearctic ecozone ; the contours of 2000 to 2500m are considered to be the altitudinal boundary between the Indo - Malayan and Palearctic zones. India displays significant biodiversity. One of seventeen megadiverse countries, it is home to 7.6 % of all mammalian, 12.6 % of all avian, 6.2 % of all reptilian, 4.4 % of all amphibian, 11.7 % of all fish, and 6.0 % of all flowering plant species. The region is also heavily influenced by summer monsoons that cause major seasonal changes in vegetation and habitat. India forms a large part of the Indomalayan biogeographical zone and many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with only a few taxa being unique to the Indian region. The unique forms includes the snake family Uropeltidae found only in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Fossil taxa from the Cretaceous show links to the Seychelles and Madagascar chain of islands. The Cretaceous fauna include reptiles, amphibians and fishes and an extant species demonstrating this phylogeographical link is the purple frog. The separation of India and Madagascar is traditionally estimated to have taken place about 88 million years ago. However, there are suggestions that the links to Madagascar and Africa were present even at the time when the Indian subcontinent met Eurasia. India has been suggested as a ship for the movement of several African taxa into Asia. These taxa include five frog families ( including the Myobatrachidae ), three caecilian families, a lacertid lizard and freshwater snails of the family Potamiopsidae. A thirty million year old Ologocene era fossil tooth from the Bugti Hills of central Pakistan has been identified as from a lemur - like primate, prompting controversial suggestions that the lemurs may have originated in Asia. Lemur fossils from India in the past led to theories of a lost continent called Lemuria. This theory however was dismissed when continental drift and plate tectonics became well established. The flora and fauna of India have been studied and recorded from early times in folk traditions and later by researchers following more formal scientific approaches ( See Natural history in India ). Game laws are reported from the third century BC. A little under 5 % of this total area is formally classified under protected areas. India is home to several well - known large mammals, including the Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard and Indian rhinoceros. Some of these animals are engrained in culture, often being associated with deities. These large mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India, and several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. The popularity of these charismatic animals have helped greatly in conservation efforts in India. The tiger has been particularly important, and Project Tiger, started in 1972, was a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats. Project Elephant, though less known, started in 1992 and works for elephant protection. Most of India 's rhinos today survive in the Kaziranga National Park. Some other well - known large Indian mammals are : ungulates such as the water buffalo, nilgai, gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as the Indian wolf, Bengal fox, golden jackal and the dhole or wild dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to the striped hyaena. Many smaller animals such as macaques, langurs and mongoose species are especially well known due to their ability to live close to or inside urban areas Adhu. Contents 1 Diversity 2 Biodiversity hotspots 2.1 The Western Ghats 2.2 The Eastern Himalayas 3 Extinct and fossil forms 3.1 Recent extinctions 4 Species estimates 5 Taxonomic lists and indices 5.1 Animals 5.1. 1 Invertebrates 5.1. 2 Vertebrates 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Diversity There is insufficient information about the invertebrate and lower forms of India, with significant work having been done only in a few groups of insects, notably the butterflies, odonates, hymenoptera, the larger coleoptera and heteroptera. Few concerted attempts to document the biodiversity have been made since the publication of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma series. There are about 2,546 species of fishes ( about 11 % of the world species ) found in Indian waters. About 197 species of amphibians ( 4.4 % of the world total ) and more than 408 reptile species ( 6 % of the world total ) are found in India. Among these groups the highest levels of endemism are found in the amphibians. There are about 1,250 species of birds from India, with some variations, depending on taxonomic treatments, accounting for about 12 % of the world species. There are about 410 species of mammals known from India, which is about 8.86 % of the world species. India has the most number of cat species than any other country. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre gives an estimate of about 15,000 species of flowering plants in India. Biodiversity hotspots The Western Ghats Main article : Western Ghats The Western Ghats are a chain of hills that run along the western edge of peninsular India. Their proximity to the ocean and through orographic effect, they receive high rainfall. These regions have moist deciduous forest and rain forest. The region shows high species diversity as well as high levels of endemism. Nearly 77 % of the amphibians and 62 % of the reptile species found here are found nowhere else. The region shows biogeographical affinities to the Malayan region, and the Satpura hypothesis proposed by Sunder Lal Hora suggests that the hill chains of Central India may have once formed a connection with the forests of northeastern India and into the Indo - Malayan region. Hora used torrent stream fishes to support the theory, but it was also suggested to hold for birds. Later studies have suggested that Hora 's original model species were a demonstration of convergent evolution rather than speciation by isolation. More recent phylogeographic studies have attempted to study the problem using molecular approaches. There are also differences in taxa which are dependent on time of divergence and geological history. Along with Sri Lanka this region also shows some fauna similarities with the Madagascan region especially in the reptiles and amphibians. Examples include the Sinophis snakes, the purple frog and Sri Lankan lizard genus Nessia which appears similar to the Madagascan genus Acontias. Numerous floral links to the Madagascan region also exist. An alternate hypothesis that these taxa may have originally evolved out - of - India has also been suggested. Bio geographical quirks exist with some taxa of Malayan origin occurring in Sri Lanka but absent in the Western Ghats. These include insects groups such as the plants such as those of the genus Nepenthes. The eastern Himalayas The Eastern Himalayas is the region encompassing Bhutan, northeastern India, and southern, central and eastern Nepal. The region is geologically young and shows high altitudinal variation. It has nearly 163 globally threatened species including the one - horned rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis ), the Wild Asian water buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis ( Arnee ) ) and in all 45 mammals, 50 birds, 17 reptiles, 12 amphibians, 3 invertebrate and 36 plant species. The relict dragonfly ( Epiophlebia laidlawi ) is an endangered species found here with the only other species in the genus being found in Japan. The region is also home to the Himalayan newt ( Tylototriton verrucosus ), the only salamander species found within Indian limits. Extinct and fossil forms During the early Tertiary period, the Indian tableland, what is today peninsular India, was a large island. Prior to becoming an island it was connected to the African region. During the tertiary period this island was separated from the Asian mainland by a shallow sea. The Himalayan region and the greater part of Tibet lay under this sea. The movement of the Indian subcontinent into the Asian landmass created the great Himalayan ranges and raised the sea bed into what is today the plains of northern India. Once connected to the Asian mainland, many species moved into India. The Himalayas were created in several upheavals. The Siwaliks were formed in the last and the largest number of fossils of the Tertiary period are found in these ranges. The Siwalik fossils include mastodons, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, sivatherium, a large four - horned ruminant, giraffe, horses, camels, bison, deer, antelope, gorillas, pigs, chimpanzees, orangutans, baboons, langurs, macaques, cheetahs, sabre - toothed cats, lions, tigers, sloth bear, Aurochs, leopards, wolves, dholes, porcupines, rabbits and a host of other mammals. Many fossil tree species have been found in the intertrappean beds including Grewioxylon from the Eocene and Heritieroxylon keralensis from the middle Miocene in Kerala and Heritieroxylon arunachalensis from the Mio - Pliocene of Arunachal Pradesh and at many other places. The discovery of Glossopteris fern fossils from India and Antarctica led to the discovery of Gondwanaland and led to the greater understanding of continental drift. Fossil Cycads are known from India while seven Cycad species continue to survive in India. Titanosaurus indicus was perhaps the first dinosaur discovered in India by Richard Lydekker in 1877 in the Narmada valley. This area has been one of the most important areas for paleontology in India. Another dinosaur known from India is Rajasaurus narmadensis, a heavy - bodied and stout carnivorous abelisaurid ( theropod ) dinosaur that inhabited the area near present - day Narmada river. It was 9 m in length and 3 m in height and somewhat horizontal in posture with a double - crested crown on the skull. Some fossil snakes from the Cenozoic era are also known. Some scientists have suggested that the Deccan lava flows and the gases produced were responsible for the global extinction of dinosaurs however these have been disputed. Himalayacetus subathuensis the oldest - known whale fossil of the family Protocetidae ( Eocene ), about 53.5 million years old was found in the Simla hills in the foothills of the Himalayas. This area was underwater ( in the Tethys sea ) during the Tertiary period ( when India was an island off Asia ). This whale may have been capable of living partly on land. Other fossil whales from India include Remingtonocetus approximately 43 - 46 million years old. Several small mammal fossils have been recorded in the intertrappean beds, however larger mammals are mostly unknown. The only major primate fossils have been from the nearby region of Myanmar. See also Geology of India Recent extinctions The exploitation of land and forest resources by humans along with hunting and trapping for food and sport has led to the extinction of many species in India in recent times. Probably the first species to vanish during the time of the Indus Valley civilisation was the species of wild cattle, Bos primegenius nomadicus or the wild zebu, which vanished from its range in the Indus valley and western India, possibly due to inter-breeding with domestic cattle and resultant fragmentation of wild populations due to loss of habitat. Notable mammals which became or are presumed extinct within the country itself include the Indian / Asiatic cheetah, Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros. While some of these large mammal species are confirmed extinct, there have been many smaller animal and plant species whose status is harder to determine. Many species have not been seen since their description. Hubbardia heptaneuron, a species of grass that grew in the spray zone of the Jog Falls prior to the construction of the Linganamakki reservoir, was thought to be extinct but a few were rediscovered near Kolhapur. Some species of birds have gone extinct in recent times, including the pink - headed duck ( Rhodonessa caryophyllacea ) and the Himalayan quail ( Ophrysia superciliosa ). A species of warbler, Acrocephalus orinus, known earlier from a single specimen collected by Allan Octavian Hume from near Rampur in Himachal Pradesh was rediscovered after 139 years in Thailand. Similarly, the Jerdon 's courser ( Rhinoptilus bitorquatus ), named after the zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon who discovered it in 1848, was rediscovered in 1986 by Bharat Bhushan, an ornithologist at the Bombay Natural History Society after being thought to be extinct. Species estimates Glimpses of biodiversity An estimate of the numbers of species by group in India is given below. This is based on Alfred, 1998. Taxonomic Group World species Indian species % in India PROTISTA Protozoa 31250 2577 8.24 Total ( Protista ) 31250 2577 8.24 ANIMALIA Mesozoa 71 10 14.08 Porifera 4562 486 10.65 Cnidaria 9916 842 8.49 Ctenophora 100 12 12 Platyhelminthes 17500 1622 9.27 Nemertinea 600 Rotifera 2500 330 13.2 Gastrotricha 3000 100 3.33 Kinorhyncha 100 10 10 Nematoda 30000 2850 9.5 Nematomorpha 250 Acanthocephala 800 229 28.62 Sipuncula 145 35 24.14 Mollusca 66535 5070 7.62 Echiura 127 43 33.86 Annelida 12700 840 6.61 Onychophora 100 Arthropoda 987949 68389 6.9 Crustacea 35534 2934 8.26 Insecta 853000 53400 6.83 Arachnida 73440 7.9 Pycnogonida 600 2.67 Pauropoda 360 Chilopoda 3000 100 3.33 Diplopoda 7500 162 2.16 Symphyla 120 3.33 Merostomata 50 Phoronida 11 27.27 Bryozoa ( Ectoprocta ) 4000 200 5 Endoprocta 60 10 16.66 Brachiopoda 300 Pogonophora 80 Praipulida 8 Pentastomida 70 Chaetognatha 111 30 27.02 Tardigrada 514 30 5.83 Echinodermata 6223 765 12.29 Hemichordata 120 12 10 Chordata 48451 4952 10.22 Protochordata ( Cephalochordata + Urochordata ) 2106 119 5.65 Pisces 21723 2546 11.72 Amphibia 7533 350 4.63 Reptilia 5817 456 7.84 Aves 9026 1232 13.66 Mammalia 4629 390 8.42 Total ( Animalia ) 1196903 868741 7.25 Grand Total ( Protosticta + Animalia ) 1228153 871318 7.09 Taxonomic lists and indices A praying mantis Harpegnathos saltator An Idiopid spider endemic to India Deccan mahseer Tor khudree This section provides links to lists of species of various taxa found in India. Animals Invertebrates Molluscs List of non-marine molluscs of India Arachnids Spiders of India Insects Odonata Dragonflies and damselflies of India Lepidoptera Butterflies of India Papilionid butterflies of India Pierid butterflies of India Nymphalid butterflies of India Lycaenid butterflies of India Hesperid butterflies of India Riodinid butterflies of India Moths of India Hymenoptera Ants of India Vertebrates Fishes of India Amphibians of India Reptiles of India Snakes of India Birds of South Asia Birds in India Mammals of India See also Endemic birds of South Asia Ecoregions in India Indian natural history Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Flora and fauna of Karnataka List of Indian state birds Endangered Mammals of India Flora of India The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Wildlife of India Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Endemic birds of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India India Nature Watch Birding in Chennai Birdwatchers ' Field Club of Bangalore Temple Reef References Jump up ^ Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Govt of India. `` ENVIS Centre on Floral Diversity, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal ''. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 18. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Archived 9 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Dr S.K. Puri. `` Biodiversity Profile of India ( Text Only ) ''. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ Jean - Claude Rage ( 2003 ) Relationships of the Malagasy fauna during the Late Cretaceous : Northern or Southern routes ? Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 48 ( 4 ) : 661 - 662 PDF Archived 14 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Briggs, JC ( 2003 ) The biogeographic and tectonic history of India. Journal of Biogeography, 30 : 381 -- 388 Jump up ^ Marivaux L., Welcome J. - L., Antoine P-O., Métais G., Baloch I.M., Benammi M., Chaimanee Y., Ducrocq S., and Jaeger J. - J. ( 2001 ) A fossil lemur from the Oligocene of Pakistan. Science, 294 : 587 -- 591. Jump up ^ Oligocene Lemur fossil hints at Asian origin. Retrieved February 2007. Jump up ^ Krausman, PR & AJT Johnsingh ( 1990 ) Conservation and wildlife education in India. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 18 : 342 - 347 Jump up ^ Project Tiger Accessed Feb, 2007 Jump up ^ Project Elephant Archived 19 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed Feb, 2007 Jump up ^ WCMC website Archived 28 November 2001 at the Library of Congress Web Archives Jump up ^ Nameer, PO ( 1998 ). Checklist of Indian mammals. Kerala Forest Department, Thiruvananthapuram Jump up ^ Sharma, B.K. ; Kulshreshtha, Seema ; Rahmani, Asad R. ( 2013 - 09 - 14 ). Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India : General Background and Ecology of Vertebrates. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 482. ISBN 9781461408000. ^ Jump up to : Daniels, R.J.R. ( 2001 ) Endemic fishes of the Western Ghats and the Satpura hypothesis. Current Science 81 ( 3 ) : 240 - 244 Jump up ^ Ripley, Dillon S. ( 1947 ) Avian relicts and double invasions in Peninsular India and Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ). Evolution 2 : 150 - 159 Jump up ^ Karanth, P.K. ( 2003 ) Evolution of disjunct distributions among wet - zone species of the Indian subcontinent : Testing various hypotheses using a phylogenetic approach Current Science, 85 ( 9 ) : 1276 - 1283 Jump up ^ Biswas, S. and Pawar S.S. ( 2006 ) Phylogenetic tests of distribution patterns in South Asia : towards an integrative approach ; J. Biosci. 31 95 -- 113 Jump up ^ affinities Jump up ^ Bio geography of Madagascar Jump up ^ Karanth, P. 2006 Out - of - India Gondwanan origin of some tropical Asian biota. Current Science 90 ( 6 ) : 789 - 792 Jump up ^ Conservation International 2006 Archived 25 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Ecosystem Profile : Eastern Himalayas Region, 2005 Jump up ^ Amphibian Species of the World - Desmognathus imitator Dunn, 1927 Archived 10 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Prater, S.H. ( 1971 ) The Book of Indian Animals. BNHS Jump up ^ Stewart R. Hinsley Notes on fossil wood. Retrieved September 2006. Jump up ^ Robert Buckler ( 1999 ) A brief review of the fossil cycads. PDF Jump up ^ Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia Jump up ^ Singh, Rita, P. Radha ( 2006 ) A new species of Cycas from the Malabar Coast, Western Ghats, India. Volume 58 ( 2 ) : 119 - 123 Jump up ^ Rajasaurus and Indian Dinosaur. Geological Survey of India. PDF Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Rage J. - C., Bajpai S., Thewissen J.G.M. & Tiwari B.N. 2003. Early Eocene snakes from Kutch, Western India, with a review of the Palaeophiidae. Geodiversitas 25 ( 4 ) : 695 - 716 PDF Jump up ^ Floodvolcanism is the main cause of mass extinctions : Nice try, but where is the evidence ? PDF Jump up ^ Volcanism Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Whale fossils Jump up ^ Bajpai, S. and Gingerich P.D. ( 1998 ) A new Eocene archaeocete ( Mammalia, Cetacea ) from India and the time of origin of whales Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95 : 15464 -- 15468 PDF Archived 22 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Rangarajan, M. ( 2006 ) India 's Wildlife History, p. 4 ISBN 81 - 7824 - 140 - 4 Jump up ^ Vivek Menon ( 2003 ). A field guide to Indian mammals. Dorling Kindersley, Delhi. ISBN 0 - 14 - 302998 - 3. Jump up ^ IUCN Species Survival Commission ( SSC ) E-Bulletin - December 2002. Retrieved October 2006. Jump up ^ Threatened birds of Asia Archived 13 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved October 2006. Jump up ^ The Nation, March 6, 2007 Archived 27 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Alfred, J.R.B. ( 1998 ) Faunal Diversity in India : An Overview : In Faunal Diversity in India, i - viii Archived 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine., 1 - 495. ( Editors. Alfred, JRB, et al., 1998 ). ENVIS Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. Further reading SPECIES CHECKLIST : Species Diversity in India ; ENVIS Centre : Wildlife & Protected Areas ( Secondary Database ) ; Wildlife Institute of India ( WII ) Biodiversity of India : List of all mammals of India and their taxonomic status based on data from the IBIN Portal, Encyclopedia of Life and Catalogue of Life 2010 checklist. ENVIS Centre : Wildlife & Protected Areas ( Secondary Database ) ; Wildlife Institute of India ( WII ) ENVIS Centre on Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sights of India ; ENVIS ; C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre is a Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Animals of India. Tata Energy Research Institute Alliance for Zero extinction The official Indian Environment information site Biodiversity of India, a community - driven, Mediawiki based initiative to document the biodiversity of India. 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Question: why do we have large biodiversity in india
Answer: encompass a wide range of ecozones