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| Wildlife of India |
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India is the world's 8th mostbiodiverse region with a 0.46 BioD score ondiversity index, 102,718 species of fauna and 23.39% of the nation's geographical area under forest and tree cover in 2020.[1] India encompasses a wide range of biomes: desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. Officially, four out of the 36Biodiversity Hotspots in the world are present in India: theHimalayas, theWestern Ghats, theIndo-Burma and theNicobar Islands. To these may be added theSundarbans and the Terrai-Duar Savannah grasslands for their unique foliage and animal species.[2]These hotspots have numerousendemic species.[3] Nearly 5% of India's total area is formally classified underprotected areas .
India, for the most part, lies within theIndomalayan realm, with the upper reaches of theHimalayas forming part of thePalearctic realm; the contours of 2000 to 2500m are considered to be the altitudinal boundary between the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic zones. India displays significantbiodiversity. One of seventeenmegadiverse countries, it is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of allavian, 6.2% of allreptilian, 4.4% of allamphibian and 11.7% of all fish.
The region is also heavily influenced bysummer monsoons that cause major seasonal changes in vegetation and habitat. India forms a large part of theIndomalayan biogeographical zone and many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with only a fewtaxa being unique to the Indian region. The unique forms include the snake familyUropeltidae found only in theWestern Ghats andSri Lanka. Fossil taxa from theCretaceous show links to theSeychelles and Madagascar chain of islands.[4] The Cretaceous fauna include reptiles, amphibians and fishes and an extant species demonstrating thisphylogeographical link is thepurple 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 theMyobatrachidae), threecaecilian families, alacertid lizard and freshwater snails of the familyPomatiopsidae.[5] A thirty million-year-oldOligocene-era fossil tooth from theBugti Hills of central Pakistan has been identified as from a lemur-like primate, prompting controversial suggestions that the lemurs may have originated in Asia.[6][7] Lemur fossils from India in the past led to theories of a lost continent calledLemuria. This theory however was dismissed whencontinental drift andplate tectonics became well established.
India is home to several well-known large mammals, including theAsian elephant,Bengal tiger,Asiatic lion,Indian leopard andIndian rhinoceros. Some of these animals are engrained in Indian culture, often being associated with deities.These large mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India, with several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries catering to these needs. The popularity of these charismatic animals has greatly helped conservation efforts in India. The tiger has been particularly important, andProject Tiger, started in 1972, was a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats.[8] Project Elephant, though less known, started in 1992 and works for elephant protection.[9] Most of India's rhinos today survive in theKaziranga National Park.
Some other well-known large Indian mammals are ungulates such as thewater buffalo,nilgai,gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as theIndian wolf,Bengal fox,golden jackal and thedhole or wild dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to thestriped hyena. Many smaller animals such asmacaques,langurs andmongoose species are especially well known due to their ability to live close to or inside urban areas.
The majority of conservation research attention on wildlife in India is focused within protected areas, though there is considerable wild fauna outside such reserves including in farmlands and in cities.[10][11][12]
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TheZoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters inKolkata (the capital ofWest Bengal) and 16 regional stations is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has a great variety offauna, numbering 89,451 species.
The mammals include theIndian elephant, thegaur or erroneously theIndian bison - the largest of existingbovines, the greatIndian rhinoceros, and thewild water buffalo.Deer andantelopes include thebarasingha, thesangai,chital,sambar deer,Indian hog deer,Himalayan musk deer,Indian muntjac,Indian spotted chevrotain,Kashmir stag,Tibetan antelope,blackbuck,chausingha,goa,Indian gazelle, andnilgai. There are also wild donkeys likeIndian wild ass andkiang, andcaprines likeBhutan takin,Mishmi takin,red serow,Himalayan serow,red goral,Himalayan goral,markhor,Siberian ibex,Nilgiri tahr,Himalayan tahr,urial,argali, andblue sheep. Thesecaprines are generally found in theHimalayas ofHimachal Pradesh,Ladakh, andJammu and Kashmir (union territory), as well as theDooars forest and theTerai region, floodplains at the base of theHimalayas. A notable exception is theNilgiri tahr which isendemic to theNilgiri Hills ofTamil Nadu. There are several big cats; theAsiatic lion,Bengal tiger,Indian leopard,snow leopard,clouded leopard,Eurasian lynx andcaracal. Lesser cat species includefishing cat,Asiatic wildcat,jungle cat,Pallas's cat,Bengal cat,marbled cat,Asian golden cat, andleopard cat. There are also canines such asUssuri dhole,Indian jackal,Indian wolf,Bengal fox,Tibetan wolf, andTibetan fox. Anothercarnivore is thestriped hyena.
Several birds, likegreater flamingos,Brahminy ducks,white-breasted waterhen,pheasant-tailed jacana,Eurasian spoonbills,lesser flamingos,purple herons,great andcattle egret,Indian pond herons,oriental magpie-robins,Nicobar pigeons,Indian mynas,Indian rollers,slaty-breasted rails,greater coucals,black-bellied terns,Indian pittas,Indian paradise flycatchers,sarus cranes,Siberian cranes,demoiselle cranes,great hornbills,rose-ringed parakeets,vernal hanging parrots,knob-billed ducks,painted storks, andAsian openbills are found in the various habitats of the country. TheIndian peafowl is the national bird of India.Pheasants includered junglefowl,grey junglefowl,Himalayan monals,satyr tragopans, andkalij pheasants; thegreat Indian bustard is also common ingrasslands.Predatory birds include theNorthern goshawk,shikra,black kite,white-bellied sea eagle,golden eagle,peregrine falcon,Indian vulture,slender-billed vulture, andwhite-backed vulture. Thehouse crow andIndian jungle crow are some crow species in India.Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse is asandgrouse found in India.
There are several species of small mammals in India. These include theAsian house shrew, thenorthern andgreater hog badger, theChinese ferret-badger, thehoney badger, theIndian pangolin, and theChinese pangolin.Arboreal small mammals include theNilgiri marten,small-toothed palm civet,Asian palm civet,small Indian civet,large Indian civet,binturong, andred panda. The bears of India aresun bear,sloth bear,Himalayan black bear, andHimalayan brown bear.
There are also manyprimates in India. Theapes of India are thegibbons;western hoolock gibbon andeastern hoolock gibbon.Macaques includerhesus macaque,bonnet macaque,lion-tailed macaque,Northern pig-tailed macaque,stump-tailed macaque,Arunachal macaque,white-cheeked macaque andAssamese macaque among others. The various species oflangurs includepurple-faced langur, theNilgiri langur, theGee's golden langur andcapped langur. There is also thePhayre's leaf monkey. Thesuids in India areIndian boar and the critically endangeredpygmy hog. There arelagomorphs like the critically endangeredhispid hare, thewoolly hare and theblack-naped hare. TheRoyle's pika andHimalayan marmot are some of the montane small mammals. There is also the largeMalabar giant squirrel,Indian palm squirrel,Indian gerbil, porcupine speciesIndian crested porcupine and hedgehog speciesbare-bellied hedgehog andIndian hedgehog. Another predator in India is thespotted linsang, a civet-like creature.
Many animals are domesticated in India, and seeing them in the streets of villages and even cities is common. Bovines include thezebu, which descended from the extinctIndian aurochs, thedomestic water buffalo, thegayal, which is a domesticated gaur, and in the northern regionsdomestic yak, which descended from the also nativewild yak.Dromedary camel can be found in desert states likeRajasthan,Gujarat, andPunjab.Mongrel dogs are a common sight in most cities of India. Other small mammals found throughout urban areas are several species of mongoose andwhite-tailed mole. These mongoose species areruddy mongoose,Indian grey mongoose,Indian brown mongoose,small Indian mongoose,stripe-necked mongoose, andcrab-eating mongoose. Thedesert locust is infamous for destroying crops.
Rivers and lakes harbourmugger crocodiles andgharials. Thesaltwater crocodile is found along the eastern coast and in theAndaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for breeding crocodiles started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the crocodile from extinction. Snakes includeking cobra,Indian cobra,monocled cobra,Indian rock python,reticulated python,Sri Lankan green vine snake,Brahminy blind snake,green pit viper,Salazar's pit viper,Russell's viper,saw-scaled viper andIndian krait. The cobras are an important part of Indian culture. Frogs includepurple frog,Chunam tree frog,Indus Valley bullfrog, andIndian green frog. A notable newt is theHimalayan newt; it is the only salamander in India. There are also caecilian species, like theyellow-striped caecilian. India's coasts are full of sea turtles; these include theleatherback sea turtle,green sea turtle,hawksbill sea turtle,loggerhead sea turtle, andolive ridley sea turtle.Indian softshell turtles andIndian flapshell turtles are found in mangrove vegetation, lagoons, and freshwater and brackish bodies. TheAsian water monitor andBengal monitor are the monitor lizards in India; there are also several gecko species like thegolden gecko, and the only chameleon,Indian chameleon.
Fish are a major part of the Indian economy. The fish includetilapia,Atlantic pomfret,hilsa,barramundi,rohu,largetooth sawfish,Pearse's mudskipper,giant oceanic manta ray,leopard torpedo, among thousands of others. Hilsa and barramundi are important in thefishing industry of India, especially inWest Bengal. These also include sharks, such asthresher shark,great white shark,mako shark,hammerhead shark,tiger shark, andsand tiger shark.Bull sharks andGanges sharks are also found in freshwater areas and brackish areas such as theSundarbans National Park, part of the world's largest mangrove forest theSundarbans.Remora are commonly found attached to these sharks. Coral reefs in India are rich in fish such asangelfish,clownfish,powder blue tang,pufferfish,parrotfish,moray eel,Chinese trumpetfish,redtoothed triggerfish, andbutterfly fish.
Marine dolphins along the coast of India includebottlenose dolphin,common dolphin, andpantropical spotted dolphin among others.Finless porpoise are found along the coast as well. The endangeredIrrawaddy dolphin is found in freshwater areas, such asChilika Lake, alongside theGanges river dolphin andIndus river dolphin.Blue whales,humpback whales,sperm whales,dwarf sperm whales,orcas,Cuvier's beaked whales, andpygmy killer whales are the most common whales. The semi-aquatic mammals in India are otters. The species of otters areAsian small-clawed otter,Eurasian otter, andsmooth-coated otter. The increasingly endangereddugong is found throughout coastal estuaries and brackish water bodies.
A notable dragonfly is theHimalayan relict dragonfly. India is also known for its butterflies, such aslesser grass blue,common blue Apollo,common mime,common Mormon, andcommon Pierrot. Theorchid mantis is an iconic mantis found in the Western Ghats of India.Laboratory stick insects andleaf insects are found in abundance.
Stegodon elephants,Indosaurus,Himalayan quail, andpink-headed duck are famous extinct animals from India. The Himalayan quail and pink-headed duck are only presumed extinct. However, there are other quails such asrain quail in India, and the pink-headed duck's relative theIndian spot-billed duck.
Depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture,habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in community structure,epidemics,floods,droughts andcyclones, contribute to the loss of flora and fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish, and a large number of butterflies, moth, and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.[13]
India is listed 12th among themega-biodiverse nations in the world with a BioD score of 0.46 on thediversity index"which is calculated by its percentage of species in each group relative to the total global number of species in each group". With 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover, India is rich in biodiversity. A 2020 faunal survey of India by theZoological Survey of India (ZSI) reported a total of 102,718 species of fauna, with 557 new species including 407 newly described species and 150 new country records. Among the new finds, 486 species were invertebrates (mostly insects), and 71 were vertebrate species, mostly fishes and reptiles. New species were reported fromKarnataka (66 species),Kerala (51),Rajasthan (46) andWest Bengal (30). From 2010 to 2020, 4,112 species, including 2,800 new species and 1,312 new records, were added to the Indian fauna.[1]
There is insufficient information about the invertebrate fauna of India, with significant work having been done only in a few groups of insects, notably thebutterflies,Odonata andHymenoptera, mostly inThe 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 1361 species of birds recorded from India, with some variations, depending on taxonomic treatments, accounting for about 12% of the world species.[14]
There are about 410 species of mammals known from India, which is about 8.86% of the world species.[15]
India has the greatest number of cat species in the world.[16]
TheWorld Conservation Monitoring Centre gives an estimate of about 15,000 species of flowering plants in India.
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 havemoist deciduous forest andrain 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.[17] The region shows biogeographical affinities to theMalayan region, and the Satpura hypothesis proposed bySunder 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.[18] Later studies have suggested that Hora's original model species were a demonstration ofconvergent evolution rather than speciation by isolation.[17]
More recentphylogeographic studies have attempted to study the problem using molecular approaches.[19] There are also differences in taxa which are dependent on time of divergence and geological history.[20] Along with Sri Lanka this region also shows some fauna similarities with the Madagascan region especially in the reptiles and amphibians. Examples include theSinophis snakes, thepurple frog and Sri Lankan lizard genusNessia which appears similar to the Madagascan genusAcontias.[21] Numerous floral links to the Madagascan region also exist.[22] An alternate hypothesis that these taxa may have originally evolved out-of-India has also been suggested.[23]
Bio geographical quirks exist with some taxa of Malayan origin occurring inSri Lanka but absent in theWestern Ghats. These include insects groups such as the plants such as those of the genusNepenthes.
The Eastern Himalayas is the region encompassingBhutan,northeastern India,West Bengal, andsouthern, central and easternNepal. The region is geologically young and shows high altitudinal variation. It has nearly 163 globally threatened species including the one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), theWild Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis (Arnee)) and in all 45 mammals, 50 birds, 17 reptiles, 12 amphibians, 3 invertebrate and 36 plant species.[24][25] TheDooars forest in theTerai is a biologically diverse area, with Himalayan biodiversity as well as tropical biodiversity. The relict dragonfly (Epiophlebia laidlawi) is an endangered species found here with the only other species in the genus being found inJapan. The region is also home to the Himalayan newt (Tylototriton verrucosus), the onlysalamander species found within Indian limits.[26]
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 at the last and the largest number of fossils of the Tertiary period are found in these ranges.[27]
The Siwalik fossils includemastodons,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 othermammals.[27]
Many fossil tree species have been found in the intertrappean beds,[28] includingGrewioxylon from the Eocene andHeritieroxylon keralensis from the middleMiocene in Kerala andHeritieroxylon arunachalensis from the Mio-Pliocene of Arunachal Pradesh and at many other places. The discovery ofGlossopteris fern fossils from India and Antarctica led to the discovery of Gondwanaland and led to the greater understanding ofcontinental drift. FossilCycads[29] are known from India while sevenCycad species continue to survive in India.[30][31]
Titanosaurus indicus was perhaps the first dinosaur discovered in India byRichard 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 isRajasaurus narmadensis,[32] 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 theCenozoic era are also known.[33]
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.[34][35]
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.[36][37] Other fossil whales from India includeRemingtonocetus 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.
The exploitation of land and forest resources byhumans along with hunting and trapping for food and sport has led to the extinction of many species in India in recent times.[citation needed]
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 wildzebu, which vanished from its range in theIndus valley and western India, possibly due to inter-breeding with domestic cattle and resultant fragmentation of wild populations due to loss of habitat.[38]
Notable mammals which became or are presumed extinct within the country itself include the Indian /Asiatic cheetah,Javan rhinoceros andSumatran rhinoceros.[39] 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 thespray zone of theJog Falls prior to the construction of the Linganamakki reservoir, was thought to be extinct but a few were rediscovered near Kolhapur.[40]
Some species of birds have gone extinct in recent times, including thepink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) and theHimalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa). A species of warbler,Acrocephalus orinus, known earlier from a single specimen collected byAllan Octavian Hume from near Rampur inHimachal Pradesh was rediscovered after 139 years inThailand.[41][42] Similarly, theJerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus), named after the zoologistThomas C. Jerdon who discovered it in 1848, was rediscovered in 1986 by Bharat Bhushan, an ornithologist at theBombay Natural History Society after being thought to beextinct.
An estimate of the numbers of species by group in India is given below. This is based on Alfred, 1998.[43]
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 | 4 | 3.33 |
| Xiphosura | 4 | 2 | 50 |
| Phoronida | 11 | 3 | 27.27 |
| Bryozoa (Ectoprocta) | 4000 | 200 | 5 |
| Endoprocta | 60 | 10 | 16.66 |
| Brachiopoda | 300 | 3 | 1 |
| 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 |
This section provides links to lists of species of various taxa found in India.
