India has an estimated 92,873 species of fauna, roughly about 7.5% of the species available worldwide.[3][4] Insects form the major category with 63,423 recorded species. India is home to 423mammals, 1233birds, 526reptiles, 342amphibians, 3022fish apart from other species which form 7.6% of mammal, 14.7% of amphibian, 6% of bird, 6.2% of reptilian species worldwide.[3][5] Among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians.[5]
TheIndian subcontinent was formerly an island landmass (Insular India) that split away fromGondwana around 125 million years ago, during theEarly Cretaceous.[6]Late Cretaceous Insular Indian faunas were very similar to those found on Madagascar due to their shared connection until around 90 million years ago.[7] TheCretaceous-Paleogene extinction event around 66 million years ago caused the extinction of many animals native to Insular India, such as itstitanosaurian andabelisaurid dinosaurs.[8] During the earlyCenozoic era, around 55-50 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent collided withLaurasia, allowing animals from Asia to migrate into the Indian subcontinent. Some elements of India's modern fauna, such as the frog familyNasikabatrachidae and thecaecillian familyChikilidae, are suggested to have been present in India prior to its collision with Asia.[6]
Indian elephant, the largest terrestrial animal species in India
Four species ofmegafauna (large animals) native to India became extinct during theLate Pleistocene around 10,000-50,000 years ago as part of aglobal wave of megafauna extinctions, these include the very large elephantPalaeoloxodon namadicus (possibly the largest land mammal to have ever lived), the elephant relativeStegodon, the hippopotamusHexaprotodon, and the equineEquus namadicus. These extinctions are thought to have been after the arrival of modern humans on the Indian subcontinent.Ostriches were also formerly native to India, but also became extinct during the Late Pleistocene.[9][10]
About 24.6% of the total land area is covered by forests.[21] It has variousecoregions ranging from the high altitudeHimalayas,tropical evergreen forests along the Western Ghats,desert in the north-west, coastal plains andmangroves along the peninsular region.[22] India's climate has become progressively drier since the lateMiocene, reducing forest cover in northern India in favour of grassland.[23]
There are about 29,015 species of plants including 17,926 species offlowering plants. This is about 9.1% of the total plant species identified worldwide and 6,842 species are endemic to India. Other plant species include 7,244algae, 2,504bryophytes, 1,267pteridophytes and 74gymnosperms.[3] One-third of the fungal diversity of the world exists in India with over 27,000 recorded species, making it the largest biotic community after insects.[24][25]
As of 2023, there are 1022protected areas including 106national parks, 573wildlife sanctuaries, 220 conservation reserves and 123 community reserves. In addition, there are 55 tiger reserves, 18 biosphere reserves and 32 elephant reserves.[21]
^abBiodiversity profile for India (Report). United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved1 December 2023.
^Jhala, Y. V.; Qureshi, Q.; Nayak, A. K. (2019).Status of Tigers, Co-Predators and Prey in India 2018. Summary Report. TR No./2019/05. New Delhi, Dehradun: National Tiger Conservation Authority & Wildlife Institute of India.
Saravanan, Velayutham.Environmental History of Modern India: Land, Population, Technology and Development (Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2022)online review
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