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Endemic Animals of India

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Endemic Animals of India ENDEMIC ANIMALS OF INDIA Edited by K. VENKATARAMAN A. CHATTOPADHYAY K.A. SUBRAMANIAN ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA Prani Vigyan Bhawan, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053 Phone: +91 3324006893, +91 3324986820 website: www.zsLgov.in CITATION Venkataraman, K., Chattopadhyay, A. and Subramanian, K.A. (Editors). 2013. Endemic Animals of India (Vertebrates): 1-235+26 Plates. (Published by the Director, Zoological Survey ofIndia, Kolkata) Published: May, 2013 ISBN 978-81-8171-334-6 Printing of Publication supported by NBA © Government ofIndia, 2013 Published at the Publication Division by the Director, Zoological Survey of India, M -Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700053. Printed at Hooghly Printing Co., Ltd., Kolkata-700 071. ~~ "!I~~~~~ NATIONA BIODIVERSITY AUTHORITY ~.1it. ifl(itCfiW I .3lUfl IDr. (P. fJJa{a~rlt/a Chairman FOREWORD Each passing day makes us feel that we live in a world with diminished ecological diversity and disappearing life forms. We have been extracting energy, materials and organisms from nature and altering landscapes at a rate that cannot be a sustainable one. Our nature is an essential partnership; an 'essential', because each living species has its space and role', and performs an activity vital to the whole; a 'partnership', because the biological species or the living components of nature can only thrive together, because together they create a dynamic equilibrium. Nature is further a dynamic entity that never remains the same- that changes, that adjusts, that evolves; 'equilibrium', that is in spirit, balanced and harmonious. Nature, in fact, promotes evolution, radiation and diversity. The current biodiversity is an inherited vital resource to us, which needs to be carefully conserved for our future generations as it holds the key to the progress in agriculture, aquaculture, clothing, food, medicine and numerous other fields. Today, our biological wealth has been threatened due to escalating anthropogenic demands leading to devastation of habitats and ecosystems. In this situational matrix, declaration of the present decade (2011-2020) by the United Nations as the "Decade on Biodiversity" has rightfully created a thrust upon our county for implementing the obligations and responsibilities of the clauses of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). A taxonomic analysis of available species is still the popular approach in assessing diversity and measuring species - richness values of plants and animals in an area, which is one of the important parameters in conservation programme. Each species is one unit and the loss of a species signifies that the world is poorer by one unit species, or an area becomes poorer by one locally extinct taxon. In recent times, naturalists and economists have begun to raise the questions, whether we can afford to treat all species with equal rating? If one would ask, whether a species of rat is equivalent to a species of panda? The answer would become, rats are no less important in human economy, but they lack appeal to the biologists from the viewpoint of conservation. Eventually, some species always received priorities over other in protection. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) spearheaded the taxonomic researches of fauna in India for about a century and as a premier institution under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) brought out many scientific documents and books highlighting the faunal wealth and diversity of the country. Taxonomy, in fact, provides the reference system for all organisms, and the framework on which the skills to identify and specify the elements of biodiversity are based. As such, it has been recognized by the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as being fundamental to the CBD. The present document prepared by the ZSI on the endemic vertebrate animals of India would prove to be vital and useful one. I am sure present document/book will prove to be a reference material for the conservation officials, scientists, students, policy planners and all others concerned with the cause of conservation and sustainable utilization of the biological resource of the country. Chennai, 09 th May, 2013 (Balakrishna P) Dr. K. VENKATARAMAN Director Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forests Zoological Survey of India M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053 Telefax: +91 33 2400 6893, Email: [email protected] PREFACE India, one of the mega biodiversity countries of the world is unique in having faunal elements representing Gondwanaian, Afrotropical, Oriental and Pale arctic representatives. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies provide strong evidence that many endemic fauna such as caecilians, some freshwater molluscs, freshwater fishes, certain reptiles and insects of the subcontinent are evolutionarily the most ancient forms. High levels of endemism across vertebrate and invertebrate groups in India are reported from the Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. So far, a whopping figure of more than 93,000 species of animals constituting some 7.50% of the overall species recorded in the entire world has been documented from our country. Zoological Survey of India has contributed significantly to the documentation, especially establishing the distribution of endemic species. Most of the endemic species due to their unique habitat preference, life history strategies and low population densities are at a higher risk of extinction due to anthropogenic activities. In the recent past, the distribution and population of many endemic species, which were once common across the landscape have reduced. This alarming trend indicates the overall degradation of ecosystem health and decline of associated species. Accurate scientific documentation of endemic fauna is the first step towards effective conservation actions. The scientists of ZSI, over the years have traversed across India and studied the vast National Zoological Collections to document the endemic status of various species. The current updated document on endemic vertebrates provides recently adopted nomenclature, status and distribution of endemic species. This publication on "Endemic Vertebrates" will be of immense help to taxonomists, ecologists, conservation managers, National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, Biodiversity Management Committees, Peoples Biodiversity Registers, students and teachers. We envisage that this publication will encourage students, teachers, professionals and amateur naturalists to document and conserve faunal diversity of India, especially the endemics. Kolkata K. Venkataraman 02 May, 2013 Director CONTENTS 1. Prologue ........................................................................... 5 2. Mammalia ....................................................................... 7 3. Aves ................................................................................ 17 4. Reptiles .......................................................................... 35 5. Amphibia ....................................................................... 67 6. Pisces ............................................................................ 139 PROLOGUE K. VENKATARAMAN Zoological Survey ofIndia M-Block, New Alipore Kolkata - 700 053 "Security is mostly a superstition, it does not exist in of their poor adaptability to varied environmental nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at conditions other than that of their own habitats. all" - Helen Keller The concept of endemism is applied while The paraphrased quotation of Hellen Adams Keller, formulating different biogeographic regions. The study the American writer and social activist, aptly reflects in of an endemic animal species involves the study of the true sense and spirit the concept of species-endemism zoogeographical zones that constitute the habitat of a in nature. The Mother Nature has many sentinel species. Zoogeography therefore helps in the study of species which, by their outright exposures to dire and the past and present pattern of distribution of a type of disastrous threats to their lives, have overcome the animal, which in turn can help in predicting its future dangers, and still continue to sustain and perpetuate range of occurrence. themselves in their natural habitats and environment that have undergone considerable change. Distribution and occurrences of animal species was always guided by the environmental forces in Endemism is the phenomenon of restricted the past. Patterns of distribution can be explained distribution or occurrence of a species in a well defined by a combination of dispersalist and vicariance geographical area. The area may be as small as that biogeography. It is believed that the vicariance process of a small lake; it may be the state of a country or a forms the underlying mechanism of distributional country itself, or even a continent. The phenomenon of diversity and the dispersalist mode operating only Endemism is related to Biogeography that denotes the occasionally. Vicariance theory states that a species unique occurrence of a living species in the ecological that is distributed over a wide area becomes vicariated state of a well defined geographic location that may be as a geographic barrier develops, as was evidenced a small local area with unique niche characteristics like in the continental drift. The theory of vicarianism the Loktak Lake in the state of Manipur, an island like developed gradually through the works of Leon Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a state like Gujarat
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