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Bio- Diversity Species in News Marine Species in News ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Pilot Whale -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Whale Shark ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 Irrawaddy Dolphins --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Gangetic Dolphin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Indus River Dolphin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Chinese Pink Dolphins------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Zebrafish ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Schizothorax Sikusirumensis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Hilsa Fish ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Band-tail Scorpionfish ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Chinese paddlefish ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Puntius Sanctus Fish -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Aenigmachanna Gollum --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Mahseer------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 Dugong ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Red Sea Turtles--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Peacock Soft-shelled Turtle ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Kurma--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 Red-crowned roof turtle--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Olive Ridley Turtles --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Travancore Tortoise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Diego: The Giant Tortoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Sal Forest Tortoise ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Platypus -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Noctiluca Scintillans -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Malabar Gliding Frog ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Kalinga Frog ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Purple Frog -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Myristica Swamp Treefrog -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 Indian Bullfrog---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 1 Leptarma Biju ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 Horseshoe Crab -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 Abortelphusa Namdaphaensis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 Snake Eel ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 Bathynomus Raksas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 Tetrastemma Freyae ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16 2 Marine Species in News Pilot Whale Mass Pilot Whale Strandings was seen in Tasmania which is not common in this part of the world & of this scale are not uncommon either. However, exact reasons for stranding are unknown yet. Pilot whales are so named because it was once believed that each observed group was navigated by a pilot or leader. Their Latin name, Globicephala, means ‘round head’, which is one of the main identifying features of the species. There are two species of pilot whales The Short-finned pilot whales, which are mainly found in tropical and warm-temperate regions, and The Long-finned pilot whales, which inhabit colder waters. Both species are designated as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Whale Shark A 14.9 ft.-long whale shark died at the coast near Sunapur in Odisha’s Ganjam district. Scientific Name: Rhincodon typus. Whale sharks are the largest shark and they feed on plankton and travel large distances to find enough food to sustain their huge size, and to reproduce. Whale sharks are found in all the tropical oceans of the world. Conservation Status IUCN: Endangered CITES: AppendixII Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I Threats:Oil & gas drilling, shipping lanes etc. Irrawaddy Dolphins Recently, Odisha Forest Department has sighted 146 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake. Scientific Name: OrcaellaBrevirostris They are oceanic dolphin found in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and estuaries in South and Southeast Asia. There habitat extends from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines. They are found in three rivers namely The Irrawaddy (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong. They have a bulging forehead and short beak. They pop out their head out of the water to breathe followed by its back. Conservation Status IUCN: Endangered CITES: AppendixI The dolphin distribution in Chilika is considered to be the highest single lagoon population. Threat: They had been under stress in Chilika lake due to unregulated boating by tourists as well as illegal prawn enclosures. 3 Gangetic Dolphin According to a census report prepared by Madhya Pradesh, dolphins’ number in Chambal River has been reduced by 13 % in four years. It is India’s national aquatic animal and is popularly known as ‘Susu’. Found in parts of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. They are distributed across seven states in India: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Conservation Status IUCN: Endangered CITES: AppendixI Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin They prefer the shallow, near shore waters of countries in the Indian Ocean, ideally with a freshwater input. They can be found not far from shore in the coastal waters of South Africa in the south, northwards around the coast of East Africa, throughout the Middle East, and the west coast of India IUCN: Endangered Indus River Dolphin They can only be found in the lower parts of the Indus River in Pakistan and in River Beas, a tributary of the Indus River in Punjab, India. They have adapted to life in the muddy river and are functionally blind. The dolphin is the state aquatic animal of Punjab. IUCN Status: Endangered Chinese Pink Dolphins According to recent observations Chinese pink dolphins are making a comeback in the Pearl river estuary, one of the most heavily industrialised areas on Earth. Scientific Name: Sousa Chinensis. Coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white/pink dolphin in China (including Macao), Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore as a common name. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has seen a decline in their numbers in the past 15 years by 70-80%. Dolphins use echolocation to find their way in the water. Echolocation is a technique used by bats, dolphins and other animals to determine the location

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