Biodiversity

Global Biodiversity: The Indian subcontinent’s have diverse

biomes such as desert, high mountains,
It is generally believed that more than
highlands, tropical and temperate
99 percent of all the species that ever
forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands,
lived on Earth have become extinct.
and areas surrounding rivers, as well as
The Catalogue of Life (COL) Checklist the island archipelago.
2023 contains over 2.1 million accepted
India also supports globally important
species. About 1.98 million are living
populations of some of Asia’s rarest
species, and the rest are extinct. It
animals, such as the Bengal Fox, Asiatic
categorizes life into 7 kingdoms and 108
Cheetah, Marbled Cat, Asiatic Lion,
Phylum. With 11.63 Lakh species,
Indian Elephant, Asiatic Wild Ass, Indian
Arthropoda phylum tops the list.
Rhinoceros, Markhor, Gaur, Wild Asiatic
Catalogue of Life Water Buffalo etc.
Catalogue of Life (COL) is an assembly of Plant Diversity:
expert-based global species checklists
Botanical Survey of India (BSI),
with the aim to build a comprehensive
established in 1890, serves the nation by
catalogue of all known species of
providing scientific basis for
organisms on Earth. It was created in
conservation and sustainable utilization
2001 as a partnership between the
of wild plants through survey, inventory,
global Species 2000 and the American
documentation, taxonomic research and
Integrated Taxonomic Information
creating environmental awareness. BSI
System.
brings out ‘Plant Discoveries’ since 2007.
Biodiversity in india
The latest estimate of Plant diversity in
India, one of the world’s 17 mega India stands at 55387 taxa including
diverse countries, makes up only 2.4% of 22108 angiosperms, 83 Gymnosperms,
the planet’s surface area yet 8.1% of its 1319 Pteridophytes, 2819 Bryophytes,
species diversity. Its biodiversity is highly 3044 Lichens and Lichenicolous Fungi,
rich, in terms of unique floristic 15701 Fungi, 9035 Algae and 1278
components and high number of Microbes.
endemic species. It immensely supports
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is the
the socio-economic development of the
country’s premier scientific organization
country. On the other hand, biodiversity
under the Union Ministry of
of the country faces severe conservation
Environment, Forests and Climate
threats as well.
Change, that studies India’s faunal
resources for conservation and
 Biodiversity
management. Since 2007, ZSI has taken
steps to collect data on faunal
discoveries in India and publishthem as
a document entitled “Animal
Discoveries- New Species and New
Records” every year.
India’s faunal diversity consist of
1,03,920 species.
Mass Extinction Event
1. Ordovician–Silurian extinction
events (End Ordovician or O–S)
(445-440 Mya)
2. Late Devonian extinctions (375 –
370 Mya)
3. Permian–Triassic extinction event
(End Permian) (252 Mya)
4. Triassic–Jurassic extinction event
(End Triassic) (202 Mya)
5. Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction
event (End Cretaceous or K–Pg
extinction) (66 Mya)
Extinct Species:
Rodrigues solitaire - a flightless bird,
close relative of Dodo, was endemic to
the island of Rodrigues, east of
Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The
Nicobar pigeon is their closest living
genetic relative.
Dinosaurs – 66 million year ago
Passenger pigeon or wild pigeon - was
endemic to North America
Dodo bird – flightless bird that was
endemic to the island of Mauritius,
extinct from predation by introduced
pigs and cats
Stellar’s sea cow – was found around the
Commander Islands in the Bering Sea
between Alaska and Russia, extinct from
hunting for fur and oil
Labrador duck – extinct from human
competition for mussels and other
shellfish
Rocky mountain locust – extinct from
habitat conversion to farmland
Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian
wolf), a carnivorous marsupial that was
native to the Australian mainland and
the islands of Tasmania and New
Guinea, extinct from hunting, habitat
loss, and competition with dogs.
Deepwater cisco fish – extinct from
competition and predation by
introduced fishes
Hawaii chaff flower – extinct from
habitat conversion to military
installations
Golden toad – extinct from climate
change or other impacts
St. Helena olive tree – extinct from
logging and plantations
Functionally extinct - Before the death
of its last member, it loses the capacity
to reproduce and recover.