Fauna of India

India, for the most part, lies within the Indomalayan realm, with the upper reaches of the Himalayas forming part of the Palearctic realm; the contours of 2000 to 2500m are considered to be the altitudinal boundary between the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic zones. India displays significant biodiversity. One of seventeen megadiverse countries, it is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of all avian, 6.2% of all reptilian, 4.4% of all amphibian and 11.7% of all fish.

The region is also heavily influenced by summer monsoons that cause major seasonal changes in vegetation and habitat. India forms a large part of the Indomalayan biogeographical zone and many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with only a few taxa being unique to the Indian region. The unique forms include the snake family Uropeltidae found only in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Fossil taxa from the Cretaceous show links to the Seychelles and Madagascar chain of islands. The Cretaceous fauna include reptiles, amphibians and fishes and an extant species demonstrating this phylogeographical link is the purple 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 the Myobatrachidae), three caecilian families, a lacertid lizard and freshwater snails of the family Pomatiopsidae. A thirty million-year-old Oligocene-era fossil tooth from the Bugti Hills of central Pakistan has been identified as from a lemur-like primate, prompting controversial suggestions that the lemurs may have originated in Asia. Lemur fossils from India in the past led to theories of a lost continent called Lemuria. This theory however was dismissed when continental drift and plate tectonics became well established.

India is home to several well-known large mammals, including the Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian leopard and Indian 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, and Project Tiger, started in 1972, was a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats. Project Elephant, though less known, started in 1992 and works for elephant protection. Most of India's rhinos today survive in the Kaziranga National Park.

Some other well-known large Indian mammals are ungulates such as the water buffalo, nilgai, gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as the Indian wolf, Bengal fox, golden jackal and the dhole or wild dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to the striped hyena. Many smaller animals such as macaques, langurs and mongoose 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.

Fauna of India

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata (the capital of West 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 of fauna, numbering 89,451 species.

The mammals include the Indian elephant, the gaur or erroneously the Indian bison - the largest of existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros, and the wild water buffalo. Deer and antelopes include the barasingha, the sangai, chital, sambar deer, Indian hog deer, Himalayan musk deer, Indian muntjac, northern red muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain, Kashmir stag, Tibetan antelope, blackbuck, chausingha, goa, Indian gazelle, and nilgai. There are also wild donkeys like Indian wild ass and kiang, and caprines like Bhutan takin, Mishmi takin, red serow, Himalayan serow, red goral, Himalayan goral, markhor, Siberian ibex, Nilgiri tahr, Himalayan tahr, urial, argali, and blue sheep. These caprines are generally found in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), as well as the Dooars forest and the Terai region, floodplains at the base of the Himalayas. A notable exception is the Nilgiri tahr, which is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. There are several big cats; the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard, Turkestan lynx and caracal. Lesser cat species include fishing cat, Asiatic wildcat, jungle cat, Pallas's cat, Bengal cat, marbled cat, Asian golden cat, rusty-spotted cat, and leopard cat. There are also canines such as Ussuri dhole, Indian jackal, Indian wolf, Bengal fox, Tibetan wolf, and Tibetan fox. Another carnivore is the striped hyena.

Several birds, like greater flamingos, Brahminy ducks, white-breasted waterhen, pheasant-tailed jacana, Eurasian spoonbills, lesser flamingos, purple herons, great and cattle 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, and Asian openbills are found in the various habitats of the country. The Indian peafowl is the national bird of India. Pheasants include red junglefowl, grey junglefowl, Himalayan monals, satyr tragopans, and kalij pheasants; the great Indian bustard is also common in grasslands. Predatory birds include the Northern goshawk, shikra, black kite, white-bellied sea eagle, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, Indian vulture, slender-billed vulture, and white-backed vulture. The house crow and Indian jungle crow are some crow species in India. Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse is a sandgrouse found in India.

There are several species of small mammals in India. These include the Asian house shrew, the northern and greater hog badger, the Chinese ferret-badger, the honey badger, the Indian pangolin, and the Chinese pangolin. Arboreal small mammals include the Nilgiri marten, small-toothed palm civet, Asian palm civet, small Indian civet, large Indian civet, binturong, and red panda. The bears of India are sun bear, sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, and Himalayan brown bear.

There are also many primates in India. The apes of India are the gibbons; western hoolock gibbon and eastern hoolock gibbon. Macaques include rhesus macaque, bonnet macaque, lion-tailed macaque, Northern pig-tailed macaque, stump-tailed macaque, Arunachal macaque, white-cheeked macaque and Assamese macaque among others. The various species of langurs include purple-faced langur, the Nilgiri langur, the Gee's golden langur and capped langur. There is also the Phayre's leaf monkey and slender loris. The suids in India are Indian boar and the critically endangered pygmy hog. There are lagomorphs like the critically endangered hispid hare, the woolly hare and the black-naped hare. The Royle's pika and Himalayan marmot are some of the montane small mammals. There is also the large Malabar giant squirrel, Indian palm squirrel, Indian giant flying squirrel, Indian gerbil, porcupine species Indian crested porcupine, and hedgehog species bare-bellied hedgehog and Indian hedgehog. Another predator in India is the spotted 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 the zebu, which descended from the extinct Indian aurochs, the domestic water buffalo, the gayal, which is a domesticated gaur, and in the northern regions domestic yak, which descended from the also native wild yak. Dromedary camel can be found in desert states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Punjab. Mongrel dogs are a common sight in most cities of India. Other small mammals found throughout urban areas are several species of mongoose, as well as the Himalayan mole and white-tailed mole. These mongoose species are ruddy mongoose, Indian grey mongoose, Indian brown mongoose, small Indian mongoose, stripe-necked mongoose, and crab-eating mongoose. Smaller rodents include the little Indian field mouse, house mouse, flat-haired mouse, the greater and lesser bandicoot rat, black rat, and Malabar spiny dormouse. There is a diverse array of bats, such as the Indian flying fox, lesser short-nosed fruit bat, Kolar leaf-nosed bat, Indian roundleaf bat, wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat, and great woolly horseshoe bat. The desert locust is infamous for destroying crops.

Rivers and lakes harbour mugger crocodiles and gharials. The saltwater crocodile is found along the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for breeding crocodiles started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the crocodile from extinction. Snakes include king cobra, Indian cobra, monocled cobra, Indian rock python, reticulated python, Sri Lankan green vine snake, Brahminy blind snake, white-lipped pit viper, Salazar's pit viper, bamboo pit viper, Russell's viper, saw-scaled viper and Indian krait, with aquatic species including beaked sea snake, annulated sea snake, yellow-bellied sea snake, and yellow-lipped sea krait. The cobras are an important part of Indian culture. India's coasts are home to sea turtles; these include the leatherback sea turtle, green sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, and olive ridley sea turtle. Indian softshell turtles, Indian peacock softshell turtles, red-crowned roofed turtles, critically endangered northern river terrapins, Indian pond terrapins, Assam roofed turtles, keeled box turtle, tricarinate hill turtle, Cochin forest cane turtle, and Indian flapshell turtles are found in mangrove vegetation, lagoons, and freshwater and brackish bodies. Tortoises include the Indian star tortoise, Asian giant tortoise, elongated tortoise, and Travancore tortoise. The Asian water monitor, desert monitor, yellow monitor, and Bengal monitor are the monitor lizards in India; there are also several gecko species, like the golden gecko, common house gecko, and Tokay gecko, and the only chameleon, Indian chameleon. Other lizards range from garden lizards, Pondichéry fan-throated lizards, and spiny-tailed lizards to Kashmir rock agamas, Haridwar agamas, and Roux's forest calotes.

Frogs include purple frog, Chunam tree frog, Malabar gliding frog, Indian balloon frog, Indian black microhylid frog, common Indian cricket frog, Indus Valley bullfrog, and Indian green frog, alongside toad species such as Asian common toad, marbled toad, Amboli toad, and Malabar torrent toad. A notable newt is the Himalayan newt; it is the only salamander in India. There are also caecilian species, like the yellow-striped caecilian and Bombay caecilian.

Fish are a major part of the Indian economy. The fish include tilapia, 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 the fishing industry of India, especially in West Bengal, as are long-whiskered catfish, reba carp, Indian knifefish, bronze featherback, fringescale sardinella, fourfinger threadfin, catla, climbing perch, Gangetic ailia, Indian river shad, Bombay duck, Mola carplet, walking catfish, mrigal carp, goldspot mullet, butterfish, greenback mullet, pabdah catfish, swamp barb, pool barb, olive barb, Asian stinging catfish, striped snakehead, long whiskers catfish, and paradise threadfin. These also include sharks, such as pelagic and common thresher sharks, great white shark, shortfin and longfin mako sharks, scalloped and great hammerhead sharks, tiger shark, and sand tiger shark. Bull sharks and Ganges sharks are also found in freshwater areas and brackish areas such as the Sundarbans National Park, part of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. Common remora and white suckerfish are commonly found attached to these sharks. Coral reefs in India are rich in fish such as royal angelfish, emperor angelfish, Indian yellowtail angelfish, ocellaris clownfish, tomato clownfish, Clark's anemonefish, powder blue tang, pea puffer, white-spotted puffer, milk-spotted pufferfish, daisy parrotfish, longnose parrotfish, blue-barred parrotfish, turkey moray, giant moray, Indian mud moray eel, Chinese trumpetfish, redtoothed triggerfish, and blackwedged butterflyfish.

Aquatic and coastal ecosystems are also home to invertebrates such as the giant river prawn and giant tiger prawn, as well as crabs such as coconut crab, red ghost crab, Indo-Pacific horseshoe crab, mangrove horseshoe crab, orange mud crab, fiddler crab, blue swimmer crab, and tree-spider crab, and lobsters such as the mud spiny lobster and flathead lobster, alongside bivalves including the fan mussel, black-lip pearl oyster, pelagic gooseneck barnacle, and black clam.

Marine dolphins along the coast of India include bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, spinner dolphin, striped dolphin, and pantropical spotted dolphin among others. Finless porpoise are found along the coast as well. The endangered Irrawaddy dolphin is found in freshwater areas, such as Chilika Lake, alongside the Ganges river dolphin and Indus river dolphin. Blue whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, orcas, common minke whales, Bryde's whales, Cuvier's beaked whales, and pygmy killer whales are the most common whales. The semi-aquatic mammals in India are otters. The species of otters are Asian small-clawed otter, Eurasian otter, and smooth-coated otter. The increasingly endangered dugong is found throughout coastal estuaries and brackish water bodies.

A notable dragonfly is the Himalayan relict dragonfly. India is also known for its butterflies, such as lesser grass blue, common blue Apollo, common mime, common Mormon, and common Pierrot. The orchid mantis is an iconic mantis found in the Western Ghats of India. Laboratory stick insects and leaf insects are found in abundance.

Stegodon elephants, Indosaurus, Rajasaurus, Himalayan quail, and pink-headed duck are notable extinct animals from India. The Himalayan quail and pink-headed duck are only presumed extinct. However, there are other quails, such as rain quail in India, and the pink-headed duck's relative, the Indian 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, and cyclones, 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, moths, and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.