A species is a group of closely related animals that resemble one another and can typically reproduce to create live offspring. After genus and subgenus, the species is the next level in the taxonomic classification hierarchy.
An organism’s fundamental taxonomic rank, unit of biodiversity, and unit of classification is its species. It is the biggest group of animals where any two individuals, regardless of sex or manner of mating, may successfully reproduce, generally by sexual means. In addition, a species’ karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behavior, and ecological niche may all be used to identify it.
Here are the Top 10 Endemic Species in India in 2024
Asiatic Lion
The Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is the only place where you may find the Asiatic Lion, sometimes referred to as the Indian Lion. These species are regarded as endangered. Bengal tigers and Indian leopards are the other two of India’s five big cats. African and Asian lions are larger than one another.
Male adults weigh 160–190 kg, and female adults weigh 110–120 kg. At the shoulders, the height is approximately 3.5 feet (110 cm). A male Asiatic lion’s greatest measured total length, including the tail, is 2.92 metres (115 inches). This is one of the top endemic species in India.
Kashmir Stag
The dense forests of Dachigum National Park, the Kashmir Valley, and the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh are home to the Kashmir Stag, also known as Hangul. The hangul, or Kashmir stag (Cervus hanglu hanglu), is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer that is native to Kashmir and its environs.
In the upper valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir as well as northern Himachal Pradesh, it may be found in deep riverine forests. It is mostly found in the protected Dachigam National Park in Kashmir; elsewhere, it is more vulnerable.
Lion-Tailed Macaque
It is the rarest, most fragile, and most endangered species of primate found only in the Western Ghats of southern India. With its black hair and a silver-white mane around its neck and chin, this monkey is one of the rarest and most endangered species. The fur of lion-tailed macaques is black.
Their facial hair, which is mostly grey, is what makes them unique. Indeed, they are occasionally referred to as bearded monkeys. On the very tip of their tail, they have a little tuft. The term “lion-tailed macaque” originates from the fact that their tail resembles a lion’s tail. Male and female lion-tailed macaques are bigger than one another. It is one of the top endemic species in India.
| Location | Western Ghats |
Purple Frog
The purple frog, also called the pignose frog, was originally found in October 2003 in the Keralan region of Idukki by Franky Bossuyt of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels) and S.D. Biju of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Palode, India.
It is native to the Western Ghats of India and was not discovered until recently since it spends the most of the year underground, with the exception of two to three weeks during the monsoon when it emerges to mate. Bio-geographers from all around the world have recognised this species as one of the rarest and a “once in a century find.”
| Location | Western Ghats |
Sangai Deer
Another name for it is the brow-antlered deer. and is restricted to Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur. This park is a marshy wetland close to the southern edge of Loktak Lake. The medium-sized deer Sangai has antlers that are very different from other deer because of their lengthy forehead tines, which serve as the primary beam.
It seems as though the forward-protruding beam emerges from the eyebrow. Its name, brow-antlered deer, is indicated by this. The size and weight of the bodies of the sexes differ somewhat. The rump patch is not prominent, and the tail is short. Its winter coat is a dark reddish brown colour that becomes whiter in the summer. Thus, it is one of the top endemic species in India.
| Location | Loktak Lake |
Nilgiri Tahr
Only the Nilgiri Hills and the southern regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are home to the Nilgiri tahr, an ungulate. It is the official animal of Tamil Nadu. Of the twelve species of ungulates found in India, the Nilgiri tahr is the only one found in the southern part of the country. It is also Tamil Nadu’s official animal.
Previously prevalent throughout the Western Ghats, the Nilgiri tahr is now restricted to tiny, fragmented areas. Its historical range has seen the eradication of a sizable portion of its population. Because of habitat degradation and poaching, the current populations are under a great deal of stress.
| Location | Nilgiri Hills |
Pygmy Hog
This species, which is unique to the Assam foothills, is endangered. The smallest wild pigs are the only members of the genus Porcula. The Pygmy hog has grayish-brown skin and a coat with bristles that are blackish-brown. It often has no facial warts, and its irises are hazel brown.
Its head taper off abruptly at the forehead and back of the neck, where there is a little hair crest. Its teeth are fully grown, with rounded cusp molars and inverted canines. Male adults may clearly see their top canines on the edges of their lips. Hence, It is one of the top endemic species in India.
| Location | Assam |
Bronzeback Vine Snake
Only in the Western Ghats is the somewhat toxic Bronzeback Vine Snake found. The “bronze back” of the Western Ghats is another name for it. This is a grassland snake with little venomous potential. The following characters belong to A. perroteti. The nose is not exactly twice as long as the eye, but it is very pointed and protrudes without any dermal appendages.
The internasal and prefrontal make contact with the labials; there is no loreal. As long as the parietals, the frontal is longer than the distance from the end of the nose. There are two: one postocular and one preocular, both in touch with the frontal. The fourth and fifth of the eight (very rarely, nine) upper labials enter the eye.
| Location | Western Ghats |
Nilgiri Blue Robin
Also called the Nilgiri Shortwing, it is exclusive to the Shola forests in the Nilgiri Hills. It is restricted to the high-altitude grasslands of the Western Ghats, above an elevation of 1200 m. This species is seriously endangered. The Nilgiri blue robin, or Sholicola major, is a species of passerine bird in the Muscicapidae family that is endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India, primarily north of the Palghat Gap.
It is also known by the names Nilgiri shortwing, white-bellied shortwing, Nilgiri sholakili, and rufous-bellied shortwing. This little bird inhabits a restricted and vulnerable habitat that is found on the forest floor and in the undergrowth of thick forest patches that are sheltered in the valleys of highland grassland.
| Location | Nilgiri Hills |
Malabar Civet
The Western Ghats are home to the endemic Malabar civet. It has a severely endangered IUCN status. An animal of the night is the Malabar Civet. Viverra civettina, commonly referred to as the Malabar civet, is an endemic viverrid found in the Western Ghats of India. Since there are thought to be less than 250 adult individuals in the population, it is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
During surveys conducted between 1990 and 2014, it was not noted. While scattered populations continued to exist in South Malabar’s less disturbed parts in the early 1990s, habitat loss and poaching beyond protected zones posed a major danger to these populations.
| Location | Western Ghats |
Here are the Top 10 Endemic Species in India with their Location;
| S.no | Top 10 Endemic Species in India | Location |
| 01 | Asiatic Lion | Gir Forest |
| 02 | Kashmir Stag | Loktak Lake |
| 03 | Lion-Tailed Macaque | Western Ghats |
| 04 | Purple Frog | Western Ghats |
| 05 | Sangai Deer | Loktak Lake |
| 06 | Nilgiri Tahr | Nilgiri Hills |
| 07 | Pygmy Hog | Assam |
| 08 | Bronzeback Vine Snake | Western Ghats |
| 09 | Nilgiri Blue Robbin | Nilgiri Hills |
| 10 | Malabar Civet | Western Ghats |
Conclusion
Species that are indigenous to a particular region are known as endemic species. They are particularly susceptible to extinction since they are less varied and there are fewer of them.
Because they have less genetic exchange, endemic species have genomes that are saturated. Changes in the environment and human activities like poaching, hunting, and habitat fragmentation pose a hazard to endangered species. There are many native species in India, which are dispersed throughout its many biological zones. India is home to several native species, including the Indian rhinoceros, Kashmir stag, Asian lion, and Lion-tailed Macaque.
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