211 new flora & fauna species discovered in Himalayas

Around 12 percent of the endangered plant species are found in India. Since this species are at the verge of extinction it is very important that these and their environment should be protected. According to a report from WWF (World Wide Fund) Eastern Himalayas has also been found to be home to more than 211 new species of plants and animals. WWF released the report on World Habitat Day in an event in Bhutan. Countries like Nepal, Tibet and Northern Myanmar are straddled by this might mountain range. Also some states of India including Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, North Bengal and Assam are great biodiversity hotspot. Since the past six years, in each of these regions around 34 new species have been discovered. The Himalayas are counted under crucial and biologically significant landscapes. There are around 200 eco-regions in the world and out of these 4 are spread across Himalayas.

Himalaya has 10,000 floral species, 977 bird species, 300 mammals, 269 freshwater fish, 176 reptiles and 105 amphibian species. Also the highest density of Bengal tiger as well as one – horned Rhino. Recently in Eastern Himalayan region three new species have been found including a lance – headed pit viper (Protobothrops himalayansus), walking snakehead fish, sub-nosed monkey and a frog with blue eyes.

Out of the 211 species discovered between 2009 and 2014 there are 133 plants, 39 vertebrates, 10 amphibians, 26 fishes, 1 bird, 1 mammal and 1 reptile. Among these the walking snakehead fish has been the most spectacular discovery. The fish can breathe air and is capable of surviving for hours on land. The snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri) sneezes every time is rains because of its upturned nose.

The Chief Executive officer of WWF-India, Ravi Singh concluded that Himalayas have a number of undiscovered species that need to be discovered. The report also cautioned that activities such as oil and gas projects, mining, poaching, pollution and infrastructure development pose a continuous threat to this region.

Image Source: PC Tablet