Wildlife of India

It has various ecosystems ranging from the high altitude Himalayas, tropical evergreen forests along the Western Ghats, desert in the north-west, coastal plains and mangroves along the peninsular region.

India lies within the Indomalayan realm and is home to about 7.6% of mammal, 14.7% of amphibian, 6% of bird, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.2% of flowering plant species.

[5] The Indian subcontinent was formerly an island landmass (Insular India) that split away from Gondwana around 125 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous.

[6] Late Cretaceous Insular Indian faunas were very similar to those found on Madagascar due to their shared connection until around 90 million years ago.

[6] Four species of megafauna (large animals) native to India became extinct during the Late Pleistocene around 10,000-50,000 years ago as part of a global wave of megafauna extinctions, these include the very large elephant Palaeoloxodon namadicus (possibly the largest land mammal to have ever lived), the elephant relative Stegodon, the hippopotamus Hexaprotodon, and the equine Equus namadicus.

[4] Birds include peafowl, pheasants, geese, ducks, mynas, parakeets, pigeons, cranes, hornbills, and sunbirds.

[21] It has various ecoregions ranging from the high altitude Himalayas, tropical evergreen forests along the Western Ghats, desert in the north-west, coastal plains and mangroves along the peninsular region.

[3] One-third of the fungal diversity of the world exists in India with over 27,000 recorded species, making it the largest biotic community after insects.