ENVIRONMENT KBs

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SPECIES IN NEWS-II (SEPT- DEC 2019)

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1. IUCN Red List

2. National Park/ Wildlife Sanctuary

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SEPT 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

SNOW LEOPARD (PANTHERA UNCIA)

 State animal of Himachal Pradesh & are currently found in only 12

countries in the world, including India.
 Habitat and distribution: Inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at
elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft), ranging from
western Afghanistan to Mongolia and western China.
 India — Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim,
and Arunachal Pradesh.
 Threats- Habitat loss and degradation, Decline of the cats’ large
mammal prey, Poaching — body parts used for traditional Chinese
medicine
 IUCN Red List Status- Vulnerable (VU) ▪ CITES - Appendix I
 Wildlife Protection Act, 1972- Schedule I

PANGOLINS/ SCALY ANTEATERS

 India is home to two species of pangolin.

 While the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is found in
northeastern India, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is
distributed in other parts of the country as well as Sri Lanka, B’desh and
Pakistan.
 They are toothless animals are unique, a result of millions of years of
evolution.
 They eat ants, termites and larvae and are often known as “the scaly anteater.”
 They evolved scales as a means of protection. When threatened by big carnivores like lions or tigers they
usually curl into a ball.
 The scales defend them against dental attacks from the predators.
 They are one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia and, increasingly, Africa. Pangolins are in high
demand in countries like China and Vietnam.
 It is smuggled for its scales as it believed that they possess magic or charms & have medicinal properties.
 IUCN Red List Status- Endangered (EN) ▪ CITES - Appendix I
 Wildlife Protection Act, 1972- Schedule I Chinese Pangolin- Critically Endangered (CR)

CRYODRAKON BOREAS

 Recently It was declared that it could be one of the largest flying animals.
 With a wingspan of over 10 metres, it is believed to have flown over the heads
of dinosaurs.

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SEPT 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

BOIGA THACKERAYI

 It is a new species of snake that has been discovered in the

Western Ghats in Maharashtra.
 It falls in the category commonly called cat snakes and belongs
to the genus Boiga and has Tiger like stripes on its body.
 This is the second species of Boiga after B. dightoni that is
endemic to the Western Ghats and the first new species of
Boiga described after 125 years from the Western Ghats.
 The new species was named 'Thackeray's cat snake' (scientific
name 'Boiga thackerayi') for researcher Tejas Thackeray for his contribution to the discovery.

CANNABIS

 It is a drug that comes from Indian hemp plants such as Cannabis

sativa and Cannabis indica.
 The main active chemical in it is THC (delta-9 Tetrahydro
cannabinol).
 It is a depressant drug. They slow down the activity of the
central nervous system and the messages going between the
brain and the body.
 When large doses of cannabis are taken it may also produce
hallucinogenic effects.
 Recently the Manipur government is considering legalizing Cannabis for its medicinal properties which will
also boost the start-up sector of the state.

MICROHYLA EOS/ RICE FROGS/ CHORUS FROGS

 It is a newly discovered species of frog from Arunachal Pradesh.

 These are a group of narrow-mouthed frogs that is primarily and widely
distributed in Asia.
 It was discovered from riparian habitats in a primary evergreen forest in
the Namdapha Tiger Reserve of the state, which is also the eastern-most
protected area in the country.
 Since Arunachal Pradesh is popularly known as ‘the land of rising sun’ or
‘the land of dawn-lit mountains’, the new species has been named as
eos, after the mythological Greek goddess of dawn.

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OCT 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

ASIATIC WATER BUFFALO

 It is the state animal of Chhattisgarh.

 It has been listed as an endangered species by the IUCN.
 Recently two Asiatic Water Buffaloes died in the Pobitora Wildlife
Sanctuary due to the anthrax.
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary
 It is situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of
Morigaon in Assam.
 It is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to similar landscape and
vegetation.
 Anthrax- is a serious infectious disease caused by a bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis which
commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world.

TASMANIAN TIGER/ THYLACINE/ TASMANIAN WOLF

 It was native to Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Australian mainland.

 It is now extinct, is one of the largest known carnivorous marsupials,
evolving about 4 million years ago.
 The thylacine appeared like a medium-to-large-size dog, except for
its stiff tail and abdominal pouch similar to a kangaroo, and dark
transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, reminiscent of
a tiger.
 It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger because of its striped
lower back, or the Tasmanian wolf because of its canid-like characteristics.
 The last known thylacine died in captivity over 80 years ago, in Tasmania’s Hobart Zoo in 1936.
 Recently tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) has recently
released a document detailing eight reported sightings of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, in the last
three years.

WHITE BELLBIRD/ PROCNIAS ALBUS

 According to a research published in Current Biology, the white bellbird

makes the loudest call ever recorded in birds, reaching 125 dB. The record
was previously held by the screaming phias.
 It is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae.
 It is found in forests in the Guianas, with small numbers in Venezuela and the
Brazilian state of Pará.
 Only the male is white; the female is overall olive with yellowish streaks below
and resembles other bellbirds.
 IUCN Red List Status- Least Concern(LC)

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NOV 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

PLIOSAUR

 Recently, the bones of pliosaurs were discovered in Poland.

 They are the largest aquatic carnivorous reptiles that have ever lived.
 They are often dubbed “sea monsters”.
 Scientifically, they are placed in the suborder Pliosauroidea, whose members
are called pliosaurs.

MALABAR TREE TOAD

 A Bengaluru-based non-profit is working to train and equip residents of

villages in the Western Ghats stretching from Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu
for mapping the range of an extremely rare species of toad- Malabar
Tree toad.
 It is a very rare species of amphibian endemic to the Ghats.
 It is an endangered species that spends most of its life on trees, coming
to the ground only during the first monsoon showers to mate.
 The Western Ghats, where the MTT is found, is a biodiversity hotspot and is
home to 179 recorded amphibian species, 80 per cent of which are not found anywhere else.

IDRIS ELBA

 A species of wasp has been named Idris Elba.

 The wasp, recently discovered in Mexico, was found living as a
parasite in the eggs of another insect, known as the bagrada bug,
which is a major pest of cruciferous vegetables.
 This newly discovered wasp species could be the ultimate weapon in
the battle against the stink bug — also known as the painted bug —
by “parasitizing” stink bug eggs and thus preventing offspring from
growing.

CANE TURTLE/ VIJAYACHELYS SILVATICA

 It is a cryptic species in a monotypic genus endemic to the semi-

evergreen and evergreen forests of the Western Ghats in SW India.
 It is the smallest turtle species in India.
 Vijayachelys silvatica is omnivorous, with the diet including insects,
molluscs, earthworms, millipedes, fruits.
 It was discovered in 1912 and was again in 1982 is extremely rare and
cannot be easily spotted.

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DEC 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

HOOLOCK GIBBONS- State Animal of Arunachal Pradesh

 The tailless Hoolock Gibbon is the only ape found in India.

 Habitat- Primarily forest dweller inhabits tropical evergreen rainforests, tropical
evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, tropical mixed deciduous forests, and
subtropical broadleaf hill forests
 Range- Native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India and Southwest China.
 India — Found south of Brahmaputra and east of the Dibang
Rivers. Its range extends into seven north eastern states.
 Threats- Habitat loss and fragmentation fragmentation,
jhoom cultivation, human interference, hunting for food by
some ethnic groups.

AMUR FALCON- The world’s longest travelling raptors

 They start travelling with the onset of winters.

 The raptors breed in southeastern Siberia and northern China, and migrate
in millions across India and then over the Indian Ocean to southern Africa
before returning to Mongolia and Siberia.
 They get their name from the Amur River that forms the border between
Russia and China.
 Doyang Lake in Nagaland is better known as a stopover for the Amur
falcons during their annual migration from their breeding grounds to warmer
South Africa. Thus, Nagaland is also known as the “Falcon Capital of the World”. IDRIS\
 IUCN Red List Status- Least Concern (LC) ▪ CITES - Appendix II ELBA

BAR-HEADED GOOSE

 Pathanamthitta Birders has spotted the Bar-headed goose (Anser Indicus) in the wetlands of Karingali
Puncha (major birding spot), near Pandalam, Kerala.
 Found- Central China and Mangolia and they breed there.
 They migrate to the Indian sub-continent during the winter
 They are one of the birds which can fly even at very high altitude. They
return to their homes by crossing the Himalayan ranges.
 Its capacity to transport and consume oxygen at high rates in hypoxia
distinguishes this species from similar lowland waterfowl.
 Hypoxia is a condition in which the body or a region of the body is
deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level.
 IUCN Red List Status- Least Concern (LC)

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DEC 2019- Environment Series KB’sIAS

HOUBARA BUSTARD

 Recently Pakistan has issued special permits to the Emir of Qatar and nine
other members of the royal family to hunt the houbara bustard, an
internationally protected bird species.
 Bustards are large, terrestrial birds that belong to several species, including
some of the largest flying birds.
 They lives in arid climates, comes in two distinct species as recognized by
the IUCN, residing in: North Africa (Chlamydotis undulate) and Asia
(Chlamydotis macqueenii).
 Range- NE Asia, across central Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula to reach the Sinai desert.
 After breeding in the spring, the Asian bustards migrate south to spend the winter in Pakistan, the Arabian
Peninsula and nearby Southwest Asia.
 Threats- Poaching, unregulated hunting, along with degradation of its natural habitat.
 IUCN Red List Status- Critically Endangered (CR)

PEREGRINE FALCON

 According to the study, published in the Journal, the peregrine falcon

has the fastest vision in the animal kingdom.
 It is a widespread bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae.
 It is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its
characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird
in the world and the fastest member of the animal kingdom.
 It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar
regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests.
 This makes it one of the most widely found bird species.
 IUCN Red List Status- Least Concern (LC)

RED SAND BOA SNAKE

 Recently, a red sand boa snake (Eryx johnii), worth around ₹1.25 crore, was
rescued from five persons, who were trying to sell it in Madhya Pradesh.
 It is a rare non-poisonous snake that is used for making certain medicines,
cosmetics and in black magic, and is in huge demand in the international
market.
 It is found in whole of India excluding North-east states after North-Bengal;
also not found in Indian islands.
 Among layman it is famous as "Two-headed Snake" due to the presence of
very thick tail having rounded end.
 CITES - Appendix II ▪ Wildlife Protection Act, 1972- Schedule IV

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ENVIRONMENT KBs
IAS 
SERIES
SPECIES IN NEWS (MAY- AUGUST 2019)

SPECIALLY
MADE FOR
UPSC
PRELIMS
2020

KBs IAS