Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level : Extinct species mentioned in the newscard
Mains level : Not Much
- Four species of fauna and 18 species of flora have gone extinct in India in the past few centuries, according to wildlife survey organisations.
Species extinct from India
Flora
- As per information given by the BSI, 18 species of plants — four non-flowering and 14 flowering — have gone extinct.
- The notable among them are Lastreopsis wattii , a fern in Manipur discovered by George Watt in 1882 and three species from the genus Ophiorrhiza (Ophiorrhiza brunonis , Ophiorrhiza caudate and Ophiorrhiza radican ), all discovered from peninsular India.
- Corypha taliera Roxb, a palm species discovered in Myanmar and the Bengal region by William Roxburgh is also extinct.
Fauna
- Cheetah (Acionyx jubatus)
- Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensisi) are considered extinct in India.
- The pink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllaceai) is feared extinct since 1950
- The Himalayan quail (Ophrysia supercililios) was last reported in 1876.
