The Western Ghats is a mountain range that covers an area of 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hot-spots of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a very large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are only found in India and nowhere else in the world. According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty-nine areas in the Western Ghats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests, were designated as world heritage sites in 2012 – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, six in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.
The Malabar grey hornbill is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbill species. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in pairs or small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region.
The Nilgiri tahr is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western & Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the genus Ovis than the ibex and wild goats of the genus Capra.
The common snook is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena;Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species.
The green humphead parrotfish is the largest species of parrotfish, growing to lengths of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and weighing up to 75 kg (165 lb).
Platyplectrurus trilineatus, commonly known as the Tri-striped shieldtail snake or the lined thorntail snake, is a species of uropeltid snake endemic to the Western Ghats of Southern India. Like most other shieldtail snakes, it is presumed to be a nocturnal, fossorial snake inhabiting evergreen forests. A very rare snake, about which nothing is known in terms of live colouration and natural history.
The Western Pond Turtle, also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, ranging from western Washington state to northern Baja California. It was formerly found in Canada, but in May 2002, the Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the Pacific pond turtle as being extirpated.
The Indian brown mongoose is a mongoose species native to the Western Ghats in India and the western coast in Sri Lanka. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
Uperodon anamalaiensis, also known as Anamalai dot frog, Anamalai ramanella, or reddish-brown microhylid frog, is a species of narrow-mouthed frog found in South India. The holotype was discovered at the base of the Anaimalai Hills, Coimbatore district in the southern Western Ghats. The holotype is missing and the status of the species was uncertain till 2010. Until rediscovered in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in 2010, this frog was reported only once by C. R. Narayan Rao in 1937.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located 18 km north of Marayoor on State Highway 17 in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor panchayats of Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala state in South India. It is one of 18 wildlife sanctuaries among the protected areas of Kerala.
The northern brook lamprey is a freshwater fish in the family Petromyzontidae. It is closely related to the silver lamprey and may represent an ecotype of a single species with I. unicuspis.
The Devils River minnow is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The minnow coexists with other closely related species and other cyprinids in the range of northern Mexico and southern Texas.
Garra barreimiae, the Oman garra, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in the mountains of northern Oman and in the United Arab Emirates. Most populations inhabit wadis, streams, pools and springs, but one population which lives in a cave system, is known as Omani blind cave fish, and has lost its sight and pigmentation. The only other cave fish in the Arabian Peninsula is the Tawi Atair garra, but it has normal eyes.
Austropotamobius torrentium, also called the stone crayfish, is a European species of freshwater crayfish in the family Astacidae. It is mostly found in tributaries of the Danube, having originated in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Garra mcclellandi is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus Garra which is found in mountain streams in the southern Western Ghats of India.
Karian Shola National Park is a protected area in the Western Ghats, India, nominated as a national park in 1989. The Western Ghats are a chain of mountains running down the west of India parallel with the coast some 30 to 50 km inland. They are not true mountains, but the edge of a fault that resulted about 150 million years ago as the subcontinent of India split from Gondwanaland. They are older than the Himalayan mountain range and are clothed in ancient forests. They influence the weather in India as they intercept the incoming monsoon storm systems. The greatest rainfall occurs between June and September during the southwest monsoon, with lesser amounts falling in the northeast monsoon between October and November. The Western Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are considered to be one of the eight most important "hotspots" of biological diversity in the world.
Lampetra ayresii is a species of lamprey in the family Petromyzontidae. It is also called the river lamprey or western river lamprey. It is found in the eastern pacific, specifically from Tee Harbor, Juneau in Alaska to the Sacramento-San Joaquin drainage in California, USA. It can survive in both marine surface waters and freshwater lakes, rivers, and creeks. In freshwater, it is found typically in the lower portions of large river systems. It is a predatory fish and feeds on fishes in the size range of 10-30 cm. It feeds by attaching to prey using its round, sucker-like mouth. Adult western river lampreys typically grow to about 20-30 cm.
Protosticta davenporti, Anamalai reedtail, is a damselfly species in the family Platystictidae. It is endemic to Western Ghats in India.
Garra joshuai is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus Garra endemic to streams in the Western Ghats in India. It is sometimes placed in the genus Horalabiosa.
Chlorogomphus xanthoptera is a species of dragonfly in the family Chlorogomphidae. It is known only from the Western Ghats of India, to the south of Palakkad Gap, including Anamalai Hills, Tirunelveli Hills, Munnar and south of Travancore.
