Fauna of Western Himalaya, U.P: Himalayan Ecosystem Series (Part 1)

The Himalayan region is one of the richest area of biodiversity in India. The Zoological Survey of India, under its programme of "Ecosystem Survey" identified the major ecosystems for survey, exploration, analysis and documentation upto 2000 A.D. The present document is a contribution from the same programme and covers the "Uttar Pradesh" part of Western Himalaya. The faunal analysis shows a significant assemblage of 2,200 vertebrate and invertebrates species. The extensive collections from eight districts and 266 localities of U.P., both within and outside protected areas, show that Western Himalaya possess a number of rare and endangered vertebrate species, enlisted in the Indian Wildlife Protection Act., as also a number of endemic species of invertebrates. The distribution features of this region and details of the faunal references belonging to seven groups of invertebrates and five classes of vertebrates, would undoubtedly provide a database for regional action plan for conservation of biodiversity and future exploration.