As elsewhere, invertebrate taxa have received little attention in conservation planning in India. The Western Ghats has been designated as a global biodiversity hotspot, one of only two such designations in India. We have assembled a database for land snail records in the region, incorporating both published records and the results of our own surveys over the last three years. Of the 269 species so far recorded, 75% are endemic to the region. Many species have very restricted ranges within the region. There is a decline in diversitv and local endemism from south to north. The southernmost division (8~·12°N) has much the richest recorded fauna (210 species), and the level of local endemism The latter is much lower in the central and northern divisions. There is thus considerable faunal turnover within the region. The overall level of endemism is higher than that recorded for other taxa, and our data have already been used to identify three local hotspots within the region. These results are discussed in terms of present climate and habitats, and in terms of environmental history. Comparisons are made with studies on other continents, and the impact of human activity by destruction and fragmentation of habitats is considered.
The caenogastropod family Littorinidae is almost exclusively marine, but a unique freshwater genus, Cremnoconchus, is known from India. Its members are restricted to montane streams on the western escarpment of the Western Ghats, at altitudes between 300 and 1400 m. Four species and several varieties were described in the 19th century, but no taxonomic study has been carried out for over 120 years and the last anatomical report was in 1935. Nevertheless, they are of unusual evolutionary interest and also of conservation concern as a genus endemic to the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Based on anatomical study of newly collected material and examination of historical and type specimens, we present a systematic revision of Cremnoconchus, illustrating shells, radulae, and reproductive anatomy. The very large eggs, invaginated penial filament, and calcified operculum are unique among Littorinidae. Three valid, described species (C. syhadrensis, C. conicus, C. canaliculatus) are recognized in the northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra state, where all can occasionally be found sympatrically. We describe an additional six new species from the central Western Ghats in a small area (linear distance 80 km) of Karnataka state, over 500 km south of the previously known range of the genus. Here the species each appear to be restricted to a single drainage system. Because of their highly restricted distribution and fragile habitat, this radiation of nine species is judged to be endangered.
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