Himalayan Fritillary among 29 new threatened species in India: IUCN

Source: The post is based on the article “Himalayan Fritillary among 29 new threatened species in India: IUCN” published in Business Standard on 16th December 2022

What is the News?

As per the IUCN Red List unveiled during the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal (Canada), White-cheeked Dancing Frog, Andaman Smoothhound shark and Yellow Himalayan Fritillary are among 29 new species assessed in India that are under threat.

What are the three species that are under threat according to IUCN?

Dancing Frog (Micrixalus candidus)

IUCN Status: Endangered.

Found in: It is only known from a small range with an extent of occurrence of 167 square kilometers in the Western Ghats of Karnataka..

Threats: They are endangered with extinction due to loss of their habitat, pollution, changes in temperature, diseases, pests, and invasive species among others.

Note: As per reports, 30% of dancing frogs are found to live in regions that are not protected by the government.

Andaman Smoothhound (Mustelus andamanensis) 

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Found in: It is currently only known from the Andaman Sea and is endemic to India

Threats: It is subject to fish pressure across its spatial and depth range. It is taken as a bycatch in industrial and artisanal fisheries with multiple fishing gears including trawl, longline, and gillnet.

Yellow Himalayan Fritillary plant (Fritillaria cirrhosa)

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Geographical distribution: It is mostly found in the Himalayas. It occurs in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

Threats: The species is threatened due to unorganized harvest, over-extraction, unsustainable and premature harvesting of bulbs, coupled with illegal hidden markets.