India is recognised as one of the twelve megadiversity countries of the world with two biodiversity hot spots, the North-East Region and the Western Ghats, of a total of 18 such sites identified throughout the globe. In fact, our country is very rich in terms of not only species diversity but is blessed with an enormous variety and variability (genetic diversity) within species along with the presence of a large number of endemic species. Around 1,27,000 species of plants, animals and micro-organisms have been reported so far from India, of which the animal species (about 89,500 species) including protozoa constitute the major share and comprise 7.28 per cent of the total world animal species. As per experts opinion, another 4,00,000 species are yet to be explored and identified, majority of which are expected to be micro-organisms and invertebrates.

The Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, has set up an Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Centre on Faunal Biodiversity in the Zoological Survey of India at Calcutta to collect, collate, computerise and disseminate all available information on the enormous animal diversity of the country. The Ministry has also directed the ENVIS Centre to publish a special volume befitting with the subject allotted to the Centre to commemorate the 50th year of India's independence. As such, the present book, the Faunal Diversity in India has been published to cater to that need.

The Zoological Survey of India had already brought out two significant publications, the State of Art Report: Zoology and the Animal Resources of India in 1980 and 1991 respectively, giving an account of the animal groups available in India with estimated number of species and names of experts available in each animal group. The present book provides an updated information on the status, distribution, biological diversity, endemism, value, threats and conservation strategies of Protista (Protozoa) as well as that of different animal groups from Mesozoa to Mammalia. A total of 57 articles written by the animal group experts have been incorporated in the book with an appendix, identifying Indian expertise in each group. In this connection we thank the authors and the co-authors of the articles for their timely contributions and efforts in revising the same and to Mr. Rati Ram, Publication & Production Officer for his assistance in printing this document.

**Contents and Sample Pages**