According to a recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), India is home to 4,371 species of deep-sea fauna, including 1,032 species under the kingdom Protista and 3,339 species under the kingdom Animalia.
What the report says?
- Of the 4,371 species, the maximum of 2,766 species has been reported from deep sea areas of the Arabian Sea, followed by 1,964 species from the Bay of Bengal, 1,396 species from the Andaman Sea, and only 253 species from the Laccadive Sea (Lakshadweep Sea.
- There are 31 species of sea mammals which are found in deep sea ecosystem of Indian waters, including the Critically Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin.
- Two other species, the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise and the Sperm Whale, are recorded as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List classification.
- The list of mammals includes Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and Short-beaked Common Dolphin, which dive as deep as 8,000 metres below the Earth’s surface.
- Out of the seven species of marine turtles found across the world, five species have been recorded from Indian waters including Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles.
What is deep-sea ecosystem?
- The deep-sea ecosystem is considered to be below a depth of 200 metres, where solar energy cannot support primary productivity through photosynthesis.
- The publication titled ‘Deep Sea Faunal Diversity in India’ by the ZSI is the first detailed work on deep-sea organisms of the country. It has been published by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
(Source: The Hindu)
