White-bellied heronThewhite-bellied heron(Ardea insignis), also known as theimperial heronorgreat white-bellied heron, is a species of largeheronfound in the foothills of the easternHimalayasinIndia, northeasternBangladesh,BurmaandBhutan.[2]Additionally, there are records fromNepal. It is mostly dark grey with a white throat and underparts. This heron is mostly solitary and is found on undisturbed riverside or wetland habitats. The global population has declined and the species is threatened by disturbance and habitat degradation. The species is currently listed asCritically Endangeredby the IUCN.

Great Indian bustardThegreat Indian bustard(Ardeotis nigriceps) orIndian bustardis abustardfound inIndiaand the adjoining regions ofPakistan. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of theIndian subcontinent, as few as 250 individuals were estimated in 2011 to survive and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat asblackbuck.Knifetooth sawfishTheknifetooth sawfish(Anoxypristis cuspidata), also known as thepointed sawfishornarrow sawfish, is aspeciesofsawfishin thefamilyPristidae, part of theBatoidea, a superorder of cartilaginous fish that includes theraysandskates. The sawfishes are characterised by the long, narrow, flattenedrostrumor extension on their snout. This is lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged in a way that resembles the teeth of a saw. It is found in the shallow coastal waters and estuaries of theIndo-West Pacific, ranging from theRed Seaand thePersian Gulfto southernJapan,Papua New Guineaand northernAustralia. It is the only member of thegenusAnoxypristis, but was previously included in thegenusPristis. Compared to that genus,Anoxypristishas a narrower rostral saw with numerous teeth on the distal part and no teeth on the basal quarter. Thisendangeredspecies reaches a length of up to 4.7 metres (15ft).

Pondicherry sharkThePondicherry shark(Carcharhinus hemiodon) is an extremely rare, possiblyextinct,speciesofrequiem shark, in thefamilyCarcharhinidae. A small and stocky gray shark, it grows not much longer than 1m (3.3ft), and it has a fairly long, pointed snout. This species can be identified by the shape of its upper teeth, which are strongly serrated near the base and smooth-edged near the tip, and by its firstdorsal fin, which is large with a long free rear tip. Furthermore, this shark has prominent black tips on itspectoral fins, second dorsal fin, andcaudal finlower lobe.Not seen since 1979, the Pondicherry shark was once found inIndo-Pacificcoastal waters from theGulf of OmantoNew Guinea, and may have enteredfresh water. Fewer than 20 specimens are available for study, and most aspects of its natural history are unknown. It probably feeds onbony fishes,cephalopods, andcrustaceans, andgives birth to live youngwith theembryosforming aplacentalconnection to their mother. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) has listed the Pondicherry shark asCritically Endangered. If it still survives, it would be threatened by intense and escalating fishing pressure throughout its range.

Pseudophilautus amboliTheAmbolibush frog(Pseudophilautus amboli) is a rareshrub frogspeciesendemicto theWestern Ghats(India). It is found in Amboli (thetype locality) and Amba inMaharashtraand inCastle Rock,Londa,Jog Falls-Mavingundi, andKudremukh-MalleshwaraminKarnataka.[1][2]

Description[edit]The Amboli bush frog is a small frog, though it is medium-sized to large among its relatives. The snoutvent length of this species is 34mm (1.3in) in males and to 37.5mm (1.48in) in females.[3][4]Males have a large and transparentvocal sackwhen calling. The body is rather robust. Discs of fingertips are much enlarged.Tympanumis dark brown.dorsumis uniform blackish brown. Throat lemon yellowish with minute black spots.[3]Habitat[edit]In Amboli it was found in extremely disturbed areas close to evergreen forest patches, although it is not known whether or not it occurs in primary evergreen forest. It breeds by direct developmenIngerana charlesdarwiniCharles Darwin's frog,Ingerana charlesdarwini, is a species offrogin theRanidaefamily. It isendemicto theAndaman Islands,India.[2]Its naturalhabitatis subtropical or tropical moist lowlandforests. It is threatened byhabitat loss.[1]Darwin's frog was named after Charles Darwin, who discovered it on his world voyage.This frog lives in the cool forest streams of South America, mostly in Argentina and Chile.What makes this frog interesting? The way it takes care of its tadpoles! The female lays the eggs, about 30 of them, and then the male guards them for about 2 weeks. The male picks up all the survivors and carries around the developing young in his vocal pouch. Thats rightin his throat! The tadpoles finish developing in the chin skin. When they are tiny froglets they hop out and swim away!Himalayan wolfTheHimalayan wolf(provisional name: "Canis himalayensis") has been suggested by several Indian biologists for recognition as acritically endangeredcanidspecies, distinct fromCanis lupus. Results ofmitochondrial DNAanalysis suggests that the Himalayan wolf isphylogeneticallydistinct from theTibetan wolfCanis lupus chanco.[1]In April 2009, the Latin binomCanis himalayensishas been proposed as nomenclatural and taxonomic change by the Nomenclature Specialist on theCITESAnimals Committee.[2]However, theIUCNWolf Specialist Group has not taken a position regarding this issue. The editors of the third edition and current ofMammal Species of the Worldconsider the small population to be Tibetan wolves, a subspecies of thegray wolf, despite that the Himalayan population are much older than Tibetan wolves.[3]

Nicobar shrewTheNicobar ShreworNicobar White-tailed Shrew(Crocidura nicobarica) is a critically endangered species ofmammalin theSoricidaefamily. It isendemicto theGreat Nicobar IslandofIndia.Main Characteristics

Nicobar Tree Shrews have a slender build and a long tail. They have well developed senses of hearing, smell and vision.

Habitat

Nicobar Tree Shrews are only found on the Nicobar Islands, India.

Diet

Nicobar Tree Shrews areomnivoresand they feed on a variety of insects, smallvertebrates, fruit and seeds.

Breeding

After agestation periodof approximately 50 days, a litter of 3 - 4 young are born. At birth the young are blind and hairless, but they are able to leave the nest when they are a month old.

Tree Shrews reach sexual maturity at around 4 months old and they generally breed throughout the year with no defined breeding season.

Subspecies

Subspeciesof the Nicobar Tree Shrew include:

Tupaia nicobarica nicobaricaTupaia nicobarica surda

Interesting Facts

Tree Shrews have the highest brain to body mass ratio of any animal, even higher than humans.

Tupaia comes from the Malay word "tupai" which means squirrel.Poecilotheria metallicaPoecilotheria metallicais a species oftarantula. It reflects brilliantmetallicblue color. Like others in its genus it exhibits an intricate fractal-like pattern on the abdomen. The species' natural habitat is deciduous forest inAndhra Pradesh, in central southernIndia.P. metallicawas first discovered in the town ofGooty, a fact reflected in some of itscommon names:Gooty sapphire ornamental tree spider,Gooty sapphire, andGooty tarantula. Other common names aremetallic tarantula,peacock parachute spider,peacock tarantula, orsalepurgu.

Rameshwaram Ornamental Spider

he Rameshwaram ornamental spider or Rameshwaram parachute spider is a tree dwelling species endemic to Tamil Nadus Ramanthapuram district, in southern India. Named after the Rameshwaram islands, where it was discovered in 2004, in the Hanumavilasum temple by Andrews Smith, today this species is fighting for survival. In 2008, it was listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Redlist*.This spider has light and dark brown stripes across its body and legs, characteristic of all spiders in the genus Poecilotheria, which give it excellent camouflage on trees. They can be distinguished from others in this genus by a yellow colouration on the underside of the front legs. Males grow up to 4.3 cm in length; whereas the females grow to 6.7 cm. Males live to one breeding season after maturity and barely make it to another, whereas females have been observed nesting in tree holes for over 3 years. They rarely catch insects, their main prey, with the help of webs. Instead, they attack them from their place of hiding and inject paralysing venom.

This species faces extinction mainly due to loss of its natural habitat to developmental activities. Their habitat is restricted to a few tamarind, casuarina and mixed dry deciduous tree and palm plantations on the Rameshwaram island, covering a small area of 100 sq km, though actual occupancy of the populations is only 6 sq km. Only 8 subpopulations, each varying from 4 to 78 individuals, are known to exist in 13 heavily fragmented locations. In 2006, a large population of these spiders was wiped away as two plantations supporting more than 70 adults were razed to accommodate the areas increasing tourists.1.Polygala irregularisGujarat(rare)commonly known as Milkwort is an annual or perennial herb.Blooms during July and August.The plants are found at an altitude of 1000 meters.The flowers are found in blue ,near white ,pink and white in color.The plants are destroyed due to human habitation and land for agriculture.2.Lotus corniculatusGujarat(rare)this plant belongs to pea family .The plant bear pretty little yellow flowers grow in a circle, at the end of a stem.They are very bright and easily spotted along the roadside.It is used in agriculture as a forage plant,grown for pasture, hay and silage. Plants are perenial, herbaceous similar to some clover.They are also called asbirds footrefers to the appearance of the seed pods on their stalk.