Indus Himalayan Foothills



ID

705

Author(s)

J. Hales


Countries

Afghanistan
India
India claimed by Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan claimed by India

Major Habitat Type

Montane freshwaters

Drainages flowing into

Arabian Sea


Main rivers to other water bodies

Jhelum River



Description

Boundaries

This ecoregion is composed of basins along the southern foothills of the Himalayas within the Indus basin (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan).

Freshwater habitats

This ecoregion includes the Hokarsar and Haigam wetlands, which support wintering waterfowl.

Description of endemic fishes

No endemic species

Justification for delineation

Delineations were determined using a bottom-up approach that employed both published and unpublished field data and expert assessment (Abell et al. 2008; Kullander et al. 1999; Mirza 1975; Talwar & Jhingran 1991). The limits of this ecoregion are approximated since the taxonomy is confused. In the south the border is based on the edge of the floodplain of the Indus; to the east the border is based on the water divide with the Ganges basin; and to the north it is based on the divide with the Amu Darya and Tarim basins (M. Kottelat pers. comm. 2006).


References

  • Abell, Robin,M.L. Thieme,C. Revenga,M. Bryer,M. Kottelat,N. Bogutskaya,B. Coad,N. Mandrak,S.C. Balderas,W. Bussing,M.L.J. Stiassny,P. Skelton,G.R. Allen,P. Unmack,A. Naseka,R. Ng,N. Sindorf,J. Robertson,E. Armijo,J.V. Higgins,T.J. Heibel,E. Wikramanayake, (2008). "Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation" BioScience 58 (5) pp. 403-414.
  • Kullander, S. O., Fang, F., Delling, B., et al. (1999). "The fishes of the Kashmir Valley" L. Nyman (Ed.) River Jhelum, Kashmir Valley. Impacts on the aquatic environment ( pp. 104 ) Sweden: SWEDMAR, The International Consultancy Group of the National Board of Fisheries.
  • Mirza, M. R. (1975). "Freshwater fishes and zoogeography of Pakistan" Bijdragen tot de dierkunde 45 (2) pp. 144-180.
  • Talwar, P. K. and A. G. Jhingran (1991). "Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Vol. I and II" Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A. A. Balkema.