Ganges Himalayan Foothills

710

Author(s)

J. Hales

Countries

China
India
Indian Control Claimed by China
Nepal

Major Habitat Type

Montane freshwaters

Drainages flowing into

Bay of Bengal

Description

Boundaries

This ecoregion includes basins on the southern slope of the Himalayas within the Ganges basin (India, Nepal, China).

Description of endemic fishes

11 endemic species

Justification for delineation

For Southeast Asia, delineations were determined using a bottom-up approach that employed both published and unpublished field data and expert assessment (Abell et al. 2008). Delineation of this ecoregion was defined by topography and climate. The exact boundary with the Upper Brahmaputra [ecoregion 711] is not clear. It is likely that fish diversity is underestimated due to confused taxonomy, especially within groups with the highest diversity (actual or potential) (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.
Menon, A.G.K. (1974). "A check list of fishes of the Himalayan and the Indo-gangetic plains. Inland Fisheries Society of India"