Mammalian diversity, distribution and potential key conservation areas in the Western Ghats

Abstract

An updated list confirms the presence of 134 species of wild mammals in the Western Ghats, India. The super-imposed distribution range of all, and threatened spe-cies of mammals depicts the potential mammalian key diversity areas for the Western Ghats, which can be pri-oritized for long-term conservation. These mammalian key diversity areas are confined to the central and the southern Western Ghats. The most crucial key diversity areas for both threatened and all mammalian species occur in Pushpagiri–Talakaveri, the Nilgiri Biosphere, the Anamalai Hills, the Periyar landscape and the Agas-tyamalai Hills.