Q.8. Which of the following is a species of grass categorised as a ‘critical’ species among the threatened list of flora ‘And fauna? (a) Madhuca insigins (b) Tamarindus indica (c) Hubbardia heptaneuron (d) Mangifera indica
Answers
Answer:
Correct answer is option 'C'- Hubbardia heptaneuron
Explanation:
Earlier Hubbardia heptaneuron was considered to be endemic to Karnataka state only. It was first collected by Sedgwick from Gersoppa falls in Karnataka in 1919 but described by Bor in 1950. It has not been collected from that locality in the past 80 years. In 2000, researchers collected it from a small patch in Tillari Ghat, Kolhapur district of Maharashtra state. It was presumed extinct from the type locality after intensive searching failed to find it, but it has been collected a few times more from the new locality and is observed regularly by taxonomists. Even there, it formed only a small patch about 1 m. which was easy to observe. After intensive searching, it was found in more patches around the Tillari locality. Several attempts to find it from surrounding areas with similar habitat have failed.
The species is known to occur on cliffs, moist rocks, shady places in spray zones of waterfalls and/or cascades at an altitude of 400 to 500 m.Forest fires, land slides, dam constructions and road broadening are the major threats recorded for this species. However, it is more likely that it might be lost due to more local pressures such as trampling, grazing, land use changes etc. The individuals on cliffs however, will remain unaffected unless any major landslides or such activity destroys them, which is unlikely.In 2009, the species was introduced in 16 Ghat regions at 108 locations, covering a stretch of 677 km (air distance) from Jog Falls in the South to Malshej Ghat in the north, and over 5,000 individuals have been established so far in the Western Ghats.