Question

Number of Biogeographical regions in India
a. 8
b. 10
c. 16
d. 18

Answer 1

Hint: The Biogeography deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals. They used certain various factors such as altitude, topography, rainfall, moisture, etc. for classification of these regions. A region of animal and plant distribution is known as Bio geographical region.

Complete answer:
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species, i.e. biology, including ecosystem, as well as organisms in a geographical area through geographical time.
Whereas, the area or region of animal and plant distribution which has similar or shared characteristics is known as a Biogeographical area or biogeographical region.
In India, 10 biological regions are identified. There are more than 45000 species of plants and more than 75000 species of animals identified till date.

These 10 regions can be listed as follows:
> Trans- Himalayan region- Located in Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh and in Ladakh.
> Himalayan region- This is further divided into 3 sub zones- Himalayan foothills, Western Himalayas and Eastern Himalayas.
> Indian desert region- Eastward extension of Sahara-Arabian desert chain.
> Western Ghats- It is one of India’s hotspots, extending from Kanyakumari to hills of river Tapti (in South).
> Semi- Arid region- It covers 17% of the total region.
> Deccan Plateau- It is the largest region, covering 42% of India.
> North Eastern region- Includes Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
> Gangetic Plain- It comprises Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal including coastal plains of Odisha.
> Coastal region- It is 7000- 8000 meters.
> Andaman and Nicobar Islands- It includes a group of 2 islands- Andaman and Nicobar, separated by shallow waters from Indian coast.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Biogeography is branched under 2 subtypes- Phytogeography, i.e. study of distribution of plants, and Zoogeography, i.e. study of distribution of animals (including bacteria) in the particular region. Biogeographical classification of India was carried out by Rodgers and Panwar in 1988. There are more than 100,000 plant species and more than 300,000 animal species which are undiscovered. Around 4,900 flowering plant species are prevalent in the country.