Faunal Diversity
Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of ecosystems in a given place.
| Animal groups | No of genera/species |
| Protozoa | 63 generas |
| Porifera | 22 (genera) |
| Cnidaria | 90 genera |
| Chaetognatha | 18 |
| Platyhelminthes | 117 genera |
| Aschelminthes | 265 |
| Acanthocephala | 27 |
| Annelida | 91 |
| Mollusca(Fresh water) | 26 |
| Insects | 6000 |
| Non-insect Arthropda | 600 |
| Echinodermata | 8 |
Vertebrate Diversity – Kerala
| Taxonomic group | Orders/species | Families | Species |
| Fishes | 41 | 172 | 905 |
| Amphibians | 2 | 11 | 151 |
| Reptiles | 3 | 24 | 173 |
| Birds | 22 | 88 | 500 |
| Mammals | 13 | 35 | 118 |
| All Vertebrates | 81 | 330 | 1847 |
(Nameer et al 2015)
Terrestrial vertebrates of India & Kerala
| Taxonomic group | Terrestrial
|
| Fishes | 3022 | 189 (6.2 %) | 6.2 |
| Amphibians | 342 | 151 (44.1 %) | 44.1 |
| Reptiles | 526 | 164 (31.1%) | 31.1 |
| Birds | 1233 | 469 (38.0%) | 38.0 |
| Mammals | 423 | 95 (22.4%) | 22.4 |
| All Vertebrates | 5546 | 1068 | 19.2 |
Source:India’s 5th National Report to Convention on Biological Diversity, Nameer et al 2015)
Vertebrates endemic to Western Ghats & Kerala
| Taxonomic group | Endemic to Western Ghats | Endemic to Kerala |
| Fishes | 131 | 57 |
| Amphibians | 136 | 36 |
| Reptiles | 87 | 10 |
| Birds | 17 | 0 |
| Mammals | 15 | 1 |
| All Vertebrates | 386 | 104 |
(Nameer et al 2015)