Middle Brahmaputra
ID
712
Author(s)
J. Hales
Countries
Bhutan
China
India
India, Claimed by China
Major Habitat Type
Tropical and subtropical upland rivers
Drainages flowing into
Bay of Bengal
Description
Boundaries
This ecoregion encompasses the upper parts of tributaries of the middle Brahmaputra River in India, Bhutan, and China.
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For Southeast Asia, delineations were determined using a bottom-up approach that employed both published and unpublished field data and expert assessment (Abell et al. 2008; Talwar & Jhingran 1992).
This ecoregion occurs in a narrow valley, which is more humid than the Himalayan Plateau. It includes several subterranean systems with endemic cave fish species and fauna adapted to high gradient streams. There is a great differentiation in fauna and endemics within each basin throughout the valley (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.
- Talwar, P. K. and A. G. Jhingran (1991). "Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Vol. I and II" Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A. A. Balkema.