Consider the following:
- 1.Star tortoise
- 2.Monitor lizard
- 3.Pygmy hog
- 4.Spider monkey
Which of the above are naturally found in India?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
The Indian star tortoise, the Bengal monitor lizard and the pygmy hog all occur naturally in India. Spider monkeys are New World primates of Central and South America, so they are not native to India. That leaves 1, 2 and 3 only.
- ✓ 1. The star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is native to India. Its range covers Gujarat, western Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and in the south Kerala, Karnataka, eastern Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. It also extends into Pakistan (Sindh) and Sri Lanka.
- ✓ 2. The Bengal monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis) is native to India. It is listed among the protected wildlife under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- ✓ 3. The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is the world's smallest wild pig. It survives in the grasslands of Assam, and captive-bred hogs have been released in Manas National Park.
- ✗ 4. Spider monkeys live in forests from southern Mexico through Central and South America to Brazil. No spider monkey species is native to India. This rules out option (d). Option (c) is also wrong: it includes the spider monkey and leaves out the monitor lizard and the pygmy hog.
Remember · The spider monkey is a New World (American) primate. India's native primates include macaques, langurs and the hoolock gibbon. The star tortoise, Bengal monitor and pygmy hog are native Indian species.
Sources
- The Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), Wildlife Institute of India digital repository ↗ “Pakistan (Sindh), India (Gujarat, western Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh) South- 334959 44 India (Kerala, I<arnataka, eastern Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, TamilNadu)”
- Appendix 1: List of Wild Life entries in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (DGFT) ↗ “10. Large Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) 11. Leathery Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) 12. Logger Head Turtle (Caretta caretta)”
- PIB: Prime Minister's Mann Ki Baat address ↗ “do you know what the similarity between the Asiatic Lion, Hangul, Pygmy Hog and Lion-tailed Macaque is? The answer is that all of these are not found anywhere else in the world”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: spider monkey ↗ · reference work “large, extremely agile monkey that lives in forests from southern Mexico through Central and South America to Brazil”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
