Central Deccan Plateau Dry Deciduous Forests Some of the larger species mentioned here are rare, as is the threatened Indian giant squirrel ("Ratufa indica"). The 300 species of birds include the globally threatened Jerdon's courser ("Rhinoptilus bitorquatus"), which was rediscovered in 1986 having been thought extinct for nearly a hundred years. About 80 percent of the natural habitat in the ecoregion has been lost. Several blocks of habitat larger than 5,000 km remain. Fifteen protected areas cover almost 3% of the ecoregion's area, with Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve as the largest. Central Deccan Plateau Dry Deciduous Forests The Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests southern India, containing
Naturaliste Plateau Plateau formed during the Early Cretaceous 136 Ma when Australia and India broke up and during the Late Cretaceous 83 Ma when Australia and Antarctica broke up. Lavas and intrusive rocks on the plateau flanks have ages of between 132-128 Ma . The eastern flank of the plateau slopes relatively gently, while the other three flanks are relatively steep. The southern flank formed during the Australia-Antarctica break-up, the other flanks during the rifting between India and Australia. The continent ocean transition (COT) is wide on the north side and on the southern side where the plateau is flanked by the