MPSC 2025 Prelims Paper-I · Question 32 of 100

Correct — option (2), Bengal Florican, is the one that does not belong in a list of critically endangered reptiles and amphibians, for the simplest possible reason: it is not a reptile or an amphibian at all. The Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) is a bustard — a large, ground-dwelling grassland bird — and it is a genuinely Critically Endangered species on the IUCN Red List, with fewer than a thousand individuals estimated to survive, roughly 85% of them in India. But being Critically Endangered is not what the question is testing here; it is testing taxonomic category. The question asks which animal is 'not declared' a critically endangered species specifically 'of reptile and amphibian,' and however endangered the Bengal Florican genuinely is, it fails that description on the category alone, because a bird cannot be a reptile or an amphibian. The other three options are all reptiles and are all independently recognised as Critically Endangered: the Gharial (a crocodilian) and the Leatherback turtle and Four-toed River Terrapin (both marine/riverine turtles) each carry the taxonomic classification the question is built around, which is exactly what makes the Bengal Florican the intended answer.

• (1)Gharial — The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a fish-eating crocodilian native to the Indian subcontinent, and it is both a reptile and Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List — its population has collapsed by roughly 98% since the 1940s due to river damming, sand mining and fishing pressure, with only a few hundred adults thought to survive in the wild. It satisfies both parts of the question's description, so it cannot be the answer.
• (3)Four-toed River Terrapin — The Four-toed River Terrapin (more formally the Northern River Terrapin, Batagur baska) is a large freshwater turtle — a reptile — found in India mainly in the Sundarbans, and it is IUCN-listed as Critically Endangered, with its wild population reduced to only around a hundred mature individuals through decades of exploitation for its flesh and eggs and the destruction of its nesting habitat. Like the Gharial, it fits the reptile-and-critically-endangered description precisely, so it does not answer the question.
• (4)Leatherback turtles — Leatherback turtles are sea turtles — reptiles — found nesting on India's coasts, chiefly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Several of their regional populations, including Pacific nesting populations, have been separately assessed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, even though the species as a whole carries a global 'Vulnerable' assessment; in Indian conservation practice they are treated among the country's most threatened marine reptiles. Being a reptile facing critical threat, this option also fits the category the question describes and is not the exception being asked for.

This question is a taxonomy trap dressed up as a conservation-status question: three of the four options — Gharial, Four-toed River Terrapin, Leatherback turtle — are reptiles that are all genuinely Critically Endangered, while the fourth, the Bengal Florican, is a Critically Endangered bird. The correct answer turns entirely on recognising that a bird cannot belong to a list restricted to 'reptile and amphibian,' regardless of how threatened it is. This is a common examiner technique: bury one correctly-endangered but wrongly-classified species inside a list of otherwise-matching examples, so that a candidate who reasons only from 'is this species endangered?' rather than 'does this species belong to the stated category?' picks the wrong option.

MPSC and UPSC both draw heavily on India's flagship endangered-species list for conservation questions, and this format — 'which of these is NOT X' — is a reliable way to test whether a candidate actually knows what each named species is, rather than just that it appears on some endangered list. The Bengal Florican is a genuinely high-profile conservation case in India (it anchors several protected grassland areas), which is precisely why examiners can use it here: a candidate who correctly recalls 'Bengal Florican, Critically Endangered' can walk straight past the taxonomic mismatch unless they stop to ask what kind of animal it actually is.

• Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) is a bustard — a grassland bird, not a reptile or amphibian — and is IUCN Critically Endangered, with roughly 85% of the world's population found in India.
• Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a fish-eating crocodilian reptile native to the Indian subcontinent, IUCN Critically Endangered, with its population down roughly 98% since the 1940s.
• Four-toed River Terrapin / Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska) is a large freshwater turtle found in India chiefly in the Sundarbans, IUCN Critically Endangered.
• Leatherback turtles are marine reptiles nesting on Indian coasts (notably the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, with several regional populations separately assessed as Critically Endangered even though the global species assessment is Vulnerable.
• The question tests category membership ('reptile and amphibian') as much as conservation status — an animal can be genuinely Critically Endangered and still be the correct answer if it belongs to a different taxonomic class.

• Answering a 'which is NOT X' species question purely on conservation status, without checking whether the animal belongs to the taxonomic category the question actually specifies
• Assuming every well-known Critically Endangered Indian species must be a reptile or mammal, when several — like the Bengal Florican and the Great Indian Bustard — are birds
• Treating 'Critically Endangered' as a single globally fixed label, when in practice IUCN status can differ between a species' global assessment and specific regional or national populations

MPSC's Paper-I environment section frequently uses this 'odd one out' format on lists of Critically Endangered species, and the trap is consistently a category mismatch rather than a status mismatch — the excluded option is usually genuinely threatened, just not a member of the taxonomic group the stem names. The safest preparation is to hold India's Critically Endangered species sorted by class (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian) rather than as one undifferentiated list.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following is a Critically Endangered bird species found predominantly in India's grassland habitats ?

  • (a)Bengal Florican
  • (b)Gharial
  • (c)Olive Ridley turtle
  • (d)Four-toed River Terrapin

  Answer(a) Bengal Florican — a bustard species, roughly 85% of whose world population is found in India's grassland habitats, and which is IUCN Critically Endangered; the other three options are all reptiles.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) belongs to which broad taxonomic group ?

  • (a)Amphibian
  • (b)Bird
  • (c)Reptile (crocodilian)
  • (d)Mammal

  Answer(c) Reptile (crocodilian) — the Gharial is a fish-eating crocodilian native to the Indian subcontinent, IUCN Critically Endangered, and distinct from true crocodiles by its long, narrow snout.