ABSTRACT
Species inventories are potential tools to “inform and catalyze action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, critical to protecting the natural resources people need to survive”. The ambiguities in the marine faunal species reported from the Indian waters, coupled with the uncertainty about the genuineness of some of the existing faunal check-lists, necessitated a re-assessment of the marine faunal diversity of Indian waters based on collation of species records from the above literature and verification of the taxonomic status of these species using the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. In view of the limitations encountered during the compilation of Version 1.0 of the Check-list, it is proposed to undertake rigorous search of all available taxonomic literature, keep abreast of the latest developments in animal taxonomy, and exercise meticulous attention to the use of taxonomic nomenclature during the compilation of the forthcoming version of the Check-list.
