Patterns of species discovery in the Western Ghats, a megadiversity hot spot in India.

Even since Linnaeus,naturalists and taxonomists have been systematically describing species new to science. Besides indicating gaps in taxonomic effort, understanding the temporal patterns of species discovery could help in identifying drivers that determine discovery. In this study we report the patterns of discovery of eight taxa--birds, butterflies, frogs, tiger beetles, grasses, asters, ferns and orchids--in the Western Ghats, a megadiversity centre in India.