Assertion: Presently, 25 biodiversity hotspots were identified.

Reason: ‘Biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness and high degree of endemism.

Assertion (A) is false and Reason (R) is true.

‘Biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness and high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region and not found anywhere else). Initially 25 biodiversity hotspots were identified but subsequently nine more have been added to the list, bringing the total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world to 34. These hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss. Three of these hotspots – Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and Himalaya – cover our country’s exceptionally high biodiversity regions.