10-Oct-2020: Animal Discoveries 2019

Animal Discoveries 2019 lists 368 faunal species as new to science, and 116 species as first records from India. The publication provides details about 360 new species, four sub species and four fossil species, as well as 116 species recorded for the first time from India.

Among the new discoveries, 294 species are invertebrates and 74 are vertebrates. Insects outnumbered other groups in general and in vertebrates, fish diversity is high with 38 new species and five new records. Dr. Chandra said that with the new discoveries and new records, Indian faunal diversity stands at 1,02,161 species, which is equivalent to 6.52% of all the species across the globe. The Director added that, along with conventional taxonomy, the ZSI has introduced modern methods such as DNA barcoding, entire genome sequencing, and X-rays for the identification of new species.

Both the ZSI and BSI have been releasing Animal Discoveries and Plant Discoveries since 2007, and this is the 13th publication in the series. Data analysis from the past decade reveals that a total of 2,444 species of faunal communities are newly described from India, while the number of plant species described in the same period is about 3,500.

Most of the new discoveries were reported from biogeography hotspots in the country. Data provided by the BSI stated that 28% of all plant discoveries in 2018 were made from the Western Ghats during 2019; followed by the eastern Himalayas (21%); the east coast (11%); and eastern plains (10%). The west coast has contributed 7% of the total discoveries, while the western Himalayas have contributed 6% of the discoveries. Maximum (flora) discoveries were made from the State of Kerala, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh.

6-Jun-2019: Animal Discoveries 2018

Scientists and taxonomists have documented 596 new species of flora and fauna from India in the year 2018. The details of the discoveries were made public by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the publications Animal Discoveries 2018 .

Of the 596 species, 372 come under fauna (311 invertebrates and 61 vertebrates).

Kailash Chandra, director of ZSI, said that modern taxonomic tools, like DNA analysis, helped in the discovery of frogs and reptiles. Of the 61 species of vertebrates discovered this year, reptiles dominate (30 species). 21 species of fishes, nine species of amphibians, and one mammalian sub-species were also found.

Kerala recorded the highest number of discoveries with 59 species. West Bengal, a state with both Himalayan and coastal ecosystems, recorded 38 and Tamil Nadu recorded 26.

With these new discoveries, the updated list of animal species in India has risen to 1,01,681 which is about 6.49% of all the species in the world.

Other than the discoveries, 139 species of animals were added to the fauna of India as new records.

Last year, 539 new species of plants and animals were discovered, which included 300 species of animals and 239 species and sub-species of plants.