Context
In 2022, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change released details of new discoveries and new records, adding 664 animal species to its faunal database and 339 taxa to its flora in India.
About floral and faunal database
- The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) compiled the faunal discoveries in a publication titled “Animal Discoveries – New Species and New Records 2023.”
- The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) published the floral discoveries in “Plant Discoveries 2022.”
New Records
- India added 664 animal species to its database in 2022. This includes 467 new species and 197 new records, which are species found in India for the first time. Among the notable findings were three new species and one new record of mammals, two new records of birds, 30 new species and two new records of reptiles, six new species and one new record of amphibians, and 28 new species and eight new records of fish.
- Some of the mammal species discovered include Miniopterus phillipsi, a long-fingered bat, and Glischropus meghalayanus, a bamboo-dwelling bat, both found in Meghalaya. Another significant discovery is the Sela macaque (Macaca selai), a new macaque species found in the western and central parts of Arunachal Pradesh and named after the Sela Pass.
- The discoveries in flora comprised 37% seed plants, 29% fungi, 16% lichen, 8% algae, 6% bryophytes, 3% microbes, and the remaining 1% were pteridophytes. The western Himalayas accounted for 21% of the total discoveries, followed by the Western Ghats with 16%. “Plant Discoveries 2022” includes 125 angiosperms, one gymnosperm, five pteridophytes, 19 bryophytes, 55 lichens, 99 fungi, 27 algae, and nine microbes.
Significance of New Discoveries
- These new discoveries and records contribute to the growing knowledge of India’s diverse flora and fauna, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts and the need for continued research in this field.
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Floral and Faunal Database
