About Animal Discoveries and Plant Discoveries 2024:
- The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the country’s premier institution for faunal exploration and research, publishes Animal Discoveries every year detailing the new discoveries of fauna.
- Similarly, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), the country’s premier organisation for plant research and taxonomy, publishes Plant Discoveries every year detailing the new discoveries of flora.
- Highlights of 2024 Reports:
- India added 683 new species to its fauna in the year 2024, which included 459 new species and 224 species new records.
- The country also added 433 taxa of flora during the same period, which included 410 species and 23 infra-specific taxa of plants.
- The maximum number of new discoveries of fauna in 2024 was recorded from Kerala—with 101 species (80 new species and 21 new records)—followed by Karnataka—82 (68 new species and 14 new records). Tamil Nadu recorded 63 discoveries, with 50 new species and 13 new records.
- In the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, Arunachal Pradesh recorded 72 animal discoveries (42 new species and 30 new records), Meghalaya 42 new discoveries (25 new species and 17 new records), and West Bengal 56 new discoveries (25 new species and 31 new records).
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, another biological hotspot in the country, recorded 43 new discoveries of fauna from the region, which included 14 new discoveries of fauna and 29 new records.
- The significant faunal discoveries for the year 2024 include two new genus and 37 species of reptiles and five new species of amphibians.
- The significant discovery of reptiles included Dravidoseps gouensis, belonging to the new genus, and Anguiculus dicaprioi is a member of the Colubridae family.
- In terms of plant discoveries, the highest number of flora discovered was from Kerala (58), followed by Maharashtra (45) and Uttarakhand (40).
- The new plant discoveries for 2024 record 154 angiosperms, 4 pteridophytes, 15 bryophytes, 63 lichens, 156 fungi, 32 algae and 9 microbes.
- The hotspot regions, such as the Western Ghats and the North-Eastern regions, have contributed 35% of total discoveries.
- The plant discoveries for the year 2024 include wild relatives of many potential horticultural, agricultural, medicinal, and ornamental plants such as begonia, impatiens (balsams), legumes, zingibers, orchids, etc.
- In terms of flora, the significant discoveries include important orchid species such as Bulbophyllum gopalianum, Coelogyne tripurensis, Gastrodia indica, and Gastrodia sikkimensis.
- Several new species belonging to important plant groups such as legumes, zingers, grasses, etc, were also discovered.
