Description

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context:

India added 683 new species to its fauna in the year 2024, which included 459 new species and 224 new species records.

The country also added 433 taxa of flora during the same period, which included 410 species and 23 infraspecific taxa of plants.

About India's Biodiversity Discoveries in 2024:

Fauna Discoveries in India (2024)

State/Region	Total Discoveries	New Species	New Records
Kerala	101	80	21
Karnataka	82	68	14
Tamil Nadu	63	50	13
Arunachal Pradesh	72	42	30
Meghalaya	42	25	17
West Bengal	56	25	31
Andaman & Nicobar	43	14	29
Total (India)	683	459	224

Flora Discoveries in India (2024)

State/Region	Total Discoveries
Kerala	58
Maharashtra	45
Uttarakhand	40
Total Flora Taxa	433 (410 species + 23 infra-specific taxa)

Break-up of New Plant Discoveries

Category	Number of Discoveries
Angiosperms	154
Pteridophytes	4
Bryophytes	15
Lichens	63
Fungi	156
Algae	32
Microbes	9

Significant Discoveries & Highlights

Aspect	Details
Major Contributors	Western Ghats and North-East (35% of total discoveries)
Institutions Involved	Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Botanical Survey of India (BSI)
Global Status	India is among 17 megadiverse countries (8% of global biodiversity)

Noteworthy Faunal Discoveries

Category	Discoveries
New Genera	2
Reptile Species	37
Amphibians	5 new species
Notable Reptiles	Dravidoseps gouensis, Anguiculus dicaprioi (named after Leonardo DiCaprio)

Noteworthy Floral Discoveries (Orchids & Others)

Notable Species	Type
*Bulbophyllum gopalianum*	Orchid
*Coelogyne tripurensis*	Orchid
*Gastrodia indica*	Orchid
*Gastrodia sikkimensis*	Orchid
Others	Legumes, zingibers, grasses

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the country's leading organization for Faunal Exploration and Research, publishes Animal Discoveries every year, describing discoveries of organisms.

Similarly, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), the country's premier organization for plant research and taxonomy, publishes the discoveries of the plant to expand the Flora's new discoveries every year.

ALSO READ- https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/ophichthus-suryai

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/new-species-discovered

Source: The Hindu

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. As per the Animal Discoveries 2024 report, which Indian state recorded the highest number of new faunal species discoveries?

(a) Tamil Nadu

(b) Karnataka

(d) Kerala

Answer: D

Explanation:

According to the "Animal Discoveries 2024" report, Kerala recorded the highest number of new faunal species discoveries in India. The report indicates that Kerala had 101 new discoveries, comprising 80 newly described species and 21 new records for the country.