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News: According to Animal Discoveries 2025, India has recorded 483 species, of which 226 species were recorded for the first time in the country.
About Animal Discoveries 2025
- Released by: Animal Discoveries 2025 is an annual report released by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) detailing the discoveries of fauna.
- Animal Discoveries 2025:
- India has recorded 483 species, of which 226 species were recorded for the first time in the country.
- 709 new faunal (animal) records were added to the national biodiversity database.
- Total faunal biodiversity: India’s total faunal biodiversity now stands at 1,05,953 species, reaffirming its status as one of the world’s premier megadiverse nations.
- Among the animal groups added to the country’s fauna, Hymenoptera contributed the highest number of additions at 106, followed by Lepidoptera at 65, Diptera at 64, Arachnida at 64, Coleoptera at 55, and Pisces at 50.
- State performance: Among the states, Kerala recorded the highest number of new species at 98, followed by West Bengal at 76, Karnataka at 67 and Arunachal Pradesh at 65.
- Plant Discoveries 2025:
- ‘Plant Discoveries 2025’ is the nineteenth edition of the series, which added 353 new plant species to the Indian Flora during 2025.
- First edition: The first edition of this series was launched in 2007.
- Compiled by: This has been compiled jointly by the ZSI and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
- Biological classifications: India added 353 taxa to its flora, of which 141 are infraspecific taxa.
- Of the 353 plant taxa added to the floral database, 221 have been described as new to science, while 132 taxa represent new distributional records for India.
- It documents 154 angiosperms, three pteridophytes, 13 bryophytes, 62 lichens, 93 fungi, 22 algae, and six microbes.
- Among the most notable discoveries are several wild relatives of economically and ecologically significant plant groups, including Begonia, Impatiens (balsams), legumes, and orchids.
- Approximately 43% of the newly described taxa belong to vascular plants.
- State performance: A State-wise analysis of the plant discoveries indicates that Arunachal Pradesh emerged as the leading contributor with 49 discoveries, followed by Uttarakhand at 39 and Kerala at 37.
- ‘Plant Discoveries 2025’ is the nineteenth edition of the series, which added 353 new plant species to the Indian Flora during 2025.
About PaleoIndia Portal
- Developed by: Recently, the PaleoIndia Portal was launched. It is a digital initiative jointly developed by ZSI and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, using geological datasets from the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
- Features:
- It documents the spatial distribution of fossil fauna across all 28 states and eight Union Territories, housing over 5,000 specimens spanning Mammalia, Reptilia, Aves, Pisces, Amphibia, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Foraminifera, Echinodermata and Ichnofossils.
- It features a real-time data upload system to enable field-based and citizen science contributions for safeguarding India’s paleontological heritage.
