News: Zoological Survey of India’s flagship publication, Animal Discoveries-2024, documents 683 new faunal discoveries from across the country.
ZSI records 683 faunal discoveries in 2024
- Animal Discoveries-2024: It is Zoological Survey of India’s flagship publication which documents 683 new faunal discoveries from across the country, 459 of the species being new and 224 newly recorded in India.
- State-wise distribution: Kerala emerged as the top contributor with 101 discoveries (80 new species and 21 new records), followed by Karnataka (82), Arunachal Pradesh (72), Tamil Nadu (63) and Bengal (56).
- In contrast, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana and Telangana reported the lowest number of species.
- Version 2.0 of the Checklist of Fauna of India: It is also released by ZSI which is an inventory comprising 1,05,244 species and subspecies.
- The updated checklist spans 121 taxonomic groups, from protists to mammals.
- Insects — particularly beetles, moths, flies, and bees — dominate the diversity, while among vertebrates, fish is the most represented group.
- Animal Taxonomy Summit (ATS– 2025): The 110th celebrations of establishment of ZSI coincide with the third ATS– 2025, hosted by ZSI from June 30 to July 3.
- The summit is focused on three key themes—taxonomy, systematics and faunal diversity & conservation.
