The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Bhupendra Yadav, on June 30th, released the centre’s first comprehensive fauna (animals) checklist covering a whopping 1,04,561 lakh species of animals during the 109th Foundation of the Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata. A new species of turmeric from Manipur and a new kind of bat in Karnataka are among the plant and animal species that were discovered in India in 2023.
Speaking at the event, Minister Yadav stated, “The faunal checklist will be an invaluable reference for taxonomists, researchers, academicians, conservation managers, and policymakers. It comprises 121 checklists of all known taxa (a sub-species of animal or plant) covering 36 phyla. Endemic, threatened, and scheduled species have also been included in the list.” It is pertinent to mention that India is home to over 28,000 endemic species!
During the event, Mr. Yadav released a Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) publication titled — ‘Animal Discoveries– 2023,’ which comprises 641 new animal species and new records from India and ‘Plant Discoveries- 2023’ from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) comprising of 339 new plant species and new records published by scientists and researchers.
