Kolkata, Jun 30 (PTI) The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) on Tuesday reported the discovery of 709 new faunal records, including 483 species entirely new to science and 226 species recorded for the first time in India, as part of its latest publication “Animal Discoveries-2025”.
With these additions, India’s total faunal biodiversity now stands at 1,05,953 species, reaffirming the country’s status as one of the world’s premier megadiverse nations, the ZSI said in a statement.
State-wise, Kerala recorded the highest number of new species at 98, followed by West Bengal at 76, Karnataka at 67 and Arunachal Pradesh at 65.
The findings were released alongside “Plant Discoveries-2025”, compiled jointly by the ZSI and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
In a major step towards digital conservation, the ZSI also launched Version 3.0 of its Fauna of India Checklist.
It also launched the PaleoIndia Portal, a digital initiative developed jointly by the ZSI and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, using dynamic geological maps provided by the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
The portal 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, the ZSI said. PTI BSM NN
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