596 New Species of Plant and Animals Discovered in India in the Year 2018
India discovered 224 new species of plants and 372 animal species last year.
In 2018, India discovered 224 new species of plants and 372 animal species. 596 new species of flora and fauna were documented by scientists and taxonomists. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the publications Plant Discoveries 2018 and Animal Discoveries 2018 make the discoveries public. Out of the 596 species, 372 come under fauna (311 invertebrates and 61 vertebrates). The newly identified 224 plant species include seed plants, pteridophytes, bryophytes, fungi and lichen. Want to Name a Frog, Mouse, Worm Along With 12 Other New Species of Plants and Animals After You? Just Bid For It!
About 31 percent of the plant species were discovered in the Himalayas. While for animals species, about 50 percent were found in the Western Ghats. To confirm the discoveries, BSI emphasising on molecular DNA technology and phylogeny. 539 new species of plants and animals includes 300 species of animals and 239 species and sub-species of plants.
The Hindu quoted A A Mao, director of BSI saying, "The plants discovered this year includes close wild relatives of many potential horticulture, agriculture, medicinal and ornamental plants. The discoveries include plants belonging to groups Amomum (wild cardamom), Cycads, Rubus (raspberry), Syzygium (wild jamun), Terminalia, Balsams, Zingibers and also seven trees and 10 orchids." Scientists Develop Genetically Modified Plant That Can Remove Cancer-Causing Pollutants from Home.
Kailash Chandra, director of ZSI was quoted as saying, "Of the 61 species of vertebrates discovered this year, reptiles dominate (30 species)." He said that modern taxonomic tools, like DNA analysis, helped in the discovery of frogs and reptiles. The highest number of discoveries were recorded in Kerala with 59 species. While West Bengal recorded 38 and 26 in Tamil Nadu.
Following which Chandra said that, with the new findings, the updated list of animal species in India has increased to 1,01,681, which is 6.49 percent of all species in the world. S.S. Dash, head of the publication of BSI, "Over the past ten years, BSI has recorded discovery of 3,225 plant species." He said that the number of plant species in the country has been updated to 49,441 which is 11.5 percent of all flora in the world.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2019 10:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).