#ENVIRONMENT ■ India adds 557 new species: ZSI Zoological S | UPSC Current Affairs Daily

#ENVIRONMENT

■ India adds 557 new species: ZSI

Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has published a document namely “Animal Discoveries 2020”.

It reveals that India has added 557 new species to its fauna, which includes 407 new species and 150 new records.

The total faunal species in India has increased to 1,02,718 species.

● Important new Species:

Trimeresurus salazar: a new species of green pit viper discovered from Arunachal Pradesh

Lycodon deccanensis: the Deccan wolf snake discovered from Karnataka

Sphaerotheca Bengaluru: a new species of burrowing frog named after the city of Bengaluru

Xyrias anjaalai: a new deep water species of snake eel from Kerala

Glyptothorax giudikyensis: a new species of catfish from Manipur

Clyster galateansis: a new species of scarab beetles from the Great Nicobar Biosphere

● Important new records:

Myotis cf. frater: a bat species earlier known from China, Taiwan and Russia, has been reported for the first time from Uttarakhand in India

Zoothera citrina gibsonhilli: an orange-headed thrush earlier known from southern Myanmar to south Thailand (central Malay peninsula)

It was reported for the first time from India based on a collection made from the Narcondam island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

● Zoological Survey of India:

ZSI was started in 1916 by Thomas Nelson Annadale with the primary objective of inventorying and documenting faunal diversity

The survey has its genesis in the establishment of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.

It has its headquarters at Kolkata and 16 regional stations located in different places of the country.

India possess 1,02,718 species which is equivalent to 6.52% of all fauna in the world.

SOURCE - THE HINDU