On the 111th Foundation Day of the Zoological Survey of India, with the inauguration of the Animal Taxonomy Summit (ATS) 2026, a three-day summit has been organised from 30 June to 2 July 2026, inaugurated by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, in Kolkata, to release the Animal Discoveries - 2025 by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Plants Discoveries - 2025 by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
Explore all the important key highlights of animal and plant discoveries in 2025.
Major Key Highlights of the Animal Discoveries in 2025
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According to the PIB, India added 709 new faunal records to the national biodiversity database, of which 483 are new to science, and 226 species are recorded for the first time in India.
India’s total number of faunal biodiversity reaches up to 105,953 species and subspecies. As per DownToEarth, this is about 5.3% of the global total of 1,679,523 recorded animal species.
Among the 28 states of India, Kerala has recorded the highest number of new species.
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State
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Number of Species
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Kerala
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98
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West Bengal
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76
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Karnataka
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67
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Arunachal Pradesh
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65
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Among the most crucial vertebrates, these fauna are identified as new species:
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Myotis himalaicus, a new species of Himalayan long-tailed Myotis which has been discovered in Uttarakhand in the Western Himalayan ranges.
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Ptyctolaemus mamdaphaensis and Ptyctolaemus siangensis are two new species of green fan-throated lizard in Arunachal Pradesh.
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Lycodon irwini, which is commonly known as Irwin's wolf snake, is discovered on Great Nicobar Island.
Major Key Highlights of the Plant Discoveries in 2025
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In 2025, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) expanded the floral inventory by adding 353 plant taxa.
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Out of these 353 taxa, 221 were described as new to science, while 132 taxa represent the new distributional records of India.
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Among the 28 states of India, Arunachal Pradesh has recorded the highest number of new species of plants, with 49 discoveries, followed by Uttarakhand, where 39 plants were discovered, and 37 in Kerala.
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Among all the newly discovered taxa, nearly 64% are discovered in the Himalayan region, the Western Ghats, and the North-Eastern States.
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Among the most crucial discoveries of plants are the following:
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Polystichum siangense: A new species of fern which belongs to the family of Dryopteridaceae. It is mainly found in the Sinag district of Arunachal Pradesh
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Miliusa beddomei: A new wild member of the custard apple family, which is discovered in the Western Ghats.
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Hericium Indicum: A discovery of new species of wild edible tooth fungus in Uttarakhand.