Context:
India adds 664 animal species to its faunal database in 2022, 339 taxa to its flora.
In News:
- List released by Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, contains both new records (species found in India for the first time) of animals and new distributional records of flora.
- Faunal discoveries are compiled by Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Floral by Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
- Maximum discoveries of both flora and fauna were made in Kerala.
Knowledge ‘+’:
- Botanical Survey of India (BSI):
- Apex research organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEFCC)Established in 1890
- Aim – To exploring the plant resources of the country and identifying plant species with economic virtue.
- Headquarters – Kolkata, West Bengal
- Zoological Survey of India (ZSI):
- A subordinate organization of the MoEFCC
- Established in 1916 and traces its origin to Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.
- It undertakes exploring, naming, describing, classifying and documenting animals from all over India.
- Headquarters – Kolkata
Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 meters and has orange coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – Prelims 2016]
(a) Andaman Islands
(b) Anaimalai Forests
(c) Maikala Hills
(d) Tropical rain forests of northeast
Source: The Hindu