Three new mammal species join India’s fauna, seven marine animals from Kerala
Kozhikode: In India, 462 new species of animals including three mammals were discovered and classified in 2022. Additionally, the annual report published by the Zoological Survey of India stated that 197 species found in other countries also inhabit India. Last year, the majority of new species (97) were discovered from Kerala.
With these new discoveries, the number of animal species found in India has increased t0 1,03,933. This amounts to 6.6% of the world’s biodiversity. The discovery that garnered most attention last year was that of the Sela Macaque found in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The monkey was named after Sela, a tribal woman who helped Indian soldiers fight against the Chinese invasion at the Tawang border.
The other two mammals discovered are bats. Found in the evergreen forests of the western ghats along the Maharashtra-Mahabaleshwar belts, these Miniopterus Phillipsi bats are known for their long-fingers. Their presence has also been confirmed in Sri Lanka.
The bat species found in the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary of Meghalaya, has been given the scientific name Glischropus meghalayanus. Out of the 28 newly discovered marine species, seven were found from Kerala. The pangio-pathala species made headlines when Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio shared the discovery on his social media page.
The marine fish Scomberoides Pelagicus fish (pola Vatta) was identified in central Kerala and Ariosoma Indicum found in the Ernakulam port waters.
Other species identified in Kerala are Hypselobarbus nitidus (Kasaragod), Osteochilichthys elegans (Palakkad), Osteochilichthys formosus (Kasaragod) and Heteropneustes fuscus (Pathanamthitta).
Among the 30 new reptile species identified, the lizard collected from Attapady in Palakkad is also included. The scientific name of this lizard is Hemidactylus easai. The amphibian found from Kerala is the Euphlyctis jaladhara that was originally found at the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary.