The central government on Sunday released a complete list of wildlife that includes 1,04,561 lakh animal species. The list was released by Environment, Forest and Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav on the foundation day of the 109th Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata. Yadav also launched a portal offering a complete checklist on the occasion.
India is home to over 28,000 endemic species. “The fauna checklist will be an invaluable reference for taxonomists, researchers, academicians, conservation managers and policy makers. “This list comprises 121 checklists of all known taxa covering 36 phyla,” Yadav said in a government statement.
For example, the Bird Species Checklist lists 1,358 species of birds in 26 orders and 114 families. There are 11,888 species of birds in the world grouped into 36 orders and 247 families. Yadav has also published the Zoological Survey of India publications, 'Animal Discoveries – 2023' containing 641 new animal species and new records from India and 'Plant Discoveries – 2023' of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) containing 339 new plant species and new records. published by scientists and researchers.
