World Environment Day 2021 | New species discovered in India since 2020
The year 2020 was replete with new discoveries. We are talking about species of reptiles, insects, amphibians, and more. In India alone, at least two different species of snakes were found along with several other animals that just speaks volumes about how rich India’s biodiversity is and how little we still know about the wonders of this planet. Here are some of the most interesting new species discovered in India over the past year.
Name: Arunachal Pit-viper | Location: Arunachal Pradesh | Type: Reptile | The Aenigmachanna or Arunachal Pit-viper was discovered accidentally during a biodiversity survey in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh. (Image: WWF India)
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Name: Vaibhav’s Protanilla | Location: Goa | Type: Insect | The Vaibhav’s Protanilla or Protanilla Flamma is a species of underground-dwelling ant that was spotted first at the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa. It was named after professor Vaibhav Chindarkar, Head, Zoology Department, Government College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Sakhali. (Image: Wikimedia)
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Name: Gollum Snakehead | Location: Kerala | Type: Fish | The Aenigmachanna Gollum or Gollum Snakehead is an aquifer-dwelling dragon snakehead fish that is endemic to Kerala. It possibly evolved more than 100 million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth. (Image: Mongabay India)
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Name: Bengaluru Burrowing Frog | Location: Karnataka | Type: Amphibian | The new frog species was named Sphaerotheca Bengaluru or Bengaluru Burrowing Frog after the silicon city to draw attention to efforts of restoring amphibian habits in the city. (Image: Indian Institute of Science)
Name: Joseph’s Racer | Location: Tamil Nadu | Type: Snake | A team of international researchers discovered a new species of racer snake from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. The new species was named Platyceps Josephi after late herpetologist Naveen Joseph. (Image: Natural History Museum/ Surya Narayanan)
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Name: Leptarma Biju | Location: Kerala | Type: Crustacean | The Leptarma Biju is a newly discovered species of tiny purple tree-spider crabs. They were found on the pillars of a bridge near mangroves in Kerala. (Image: Futurity.org/ Abdul Riyas)
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Name: Konkan Rockdweller | Location: Maharashtra | Type: Insect | The Bradinopyga Konkanensis or the Konkan Rockdweller is a new species of dragonfly endemic to the Konkan region in Maharashtra that was found last year. (Image: Wikimedia)
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Name: Crocidura Narcondamica | Location: Andaman Islands | Type: Shrew | The Crocidura Narcondamica species nova was found in 2021 in the Narcondam volcanic island located in Andaman. This is the first time a shrew was discovered here. (Image: Nature journal)
