Seven hundred nine new species have been added to the national database during 2025, an all-time record since the systematic counting of animal species started in the country.
The database, published by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) recently during its 111th foundation day celebration, also shows that 483 of the list are newly discovered species globally, also the highest ever recorded in India since counting started. The other 226 species were reported for the first time from India.
“India is among the world’s richest biodiversity nations, and our civilizational ethos has always taught us that every living being has intrinsic value, as all species contribute to the delicate balance of nature. The work of the Zoological Survey of India has helped us understand, protect, and celebrate this extraordinary natural heritage,” said Minister Yadav launching the report.
India, a mega-diverse nation
The report, Animal Discoveries: New Species, New Records, prepared by ZSI director Dhriti Banerjee alongside senior scientists C. Raghunathan, Anjum N. Rizvi, and Jayita Sengupta, was formally released by union environment, forest, and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav in the presence of state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta, state environment and forest minister Manoj Oraon, and senior officials of the union and state government.
With the new additions, India’s total faunal biodiversity now stands at 105,953 species, about 5.5 percent of the global listings, reaffirming its status as one of the world’s premier megadiverse nations.
Kerala, which was also the topper last year, also recorded the highest number of newly recorded animal species this year—98—in the country, followed by West Bengal with 76 such species. Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh, with 67 and 65 species, respectively, follow.
Digital directory
“In a major step toward digital conservation, ZSI unveiled Version 3.0 of the Fauna of India Checklist,” confirmed director Dhriti Banerjee to The Plurals. “This is a collaborative effort of 185 taxonomic experts, which meticulously indexes 105,953 species and subspecies across 121 taxon-specific inventories,” she added.
“Insects—particularly beetles, moths, and bees—represent the highest diversity within the registry, while fishes lead among vertebrates. This checklist will be updated annually to maintain real-time relevance for policymakers and researchers,” reads the report.
Additionally, the event marked the official launch of the PaleoIndia Portal, a pioneering digital initiative developed jointly by ZSI and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, utilizing maps provided by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The portal documents the spatial distribution of fossil fauna across all 28 states and 8 union territories and houses over 5,000 animal specimens.