New snake eel species discovered in Odisha

Syllabus subtopic: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Prelims and Mains focus: About the new species of the eel; about ZSI and its functions

News: A new snake eel species residing in the Bay of Bengal has been discovered and documented this month ( January) by the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at Gopalpur-on-sea in Odisha.

About the new species

This new marine species has been named Ophichthus kailashchandrai to honour the vast contributions of Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director of ZSI, to Indian animal taxonomy.

Ophichthus kailashchandrai is the eighth species of the Ophichthus genus found on the Indian coast.

It is the fifth new species discovered by the Gopalpur ZSI in the last two years.

In 2019, two new species of marine eel, Gymnothorax andamanensesis and Gymnothorax smithi were been discovered by this ZSI centre.

About Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

It is a subordinate organization of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India.
It was established in 1916 as a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the country.
The headquarters is at Kolkata.

The main activities of the ZSI are:

Study of the fauna of states
Fauna of conservation areas
Fauna of important ecosystems
Status survey of endangered species
Fauna of India and
Ecological Studies & Environmental impact assessments.

Source: The Hindu

Join Our Telegram

Voice clone-AI

Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems. India’s Status of Current Solar Capacity India currently stands at 4th place globally in solar power capacity. As per Ministry of New an

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)- NGO

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month. What is FCRA? Key provisions of FCRA, 2010 Key aspects Description

Voice clone-AI

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India. AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes. Objective – To achieve a high level of na

Science communication- how to promote

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Steps taken by India to promote Science Communication Publications and Information Directorate (PID) - An organisation under Council of Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) established in 1951 for publishing and disseminating scientific information in India. National science magazines- The PI

Universal Basic Income (UBI)- Analysis

05 Feb, 24
SHARE

Universal Basic Income (UBI) can strengthen welfare architecture and unlock the nation’s latent demographic potential. UBI - It is an income support mechanism typically intended to reach all or a very large portion of the population regardless of their earnings or employment status. Objective- To provide enough to co