In 2021, BRIN Discovered 88 New Species in Indonesia

TheIndonesia.co - The Center for Biological Research at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said 80 percent of new species discoveries came from Sulawesi. In 2021, BRIN researchers managed to describe 88 new species discoveries, of which fauna findings dominated with 75 species, and the remaining 13 species of flora.

"Of the 75 new fauna species that have been identified, 68 percent are endemic to Sulawesi," said the Head of the BRIN Life Sciences Research Organization (OR IPH) Iman Hidayat in a press statement received by ANTARA in Jakarta, Friday, January 28, 2022.

Iman said the fauna group includes new types of beetles, shrews, snakes, worms, shrimp, and fish. While the remaining 32 percent came from groups of Coleoptera, lizards, frogs, cockroaches, birds, fish, isopods, and crustaceans found in several places in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Meanwhile, of the 13 species of flora found, 54 percent came from Sulawesi. The types of flora found included begonias, gingers, orchids, Cyrtandra, Bulbophyllum, and Artocarpus. While the rest are found on the islands of Sumatra, West Java, and the Philippines.

From all these discoveries, almost most of the new species discovered are endemic to the flora and fauna of the location where they were found. Only five species came from specimens whose samples were taken from outside the island in Indonesia, namely Papua New Guinea, and the majority of the rest came from the island of Sulawesi. Furthermore, other specimens came from Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Bali, and several other islands in Indonesia.