Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

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Researchers discovered three new meadow katydid species in Jammu and Kashmir named Conocephalus usmanii, Conocephalus nagariensis, and Conocephalus ganderbali. Katydids are mainly nocturnal insects found on all continents except Antarctica. More than 8,000 species exist, belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. They are orthopterans, meaning straight-winged insects, related closely to crickets. Katydids are also called long-horned grasshoppers or bush crickets. They have long thread-like antennae and leaf-like bodies for camouflage. Most are herbivores with a lifespan of about one year.

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The Finke River, called Larapinta by the Arrernte people, is believed to be the world’s oldest river system. It is a major but intermittent river located in central Australia. The river originates in the MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory. It forms from the meeting of Davenport Creek and Ormiston Creek. The river flows for about 600 kilometres towards the Simpson Desert in South Australia. Geological evidence dates the river to the Devonian or Carboniferous period, around 300–400 million years ago. For most of the year, it appears as scattered waterholes but becomes fast-flowing after heavy rains.

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A new species of ginger named Parakaempferia alba has been discovered in the Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. It belongs to the Zingiberaceae, which is the ginger family of flowering plants. The species was found in the Miglung area of East Siang District. It grows at an altitude ranging from 150 to 400 metres above sea level. The plant thrives along shaded streambanks. It prefers humid conditions with sandy soil, which support its growth. This discovery highlights the rich plant biodiversity of the Eastern Himalayan region.

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The Tripura Forest Minister announced that the state has received over ₹57 crore for the modernisation and further development of Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Sepahijala district of Tripura. The sanctuary includes important water bodies such as Abasarika Lake and Amrit Sagar Lake. Clouded Leopard National Park is a part of the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary.

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The Rusty-spotted Cat, one of the rarest and smallest wild cats in the world, was recently spotted in the Shergarh forest of Baran district, Rajasthan. It is the world’s smallest and lightest known cat species. The species is found in dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forests of northern and central India, the Western Ghats, Kachchh, Rajasthan, and peninsular India. It is also distributed in Nepal and Sri Lanka. India supports about 80 percent of the global population of this species. Its conservation status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is Near Threatened.

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The Vishwamitri River flows through Vadodara in Gujarat and is called India’s Crocodile River due to mugger crocodiles. It is a small, non-perennial river originating from the western and southern slopes of the Pavagadh Hills in eastern Gujarat. The river flows westward through Vadodara, joins tributaries Dhadar and Jambuva, and drains into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Khambhat. It hosts the protected mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris).

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New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for freezing $16 billion in federal funding for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The Hudson River is located mostly in New York State, United States, with its final 34 km forming the boundary between New York and New Jersey. It was named after British explorer Henry Hudson, who sailed up the river in 1609. The river originates from several small postglacial lakes in the Adirondack Mountains near Mount Marcy (1,629 metres), the highest point in New York.

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A giant female reticulated python found in Sulawesi, Indonesia, is confirmed by Guinness World Records as the longest measured snake at 7.22 metres. The reticulated python belongs to the Pythonidae family and its scientific name is Malayopython reticulatus. It is the world’s longest snake and the third heaviest after the green anaconda and Burmese python. It is a non-venomous constrictor that kills prey by tightening its coils. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, living in tropical forests of India, Indonesia, and nearby regions. Its conservation status is Least Concern under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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Researchers discovered a new tiny crab species named Galathea balasubramaniani from coral reefs of Agatti in Lakshadweep Islands. It belongs to genus Galathea, a group of small reef-dwelling anomuran crabs called squat lobsters. These crabs look like tiny lobsters and hide in coral and rocky crevices. It measures only about 3 millimetres, making it one of the smallest reef crabs in the region. It plays a key ecological role by recycling organic matter and serving as food for fish and other marine life.

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A rare sighting of the Blue-and-White Flycatcher was recently reported at Pavagadh Hills, Gujarat. It is a small migratory songbird belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It mainly breeds in Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East. During winter it migrates to Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sumatra, and Borneo. It prefers wooded lowlands, submontane forests, taiga, slopes and gullies up to about 1200 metres, and also occurs in scrub, bushes and plantations. Conservation status in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List is Least Concern.