Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

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Researchers have discovered a new frog species named Ingerana occidens. Ingerana occidens, also called the western trickle frog, is a newly identified species of frog. It was discovered in the Garo Hills and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, located south of the Brahmaputra River. DNA analysis showed an 18% genetic difference between the new species and Ingerana borealis, confirming it as a distinct species. The species name “occidens” comes from the Latin word for “west.” The name was chosen because its habitat represents the westernmost known range of any species in the Ingerana genus.

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A recent cyclone in Sumatra, Indonesia, killed about 58 Tapanuli orangutans, nearly 7% of their total population. The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is a species of orangutan found only on Sumatra Island. It is one of the three known species of orangutans, along with the Sumatran orangutan and Bornean orangutan. They inhabit tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests south of Lake Toba. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, their conservation status is Critically Endangered.

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Scientists recently discovered the physical mechanism behind the snapping action of the Venus flytrap. The study found that when the trap is stimulated, the outer cell walls rapidly soften by about 30–40%, making the tissue flexible and releasing internal stress that causes the trap to snap shut. Venus flytrap is a small perennial carnivorous plant belonging to the sundew family. It is native to North Carolina and South Carolina in the United States. The plant grows in moist, acidic, nutrient-poor soil and captures insects to obtain nutrients.

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The Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu has recently been in news due to concerns over garbage dumping in its river stretch at Madurai. It originates from the Varusanadu Hills of the Western Ghats and flows eastward across Tamil Nadu. The river passes through the historic city of Madurai and finally drains into the Palk Strait near Ramanathapuram district. It is supported by water diversion from the Periyar River via a tunnel from Kerala, enhancing its flow.

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Recently, researchers discovered a new bacterial species named Brachybacterium netajii in the Hooghly River, a distributary of the Ganga, in West Bengal. It can degrade p-nitrophenol (PNP), a toxic industrial pollutant. It is highly resistant to heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. It is halotolerant, meaning it can survive in environments with up to 9% salt concentration. Its genome contains unique genomic islands that help produce industrial enzymes and ectoine, a compound that protects it from extreme environmental stress.

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A new parasitoid wasp species, Tetrastichus narayandebnathi, was discovered in Rajarhat, West Bengal. The species is named in honour of Narayan Debnath, creator of Batul and Nonte-Phonte. It is a gregarious primary parasitoid of tortoise beetle pupae, eventually killing its host. The discovery is only the second record from India of the genus Tetrastichus parasitising the Cassidinae (leaf beetle) subfamily.

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The Global Environment Facility approved US$1.26 million for a conservation project led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The project will be implemented in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. It is one of the largest protected Sudanian savanna ecosystems in West Africa, covering nearly 913,000 hectares. The park is located in southeastern Senegal, near the Guinea border.

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Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the PaleoIndia Portal. It is a digital platform developed jointly by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, using Geological Survey of India (GSI) geological maps. The portal documents fossil fauna from all 28 States and 8 Union Territories. It contains information on fossils of mammals, reptiles, birds, fishes, amphibians, molluscs, arthropods, foraminifera, echinoderms, and ichnofossils.

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Super Typhoon Bavi affected the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, along with the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and China, in the western North Pacific Ocean. Bavi became the third tropical cyclone in 2026 to reach Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS). A super typhoon is a typhoon with sustained wind speeds of at least 240 km/h (150 mph), equivalent to a strong Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane.

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An expert committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recommended against the proposed 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project due to its likely impact on the Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary. The Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary is located in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district in the Western Ghats. It was formed by merging the Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve, and adjoining reserve forests.