A team of researchers have discovered a new species of ginger hidden in the lush, remote Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Named Parakaempferia alba, the plant was identified by researchers from the CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology and local colleges. The discovery, published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, marks a major milestone for the region’s biodiversity, as it is only the second species ever found within its specific genus.

phylogenetics

Dharwad

Eastern Ghat Cricket Frog [Image credits: Prudhvi Raj]

Researchers discover a visibly different individual of the Eastern Ghats cricket frogs, in the Western Ghats

Bengaluru

The blackbuck is an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent. Although the term 'antelope' is loosely used to refer to many ruminating ungulates, the blackbuck is the only animal that belongs to the genus named Antilope. True antelopes belong to one of the four genera—Gazella, Nanger, Eudorcas and Antilope. Scientists are still debating the evolutionary relationships between these members. In a recent study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, have traced the evolutionary relationships of the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) using phylogenetics. The study was published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

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