One More to the Biodiversity of Andamans

                Now, one more golden feather has been added to the rich bio diversity of Andaman and Nicobar islands. A new earthworm species is discovered near Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar.

                Andaman and Nicobar islands, one of the seven union territories of India, situated in Bay of Bengal, to the south – east of Indian mainland, is really blessed with wide varieties of flora and fauna. About 2200 varieties of plants have been discovered so far and a variety of fauna too. Most of these cannot be seen in the Indian mainland.

Moniligaster ivaniosi - A sketch

                The new species was identified by a group of researchers from Thirvananthapuram. The team consisted of Jaya Manazhy and Aja Manazhy, senior research scholars, Zoology Department, Mar Ivanios College, guided by K. Vijayakumaran Nair.The samples were collected by Oommen V Oommen, scientist from CSIR Emeritus, and Assistant Professor K. Ramachandran. The earthworm is named after the college as Moniligaster ivaniosi. The researches were published in the Canadian journal, Megadrilogica.

                   A report about this came in ‘The Hindu’ daily on January 11, 2012. Click the link given below to read the report from ‘The Hindu’ website.

The Hindu : New earthworm species discovered in Port Blair