Jakarta. The Forestry Ministry announced on Monday the discovery of 19 new species of flora and fauna found across various regions of the country as of mid-2025. The findings include 11 new types of plants and eight new animal species.

Satyawan Pudyatmoko, Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation at the Forestry Ministry, said the discoveries resulted from a collaborative effort between the ministry, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and several Indonesian universities.

“The Ministry works together with BRIN and universities to conduct explorations, expeditions, and identification of new species of flora and fauna from Sabang to Merauke,” Satyawan said.

Among the new plant species are Begonia bukitrayaens, Begonia kalimantana, and Bulbophyllum bukitbakariense, all discovered in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Kalimantan. In Southwest Papua, researchers identified Bulbophyllum abuniorum, Bulbophyllum sandfordiorum, Dendrobium wanmae, Dendrobium eruciforme, and Mediocalcar gemma-coronae.

Rinjani National Park yielded the discovery of Morchella rinjaniensis, while Homalomena chikmawatiae was found in Riau, and Chiloschista tjiasmantoi was identified in Aceh.

The new animal species include the Bent-toed Gecko Pecel Madiun (Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun) in East Java; two species of fanged frogs, Limnonectes maanyanorum and Limnonectes nusantara, in Central Kalimantan; and the tree frog Rhacophorus boeadii in West and Central Sulawesi.

Additionally, the land snail Diancta batubacan was discovered in North Maluku; two leaf beetle species, Thlaspidula gandangdewata and Thlaspidula sarinoi, were found in Central and West Sulawesi; and the blind cave fish Barbodes klapanunggalensis was identified in West Java.

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni praised Indonesia’s rich biodiversity, calling the country a megabiodiversity nation during his speech at the 2025 National Nature Conservation Day event in Jakarta.

“Very few countries possess the wealth of biodiversity that Indonesia has,” Raja Juli said.

He added that Indonesia is home to 10 percent of the world’s flowering plants, 12 percent of mammal species, approximately 15 percent of reptiles and amphibians, and 17 percent of the world’s fish species.

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