Juvenile Brookesia micra perched on a matchstick
A newly discovered species may be a species that is completely new to science, or one which has previously been described but is found to be made up of two or more separate species. With estimates that there could be between 3 million and 100 million organisms existing on Earth, and only around 1.7 million having been classified, the vast majority of life on Earth has not yet been uncovered.
The wattled smoky honeyeater, discovered in 2005, was the first bird to be discovered in New Guinea since 1939
Discovering new species is very important, especially as many undiscovered species could become extinct before they are even identified. Describing and naming species is the first step towards protecting a species, as conservation strategies can then be put in to place.
The recently discovered kipunji is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List
Many of the recently discovered species featured on ARKive have some very unusual names; the psychedelic frogfish, the David Bowie spider, the Louisiana pancake batfish and Mr Burns beaked toad. Check out the profiles of these unusually named species to find out more about them and the reasons behind their quirky names.
- The strangely patterned psychedelic frogfish
Why not take a look at our newly-discovered species page today and discover some new species for yourself!
And just last month a new species of slow loris was described: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20704172
What next?!
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