Species

Forget space – the oceans are Earth’s final frontier. The latest case in point is a diving expedition off the coast of Western Australia, which has discovered up to 30 new species plus what may be the longest animal ever recorded.

Spiders may seem like they sit on top of the food chain in the bug world, but they’re vulnerable to an even worse fate: parasitic wasps that infect and essentially “zombify” them. And now, researchers have discovered 15 new species of these wasps.

Scientists have now re-discovered a species that has long been missing. The silver-backed chevrotain, a tiny deer-like creature that hasn’t been seen in the wild in almost 30 years, has been captured alive and well on camera traps in Vietnam.

A new species of microscopic worm found in Mono Lake in California is able to survive huge doses of arsenic, and is divided into three sexes.

You might think we'd have discovered of all the big animals by now, but Japanese scientists have found a previously-unknown whale species.

​It may not be a Bigfoot or a Loch Ness Monster, but a somewhat creepy new animal species HAS recently been discovered. Named Macrobdella mimicus, it's the first medicinal (human-blood-sucking) leech to be described in North America in over 40 years.

An expedition to the “Lost City of the Monkey God” in Honduras has revealed a trove of natural treasures. The pristine forests house an incredibly rich ecosystem, including species new to science, some unknown in the area, some that haven’t been seen in decades and others that were believed extinct.

Researchers from the California Academy of Science (CAS) have discovered a new species of fish that looks pretty hard to miss with its neon green, pink and yellow coloring.

A new exploration to the Atacama Trench off South America’s west coast has shed new light on one of the Earth’s deepest places, including video evidence of what appears to be three brand new species of marine life. ​

New animal species are constantly turning up in the deep oceans, thick jungles, or even dusty museum store rooms. Here’s our favorite new additions to the Tree of Life in 2017, as well as a couple of “Lazarus” creatures that were believed extinct but rediscovered this year.

An international team of scientists has identified a new species of orangutan, living in an isolated part of North Sumatra. Dubbed Pongo Tapanuliensis, comprehensive studies of its genomes and skull confirmed it as a distinct species. And unfortunately, it’s already critically endangered.

It turns out you don’t need to dig around in the dirt to make new dinosaur discoveries: the back rooms of museums hold just as many secrets. Paleontologists have reexamined controversial old skeletons and confirmed them to be a distinct genus – a discovery that was made, and contested, decades ago.