We’ve mapped the world, discovered all the continents (though Atlantis remains elusive), and sometimes it feels like there’s nothing new to find on our little blue planet. But Earth is still full of mysteries and surprises!
Scientists find new plant and animal species nearly every day and it proves that there are still adventures to be had in the deep corners of the world. So if you’ve ever harbored ambitions of being an Indiana Jones-esque scientist, your dream can still come true. In 2019, more than a dozen researchers from the California Academy of Sciences added a stunning 71 new species to our family tree.
Among these freshly found species are 17 fish, 15 geckos, 8 flowering plants, 6 sea slugs, 5 arachnids, 4 eels, 3 ants, 3 skinks, 2 skates, 2 wasps, 2 mosses, 2 corals, and 2 lizards. They were found across 5 continents and 3 oceans. And while we applaud the fact that there are more species of gecko on Planet Earth, we’re worried about there being more species of wasp, too.
We’ve included some of the very best photos of these new species, so scroll down, upvotes your favorites, and let everyone know in the comments what you thought about each one. And be sure to read Bored Panda’s interview with a representative of the California Academy of Sciences below.
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#1 Siphamia Arnazae
The cat-eyed cardinalfish, is a new species of cardinalfish from Papua New Guinea
Image source: © 2019 Mark Erdmann
#2 Cirrhilabrus Wakanda
The Vibranium fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus wakanda) is a species of fairy wrasse from the Western Indian Ocean
Image source: Luiz Rocha © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
#3 Cordylus Phonolithos
Cordylus phonolithos is a new species of girdled lizard from southwestern Angola
Image source: © 2019 Ishan Agarwal
#4 Tomiyamichthys Emilyae
Tomiyamichthys emilyae is a new species of shrimpgoby (Gobiidae) from North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Image source: © 2019 Gerry Allen
#5 Chromoplexaura Cordellbankensis
Chromoplexaura cordellbankensis is a new species of deep-sea coral, first spotted by Williams 50 miles northwest of San Francisco in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Image source: Gary Williams © 2019 California Academy of Sciences
#6 Nucras Aurantiaca
Nucras aurantiaca is a wall lizard found in South Africa
Image source: © 2019 P. leFras and N. Mouton
#7 Janolus Tricellarioides
Janolus Tricellarioides is a sea slug found in the Philippines
Image source: Terry Gosliner © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
#8 Ecsenius Springeri
Ecsenius springeri is a new species of blenny
Image source: © 2019 Mark Erdmann
#9 Justicia Alanae
Justicia alanae is a new species of flowering plant from Mexico
Image source: Tom Daniel © 2019 California Academy of Sciences
#10 Eviota Gunawanae
Eviota Gunawanae is a new microendemic dwarfgoby from the Fakfak Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia
Image source: © 2019 Mark Erdmann
#11 Lola Konavoka
Lola Konavoka is a new species of cave-obligate harvestman
Image source: Durrell Ubick © 2019 California Academy of Sciences
#12 Janolus Flavoannulata
Janolus flavoanulatus is a sea slug found in the Philippines
Image source: Terry Gosliner © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
#13 Trimma Putrai
Trimma putrai is a new species of goby from western Indonesia
Image source: © 2019 Mark Erdmann
#14 Vanderhorstia Dawnarnallae
Vanderhorstia dawnarnallae is a new species of shrimp goby recently discovered in the far eastern reaches of Indonesia also known as West Papua
Image source: © 2019 Mark Erdmann
#15 Dipturus Lamillai
Dipturus lamillai is a long-snout skate from the Falkland Islands
Image source: © 2019 Francisco Concha
#16 Protoptilum Nybakkeni
Protoptilum Nybakkeni is a new species of coral
Image source: Gary Williams © 2019 California Academy of Sciences
#17 Hoplolatilus Andamanensis
Hoplolatilus andamanensis, a new species of sand tilefish from the Andaman Islands
Image source: © 2019 Gerry Allen
#18 Gravesia Serratifolia
Gravesia serratifolia is a flowering plant found only in Madagascar’s Marojejy National Park
Image source: © 2019 Éric Mathieu
#19 Trembleya Altoparaisensis
Trembleya altoparaisensis is a plant with white flowers found in Brazil’s Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park’s canyons
Image source: © 2019 Ricardo Pacifico
#20 Myrmecicultor Chihuahuensis
Myrmecicultor chihuahuensis is an ant-loving spider family from the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico
Image source: Durrell Ubick © 2019 California Academy of Sciences
#21 Cinetomorpha Sur
This is a species of spiders araneomorph the family of oonopidae. This species is found in Mexico, Baja California Sur and Baja California on Ángel de la Guarda
Image source: © 2019 R Ott
#22 Janolus Incrustans
This new slug species is known only from the Marshall Islands and Indonesia
Image source: © 2018 Jeannette Johnson
#23 Chromis Bowesi
Chromis bowesi is a species of damselfish. This species was first described in 2019 by Luiz A. Rocha and colleagues discovered and known from Verde Island, Batangas Bay and Puerto Galera Bay, in the Philippines
Image source: Luiz Rocha © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
#24 Liopropoma Incandescens
Liopropoma incandescens is a new species of basslet fish
Image source: Luiz Rocha © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
#25 Madrella Amphora
Madrella amphora is a sea slug that mimics snail eggs as a way to hide from would-be predators
Image source: Terry Gosliner © 2018 California Academy of Sciences
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