New Species
What do Sir Elton John, Barack Obama and Taylor Swift all have in common? From trapdoor spiders to coral-dwelling crustaceans, meet the 15 animals named after celebrities
One of the benefits of discovering a new species is the opportunity to name it, and many scientists have taken inspiration from popular culture. These are a few of our favourites.
11 new species discovered in 2023
We’re just over a month into 2023, and already there are plenty of newly described species. We share some of our favourites.
Speciation: what a species is, how new species form - and why deciding if a species is a new species can be complicated...
Planet Earth is filled with millions of animal, plant, fungi and bacteria species – but how do new species come about? Evolutionary biologist JV Chamary explains.
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Animals and plants named after Sir David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough has over 40 species named after him, ranging from a prehistoric marine reptile to a native British flower only found in the Brecon Beacons of South Wales.
Global biodiversity hotspot faces mining threat
Endangered amphibians, including a toad new to science, are at risk from planned copper extraction in Ecuador’s cloud forests
24 of the new species discovered in 2021
Discover some of the new species around the world that have been recently discovered by scientists, from a tiny chameleon to a spider named after Greta Thunberg
New 'killer tobacco plant' species described from a truck stop
Scientists have named several new species of Nicotiana from Australia, one of which is the first wild tobacco plant known to trap and kill small insects.
Analysis of skulls reveals that river dolphins in South Asia are two separate species
Following two decades of research, a landmark study has concluded that the endangered Indus and Ganges river dolphins are actually separate species.
“Ugliest orchid in the world” among new plant species named in 2020
The “ugliest orchid in the world”, a toadstool from Heathrow airport and a potential new food from Peru are among the plants and fungi discovered by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2020.
New langur species in Myanmar described by scientists
A new primate species has been described following extensive genetic and morphological work, including on a 100-year-old museum specimen.
Gentoo penguins should be split into four species, rather than two subspecies
A new study into the genes and physical characteristics of gentoo penguins indicates that the two current subspecies should be split into four separate species.
New beetle species named after The Beatles
A beetle species new to science has been discovered by citizen scientists – and named after the legendary music group The Beatles.
Kew selects its top new species of 2019
The scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have published their 10 highlights of new species discovered in 2019.
New species is world's largest amphibian
DNA analysis has revealed a record-breaking new species lurking in a museum's archives.
Scientists discover new shark species that glows in the dark
The American pocket shark is the only known specimen of its kind to have ever been found.
Sea slug species named after The Muppets creator
Named after Jim Henson, the newly described species of sea slug exhibits rather unusual behaviours.
‘Precious’ new species named after Gollum
A newly discovered species of snakehead fish has been named Aenigmachanna gollum after J.R.R. Tolkien's Gollum.
Two new flamboyant stick insect species discovered
German scientists have discovered two new species of giant stick insect in the dry forest of the northern tip of Madagascar.
Fossilised bones reveal three new extinct mammals
Two new mammal species and a subspecies have been described from the fossilised bones.
Mysterious giant US salamander finally identified
A salamander measuring almost 0.6m in length has been described by herpetologists.
New species of butterfly discovered in Fiji
A striking new swallowtail butterfly has been found in Fiji, that puzzled lepidopterists around the world.
Two newly discovered frogs could already be endangered
Scientists have discovered two new species of frog on Vietnam's highest mountain - however, they are concerned that the frogs could already be endangered.
Butterfly named after prominent YouTuber
Scientists have named a newly described species in honour of Emily Graslie.
Big blue surprise as new fungi species described
Researchers discover fungus species new to science in the UK.