hairyblue tarantula

NewandBlue

Everyyear,approximately18,000 newspeciesarediscovered.Thatmeansscientistsworldwideareencounteringupto50newspeciesevery day.


ScientistAndrewSnydercouldn’tseeathingashestumbledalongtheforestfloor.DarknessbathedthebranchesoftheGuyanarainforest,whichthenewmoon’slightcouldnotpenetrate.Therainforestwas alive.Unseenrustles,clicks,andscreamsfilledthenight.Snyderturnedonhisflashlightandsawabrilliantflashofblue.Hefixedthebeamon arottingstumpandfocusedontheblue.Thestumpwascrawlingwithadozenhuge,bluespiders.Hewaslookingatanever‑before‑seenspecies:hairyblue tarantulas!

Youmightthinkthattheworld’snewdiscoverieswouldbemostlymicrobesandinsects.Theyarebeingdiscoveredallthetime.Butthey’renottheonlythingsoutthere.Big,colorful,andevendazzlingnewspeciesseemtobeturningupeverywherethese days.

patch‑nosed salamander

HidinginPlain Sight

Somenewspeciesarerightunderournoses.AscientistattheRoyalBotanicGardensinLondon,forexample,discoveredthreeunknownspeciesoffungusinapackageofdriedmushroomsfromthegrocery store.


Thepatch‑nosedsalamanderwasdiscoverednearacreekinGeorgiain2007,andtheAtlanticCoastleopardfrogwasfirstidentifiedonStatenIsland,NewYork,in 2008.

WhyNow?

Morespeciesarebeingdiscoverednowbecausemorescientistsarelookingattheworldindifferent ways.


Humansaremakingmoreroadsandcuttingdownforests.Theyareexpandingintowildplacesthathaveneverbeforebeenexplored.Scientistsarepayingattentiontohowthesewildplacesarechanging,andtheyarecomingacrossnewspeciesthathaveneverbeenseen before.


Scientistsareusingnew,moderntoolslikeremote‑controlsubmersiblesanddeep‑seacameras.Theseallowexplorerstosearchtheworld’sextremenooksandcranniesthatwereonceimpossibletoreach.NewspeciesliketheIndonesianpsychedelicfrogfish,theyeticrab,andthesix‑gilledsharkhaveemergedfromthe depths.

Indonesianpsychedelic frogfish

Mismatch

SometimesanewspeciescanbefoundbylookingatDNA.ScientistsattheNationalZooinWashington,D.C.,werefrustratedbyapairoftheirresidentolinguitos.Theseraccoon‑likecreatureswerenotproducing offspring.

Aftertestsweredonetoseewhattheproblemwas,theylookedattheanimals’DNA.Itturnsoutthatthetwoanimalswerenotthesamespecies!Onewasanolinguitoandtheotherturnedouttobeacompletelydifferentspeciescalledan olingo.

olingo

olinguito