Humans have been discovering the plants and animals that reside alongside us for millennia. After all this time, there must be no major species left to discover, right?
You might be surprised to learn that this is not the case! Over 200 new species were discovered globally in 2024, from the depths of our Earth's oceans to the rainforests of Southeast Asia.
Let's take a look at five exciting species that were discovered in 2024.
Clouded-Tiger Cat
The clouded tiger cat (Leopardis pardinoides) was discovered by De Oliveira, a tiger cat expert in Brazil, from camera traps in the Andes mountains. His arduous efforts were spurred by an intriguing email proclaiming their existence a decade-and-a-half prior.
The clouded tiger cat is physically different from the other two species of tiger cat, the northern tiger cat and southern tiger cat because it has more irregular spots, thicker fur, and even moves differently than those species. Females only have one pair of nipples. The clouded tiger cat is found only in the mountains of Central and South America and is sadly at risk of extinction.
Fishy Fungi
In 2024, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, UK identified three strange new fungi in the Russula genus. In the Russula genus, there are 800 mushroom species and they produce strong almonds or cheese-like smells. However, these three newly identified fungi have a notable feature that makes them distinct from other mushroom species.
All three new fungi can produce trimethylamine compounds, which give them a pungent shrimpy, fishy odor. This is why they are also known as “Fishy Fungi”. Russula lapponica is found in the boreal and taiga forests of Sweden and Norway. Russula neopascua is found in the woodlands and mixed forests of Colorado. Russula olympiana is found in the temperate forests of British Columbia.
Vampire Hedgehog
A vampire hedgehog was discovered in Vietnam. This nocturnal animal looks like a cross between a mouse and a shrew and its body is covered with soft bristly fur instead of spikes. Its only spike is present inside the mouth.
The male species has long vampire fang-like teeth, which is why scientists named it “Hylomys macarong”, as macarong means “Vampire” in Vietnamese. Currently, they are unsure what these fangs are used for. Vampire Hedgehog is also found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. It is one of 234 new species found in this biodiverse region in the past year. It was documented by the Smithsonian in 1951, and also in 2009.
Pirate Spider
Researchers discovered 2 new species of spiders named, “Ero lizae” and “Ero natashae” on a remote tropical island in the Atlantic Ocean. These spiders violently invade the web of other spiders and kill the occupants. This behavior has prompted researchers to give it the second moniker of “The Pirate Spider”.
Ero lize has a very fearsome appearance with aggressive-looking, spike-like protuberances at the back side of its body. Their habitat, the threatened cloud forest, can isolate them and make them sensitive to temperature changes.
Skeleton Panda Sea Squirts
Naohiro Hasegawa, a biologist at the University of Hokkaido in Japan, saw a tweet featuring captivating critters that looked like panda bear skeletons! So he set sail for an island west of Okinawa.
They were able to uncover the truth behind the unique species, which they named Clavelina ossipandae (Skeleton panda sea squirts). They live their lives attached to the seafloor and filter out phytoplankton when they suck sea water through their mouths, like other species of sea squirts. The skeleton-like lines on their translucent bodies are actually blood vessels that run through their gills. Scientists are still trying to understand why they have black-and-white markings.
There are so many more organisms to be discovered in the future. The planet we call home will continue to surprise us for a long time!
Sources: NPR, Mongabay, LiveScience, BBC
