Vampire hedgehog, Pygmy pipehor,

The vampire hedgehog, pygmy pipehorse and blob-headed fish were among hundreds of new species identified in 2024.

The variety of brands chosen was very diverse and the names of the new brands crossed different regions and shapes – some were even inspired by politicians or famous people.

The new strain of the virus is named after Vice President Kamala Harris (P. kamalaharrisae) and one after Harrison Ford (P. harrisonfordi) for their commitment to climate and conservation science, said California Academy of Sciences researcher Brad Balukjian, who introduced 17 new species to the region. Pseudoloxops a family from French Polynesia.

Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio had a new species of snake named after him. Researchers discovered a small copper-colored snake in the Himalayas and named the species Anguiculus dicaprioi.

Areas where scientists discovered these species included Peru, the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Greater Mekong region of South Asia. The California Academy of Sciences said that its scientists conducted research on six continents and three oceans, which led to the description of 138 new species of animals, plants and fungi.

“Finding and describing new species is critical to understanding our planet’s biodiversity and protecting it from further loss,” said biologist Shannon Bennett, director of science. of the California Academy of Sciences.

The number of new species identified in 2024 cannot be counted or determined in one list. Researchers present their findings in various papers, conferences and among the scientific community. Introduction is tricky because discoveries can be made by anyone, anywhere, but describing and identifying a new species requires a scientific process.

That process involves studying and examining a new species and similar organisms, then giving the species a new name. The species may be discovered, but probably not described until years later.

Bennett told CBS News that when scientists describe the new species, they liken it to “a ball coming out.” For the first time, Bennett said, the species is being properly identified and finally has a place in the world.

Regardless, Bennett said “scientists estimate that we’ve only found about a tenth of all the species on Earth.”

Here are some of the highlights of 2024.

The Vampire Hedgehog, a soft-furred hedgehog with “fang-like teeth”

According to a report from WWF, 234 species were found this year in the Greater Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Among them was Hylomys macaroona vampire hedgehog. The soft-furred hedgehog with finger-like teeth inspired its scientific name. The word Ma cà rồng is Vietnamese for “vampire.”

First photographed in 2009 in Vietnam by a team from Russia’s Vietnam Research Institute, the vampire hedgehog was identified as a new species as part of an international taxonomy effort. -small gymnures, said the WWF.

The specimens that helped explain the description of the vampire hedgehog were stored at the Smithsonian, researcher Arlo Hinckley told WWF. He stressed the importance of preserving specimens collected from “poorly accessible areas” so that the “next generation” of researchers could discover new things that might otherwise have been overlooked.

Pygmy pipehorse, found on the coast of South Africa

Researchers at the California Academy of Scientists knew they might be making a new discovery after divers in South Africa’s Sodwana Bay told them about an unknown species. But scientists were worried they wouldn’t be able to spot the tiny pygmy pipehorse – about the size of a golf tee.

“The reefs of South Africa present the most difficult diving conditions with bad weather and strong currents – we knew we only had one dive to find it,” said the scientist and co-author Richard Smith in a press release earlier this month.

But Smith and Graham Short – the scientist who first described the type of pygmy pipehorse Cylix in 2021 – they didn’t disappoint, according to the school. The pygmy pipehorse was originally found in the cold freshwater surrounding the North Island of New Zealand. The discovery of a new species in tropical waters increased the number of the group.

“Luckily we spotted a female hiding against the sponges about a mile offshore in the sand,” Smith said in a news release.

They named the new species pygmy pipehorse C. the kingafter the local Zulu word for “head,” the academy said.

“Blob-headed” fish are surprising researchers

Of the eight new species of fish discovered in Peru’s Alto Mayor region this year, the most alarming was the “spiky-headed fish,” according to a report published this month by the team non-profit Conservation International.

In the summer of 2022, researchers from the Rapid Assessment Program team conducted a biological survey of an unstudied area in the central Alto May region, and found what was later determined to be at least 27 new species. in science and 49 endangered species. , according to the IUCN Red List.

Among the new ones was a “fish with a blob head” instead Chaetostoma genus, which includes the bristlemouth armored catfish. The team’s fish scientists have never seen a fish with a head as big as the blob, Conservation International said.

“The function of this unusual structure remains a mystery,” the researchers said in a statement.

However, the species was already common among the Awajun Indians who worked with the Rapid Screening Program, the researchers said.