The anglerfish and other newly discovered species

Have you heard about the monkey named after an online casino? Or the frog with no name? These are just a few recently discovered species.

There is plenty of doom and gloom about the animals that climate change, habitat loss and hunting are endangering. We could be on the brink of the biggest mass extinction since the ice age but we are also in the midst of a golden era of animal discovery. In the last decade or so, all sorts of new and fascinating species have been added to the roll call of life on earth.

As we’ve opened up the Earth’s most isolated regions and focused new technology on the deepest oceans, darkest forest and most inhospitable tundra, we’ve come across an abundance of new animal life.

Every new discovery adds to our understanding of the glorious diversity of nature, but it shouldn’t make us complacent. Many recently discovered species are already endangered, and a few critically so. Naturalists say they should act as a spur to our conservation efforts. For every new species we discover, another may have quietly vanished before we even knew it existed. 

Here are some of the most exciting discoveries of recent years. There could be many more waiting to be revealed.