Thanks to scientists’ continuous pursuit of uncovering the unknown, our surprisingly limited knowledge of Earth’s biodiversity continues to expand.
An edible dahlia, a vegetarian piranha, and a new potato bug are just a few of the previously unknown species of plants, animals, and fungi that scientists named and described for the first time in 2024.
Yet, they estimate that humans have identified only about 10 percent of all species on Earth.
Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species of animals, plants, and fungi in 2024, enriching our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity and bolstering efforts to regenerate the natural world.
The newly identified species include 32 fishes, 17 leaf bugs, 15 planthoppers, 14 worms, 12 skinks, 11 fossil gastropods, nine plants, eight sea slugs, seven spiders, seven beetles, two ghost sharks, one cusk eel, one gecko, one potato bug, and one pygmy pipehorse.
More than a dozen Academy scientists, along with several international collaborators, described these new-to-science species, with the announcement made in December 2024.
“Finding and describing new species is vital for understanding the biodiversity of our planet and protecting it from further loss,” says Academy virologist and Chief of Science, Dr Shannon Bennett.
“Scientists estimate that we’ve identified only one-tenth of all species on Earth. While it is critical to protect known threatened species, we must also allocate resources toward identifying unknown species that may be just as crucial to ecosystem functioning. These yet-to-be-discovered building blocks offer a more comprehensive understanding of how ecosystems have evolved and operate, including the best ways to protect and regenerate them. After all, we can’t protect or care about what we don’t know exists.”
Located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution. It houses a world-class aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum, along with innovative programs in scientific research and environmental education. The Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability at the Academy is at the forefront of efforts to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. It is home to over 100 world-class scientists, state-of-the-art facilities, and nearly 46 million scientific specimens from around the globe.
An edible, endangered dahlia
Dr Isaac Lichter-Marck, a daisy expert and postdoctoral researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, has a knack for studying plants that "live in kooky places."
In 2024, Dr Lichter-Marck co-described Dahlia gypsicola, a new dahlia species that thrives in the nutrient-poor gypsum soils of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Unlike the ornamental dahlias people might plant in their gardens, this critically endangered flower possesses a set of evolutionary adaptations, such as semi-succulent leaves and a thick, water-storing root, which help it survive the harsh gypsum outcrops of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains.
“This discovery confirms a geographic pattern of species richness, as it highlights Oaxaca as a center of biodiversity and draws our attention to the areas of Mexico that we must continue to explore,” says study co-author and collaborating researcher Dr Arturo Castro-Castro.
“It also contributes to Mexico’s rich biocultural heritage, as the roots and flowers of many dahlia species are edible. The semi-succulent and aromatic leaves of D. gypsicola are consumed as raw quelites (wild, edible greens) by the inhabitants of San Sebastián Tecomaxtlahuaca and Santiago Juxtlahuaca in the Mixteca Region of Oaxaca.”
Myloplus sauron – a vegetarian piranha
Another striking discovery was a vegetarian piranha called Myloplus sauron from Brazil’s Xingu River, according to Rupert Collins, a senior curator of fishes at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, who helped describe the species. The fish was named Sauron due to its resemblance to the Eye of Sauron from JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“The reason we named it this was really a no-brainer because the fish is disc-shaped and has a thin vertical bar across its body, which looks just like an eye,” Collins explained in a video shared by the museum.
The London museum reported that its researchers had participated in 190 new discoveries of living and fossilized animals, including 11 new species of moths, eight crabs, four rats, and four snakes.
Dr Tim Littlewood, Director of Science at the museum, said: “In order to fix our broken planet, we need to keep learning about how life evolves and how vital its diversity is in keeping nature healthy. Naming new species helps us do just that.”
In a release issued on December 20 last year, NHM said: “Fascinating animal behavior continues in one of the 11 new species of moths, from a genus called Hemiceratoides found in Africa, known to drink the tears of sleeping birds.”
NHM botanist Dr Sandra Knapp explained: “Every specimen in our collection has a narrative or story attached to it, and having a name allows you to tell that story. This storytelling sits at the very heart of our mission to create advocates for the planet – how can you speak up for the planet without an understanding of what it is you’re trying to protect?”
Eponymy, the practice of naming something after a person or place, featured prominently in this year’s list. For example, a fossilized dung, or coprolite, was named Alococopros milnei in honor of AA Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh. Among the four new snake species discovered this year, one was named Anguiculus dicaprioi, or DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake, after actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio.
Several extinct animals also made the list, including a new dinosaur from the Isle of Wight named Comptonatus chasei, in honor of fossil hunter Nick Chase. This specimen is the most complete dinosaur fossil found in the UK in over a century.
A damselfish in the deep
From a sponge-dwelling goby in the Indonesian archipelago to a deep-sea ghost shark in the South Pacific, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described an impressive 35 new fish species in 2024.
The Academy's Ichthyology Curator Dr Luiz Rocha described Chromis abadhah, a stunning, newly discovered damselfish from the Maldives. This opalescent reef dweller was observed during a survey of Maldivian mesophotic coral reefs, relatively unexplored deep-ocean ecosystems also known as the twilight zone (100–500 feet below the surface).
Dr Rocha and his collaborators selected the epithet abadhah, the Dhivehi word for “perpetual,” to honor the initiative’s dedication to addressing Earth’s environmental challenges through science and innovation.
“This genus was previously known only from shallow reefs in the Maldives, so it was surprising when the dive team surfaced with C. abadhah from mesophotic depths,” said study co-author and biologist Ahmed Najeeb. “This addition to the inventory of species inhabiting Maldivian waters is an encouraging step toward further exploration of our marine life."
Marine worms add to a library of life
In a revision of the Iphione genus of marine scale worms, Christina Piotrowski, invertebrate zoology collection manager at the California Academy of Sciences, co-authored a paper describing eight distinct species that had previously been taxonomically grouped together. By analyzing DNA sequence data and comparing museum specimens from populations around the world, Piotrowski and her collaborators were able to establish more precise species boundaries within the Iphione group.
Marine scale worms inhabit nearly every ocean habitat and play critical roles in marine food webs, contributing to nutrient recycling and maintaining biodiversity. Though this group of small, segmented worms is incredibly diverse, with nearly 13,000 known species, these animals remain vastly understudied.
Academy researchers Dr Brad Balukjian and Dr Matt Van Dam introduced 17 new insect species in the Pseudoloxops family from French Polynesia. Familiarly known as “plant bugs,” these small, brightly colored invertebrates are typically found feeding on the flowers and young leaves of native plants. They also demonstrate the importance of naming in science.
“The bulk of these insects received their official species names from a group of fifth graders on the island of Mo'orea as part of UC Berkeley’s Manumanu Project,” says Balukjian, who is also the project’s lead researcher.
Manumanu (the Tahitian word for “insect”) is an educational outreach initiative that uses insect biodiversity to inspire the next generation of community scientists, encouraging local fifth-grade students to connect more deeply with their native wildlife.
With assistance from the local cultural nonprofit Te Pu Atitia, the students named several insects in the Tahitian language: P. aama is named after the Tahitian word ‘a’ama, meaning “on fire,” due to its bright red coloration; P. raimana derives from the Tahitian word rai’mana, meaning “power of the sky,” as its wings resemble lightning; and P. tairoto is named after the Tahitian word ta’iroto, meaning “lagoon,” referencing its shiny blue-green hues.
Balukjian also named one species after US Vice President Kamala Harris (P kamalaharrisae) and another after Harrison Ford (P harrisonfordi), honoring their commitments to climate and conservation science.
