Because of wild boars and border collies, we have made new friends in the past year.

Biologists are constantly discovering, identifying, naming, and describing new species. What interesting new species have we come across in 2023?

Hedgehog

Last year, an ecology team from Anhui Normal University discovered a new species of hedgehog in Anhui Province and named it Mesechinus orientalis. The hedgehog species living in China have unlocked a new map.

The short spines on the East China hedgehog are about 1.8 to 2 cm long｜Anhui Normal University

For a long time, species of the genus Hedgehog were believed to live only in northern my country, Mongolia, and Russia. In recent years, new species have been discovered in the south. Through molecular biological analysis, scientists have found that the East China Hedgehog evolved into an independent species 1.1 million years ago. They speculate that due to the great cooling and drought, the ancestors of the hedgehog crossed the Dabie Mountains and moved south to Anhui and northern Zhejiang.

Fosbury's giant penguin

Last year, scientists discovered what may be the largest penguin ever , named Kumimanu fordycei - but this penguin became extinct 20 million years ago.

More than 50 million years ago, giant penguins roamed the oceans of New Zealand | Simone Giovanardi

These ancient penguin fossils were found on a New Zealand beach. Research has found that they weighed about the same as giant pandas, about 150 kilograms, and were about 177 centimeters tall ; the largest emperor penguin alive today weighs only about 45 kilograms. However, many fossils only have remnants of arm and leg bones, not complete skeletons, so estimates of their size are still open to question. Larger penguins can catch larger prey, and more importantly, they can better maintain their body temperature in cold waters.

It's not certain why the giant penguins went extinct 20 million years ago , but their disappearance coincides with the appearance of seals in the Southern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, smaller penguins were less affected by their competitors and gave rise to the ancestors of modern small penguins around 14 million years ago.

Dicaprio Snail Eater

Last year, scientists discovered a new species of snail -eating snake , Sibon irmelindicaprioae, which is found in Panama and Colombia. It is very docile and will not attack when threatened, but will coil around its head and emit a foul odor .

Suck, suck, suck | Alejandro Arteaga

Its Latin name, irmelindicaprioae, comes from the famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his mother Irmelin Indenbirken, who is also a conservationist. Many people choose to name new species after specific people, such as the Swift millipede discovered two years ago, which was named by researchers to thank singer Taylor Swift because Ms. Swift's songs accompanied the researchers during their student career.

Underground Palm

Scientists have discovered a rare palm in the pristine rainforest of western Borneo in Southeast Asia. They named it Pinanga subterranea, which belongs to the genus Pinanga in the palm family. More than 300 different palm trees have been found on the island of Borneo, but this palm is very unique in that its flowers and fruits grow hidden in the soil, which has never been observed in other palm species .

The above-ground parts of underground palms grow like ordinary palm seedlings, so scientists have ignored them. William J Baker/Royal Botanical Garden, Kew

However, if the fruit is hidden underground, how do its seeds spread? Before the discovery of the underground palm, this rare reproduction mode had only been observed in some orchid species. Botanists were very puzzled. They speculated that the local bearded pigs might have a keen sense of smell and would dig the palm fruit out of the ground and eat it , allowing the seeds to spread through feces.

The local bearded pigs also love to eat the fruits of these palms｜Royal Botanical Garden/ Kew

In fact, the natives of Borneo are very familiar with this plant and have long been eating its bright red, juicy fruits . Before researchers officially determined the scientific name, the underground palm had already been named in more than one Bornean language. It seems that scientific discoveries are sometimes found in the lives of local people.

Blind catfish

Scientists have discovered a new species of catfish, Horaglanis populi, in the red soil underground aquifer found in Kerala, southern India. It is no more than 32 mm long, has no eyes, and has a blood-red body.

This blind catfish has a dreamy color scheme | Mongabay

It is endemic to the area and the Palghat Valley in Kerala has hampered the animal's migration. Species with restricted ranges are often threatened with extinction, especially those that live underground like the blind catfish, which are threatened by groundwater extraction and mining of laterite rock formations .

The specific epithet populi in the Latin name means "people". This name is to commemorate the valuable contribution made by the public of Kerala to the local biodiversity survey - the new species of blind catfish was discovered by trained public volunteers in their own wells . "Citizen scientists" are the most effective assistants of the scientific research team.

Mulligan's weaver moth

The power of citizen scientists should not be underestimated. The new species of Tachystola mulliganae was also discovered by a moth enthusiast in a park in London . The moth was named after the discoverer. In fact, the specimen of this moth was collected in the Natural History Museum in the UK as early as 1886, but it had never been studied.

Beautiful Mulligan's moth specimen | Mark Sterling

Amazingly, DNA sequence analysis showed that this new species of moth found in London should come from Australia . How did the Australian moths come to London? Scientists speculate that they may have hitched a ride on the export of potted plants and traveled to the UK.

Ophelia Hericium erinaceus

A junior college student in South Africa stumbled upon a new species of Hericium erinaceus in the forest and named it Hericium ophelieae , inspired by Rimbaud’s poem “Ophelia”.

“A long veil, a white shadow, beautiful as snow”——Arthur Rimbaud｜Research at Stellenbosch University

The species was previously misidentified as H. coralloides, but using DNA sequencing technology, scientists confirmed that it is a new and independent species of the genus Hericium and is endemic to South Africa. Mycology is still underdeveloped in Africa, so it is likely that there are many other local fungal species that have not been discovered.

Medog Banner Orchid

In Medog County, Tibet, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a new species of orchid - Kuhlhasseltia motuoensis.

The middle part of the lip of the Medog Banner Orchid is yellow, with two rows of tooth-like protrusions on each side of the outer edge. There are green spots between the two circular lobes | Chinese Academy of Sciences

There are about 11 species of the genus Glechoma in the world, of which 2 species are recorded in China. So far, only one wild population of Glechoma in Medog has been found, with about 25 plants. Medog County is located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the southern foot of the Himalayas. The altitude of the Himalayas spans across many different climate zones and vegetation zones, making it a hotspot of global biodiversity.

Flame Groin Tree Frog

In Peru's Ucayali River, researchers discovered a new species of tree frog, Scinax pyroinguinis, of which only two individuals have been found so far , in a forest remnant that had been destroyed by wildfire.

I love fire, I am like fire, my groin is on fire | Germán Chávez

Coincidentally, the frog has striking orange spots on its groin, just like the wildfires burning in its habitat. So when scientists named it, the specific epithet of the Latin name means "flame in the groin." The name also reminds the frog of the threat it faces - the forests where it lives are threatened by wildfires because local farmers try to expand farms or clear land .

De Winton Golden Mole

Last year, researchers discovered the Derwinton's golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) on the west coast of South Africa - a species that was last observed in 1936. Previously listed as "critically endangered" and "possibly extinct", we can now be sure that they are not extinct from the earth.

Golden moles have no eyes, but they have excellent navigation and hearing abilities, allowing them to detect prey underground | JP Le Roux

This discovery was not easy. Scientists first sampled environmental DNA (such as animal feces, mucus, skin, hair and carcasses), and then found a Border Collie trained in scent detection to help , and finally confirmed the existence of the Derwinton golden mole. In species protection, many people focus on large animals, but some animals that are not familiar to people may need more help and publicity.

Eastern Mindanao Barefoot Hedgehog

In the jungles of the eastern mountains of Mindanao Island in the Philippines, scientists discovered a golden brown animal - Podogymnura intermedia, which belongs to the Podogymnura genus and is from the Erinaceidae family like the hedgehog.

The Eastern Mindanao hedgehog looks like a shrew, with golden-brown stripes on its fur | Danilo Balete

The area where the Eastern Mindanao hedgehog lives has been largely unstudied by biologists, and with this discovery, the mystery of this area has been slowly revealed. One of the researchers said: "In the Philippines, there are probably more unique species on one mountain than in any country in Europe . The concentration of biodiversity in the Philippines is really amazing."

Ukaguru Mountain Spiny-throated Reed Frog

Scientists have discovered a new species of frog that lives in swamp reeds in the Ukaguru Mountains in central Tanzania - the Ukaguru Spiny-throated Reed Frog (Hyperolius ukaguruensis).

The vocal sac of the thorn-throated reed frog is covered with small spines | Christoph Liedtke

The thorn-throated reed frog does not use calls to woo mates like other frogs. Scientists speculate that they may use the spines on their vocal sacs to communicate, and these spines may release pheromones to help male and female frogs find each other. These spines may also have another function, which is to stimulate female frogs to lay eggs during mating.

In addition to these new friends, several species were officially declared extinct last year, most of which had not been observed in the past few decades. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, climate change has caused 39% of amphibians to become extinct between 2004 and 2022 alone .

Island species are more vulnerable to extinction than species with wider ranges. They may live only on one island or a specific island region, and climate change, disease, and invasive predators threaten their survival. This is the Oa honeyeater (Moho braccatus) on Kauai, Hawaii. People have not seen or heard them since 1987, and they were confirmed extinct last year. | USFWS / Robert Shallenberger

Freshwater mussels are considered evolutionary winners because of their ability to adapt to their environment, but even they are disappearing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared eight species extinct last year, including a subspecies of Epioblasma florentina (E. f. florentina) | USFWS

The discovery of new species does not mean that the extinction of species can be offset. But as these new friends are recognized, we have a more comprehensive understanding of the biodiversity and species evolution of the earth. Although we have just learned of their existence, they have lived and reproduced on the earth long before humans. If you want to protect species, knowing them is the first step.

In areas that are difficult for people to go to or in densely populated cities, there are many unknown mysteries of life that are worth our understanding and learning. What surprises will nature give us in the new year?

Author: Bowl

Editor: Mai Mai