New Species Good News

All of the best news about discoveries of new species

From left to right: A blue Jay, a Blue jay-green jay hybrid, and a green jay in close-up shots within nature.

This 'blue-green jay' may be the first climate change-created bird hybrid found in nature. Here's why that's good news

The peculiar bird caught the attention of Ph.D. student Brian Stokes as he was scrolling through Facebook.

On the left, a "hairy" looking coral species that is white floating underwater. On the right, a close up of its branches.

New, 'hairy' coral discovered in Hawaii named after Chewbacca

The towering pile of “hair” reminded marine biologist Les Watling of a beloved character from the “Star Wars” universe.

An aerial view of the orange dunes of Namib Sand Sea meeting the blue waves of the African coast.

In the vast Namib Sand Sea, a chorus of thousands of 'dropping marbles' led scientists to a new species of gecko

By diving deep into the local taxonomy of the Namib Sand Sea, researchers found not one — but five — new species of barking gecko.

An aerial view of the Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia: a forested mountain shrouded by fog

A scientist's last adventure before he passed: discovering a new species in the valleys of Ethiopia

A decade after the tiny shrew was discovered by scientist Bill Stanley, another group of researchers revisited the specimen and realized something remarkable.

A rushing mountain stream in a forest. In a smaller insert image, a close up of a toad's eye, with a diamond shaped pupil.

Nature survey in tropical paradise leads to new species of 'diamond-eyed' toad

The species joins a roster of tropical animals found throughout the Yunnan region, including gibbons and Great hornbills.

A pinned moth with its wings spread out in front of a white background. The top of its wings have a dark amber coloration while its bottom part of its wings have a cream white color. Its body is orange-brown and it has slightly curled antennas.

Gorgeous moth given new name after a century of 'mistaken identity'

Calling it “the prettiest species” he’s ever encountered, entomologist Peter Huemer dedicated the discovery to his wife, Ingrid Maria.

Green, forested mountains in the Sichuan province of China.

'Mysterious' mountain creature spotted again after 26 year absence — take a look

The foot long reptile, with a yellow ‘collar,’ was first discovered in 1896.

Two men stand atop a deep-sea submersible as it is launched just beneath the ocean's surface. A ship is in the background, as well as a blue sky

Deep-sea submersible stumbles upon 'unusually large' sea creature nearly 6,000 meters below the surface

An unassuming sea creature surprised scientists by withstanding ocean pressures nearly 600 times greater than surface level.

A dark river winding through a tree-lined canyon beside a mountain in Vietnam.

Rare 'vampire hedgehog' discovered in wild, 80 years after the species was first stored in the Smithsonian

The animal was among 234 new species discovered in the past year in the Greater Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

A bird's eye view of a southern region of Vietnam, with city lights aglow

A new 'bent-toed' creature was discovered in Vietnam, and researchers are fighting to conserve it

A team of researchers were excited to find six creatures during a nighttime survey in a rural farming community in Ayun Pa, Vietnam.

A mountain range on an island. The sky is sunny and blue, dotted with clouds.

Fanged creature found 'barking' on island mountain. It's a new species, and it's worth protecting

A seven-person team of herpetologists has confirmed the existence of a new “fanged” species in the heart of Borneo, the third-largest island in the world.

A pika, a small mammal that looks like a hamster, screaming from the top of a mountain cliff

Scientists confirm two new species of pika in the Himalayas after 20 years of research

Two new species of pika — an adorable, loud-mouthed mammal — were recently confirmed using data that stretches back to 2003.