Scientists discover more than 500 new species by 2021

Posted On: December 31, 2021

Shrimp-like creatures, extinct dinosaurs called “storks from hell” and colored beetles are among the 552 new species described this year by scientists from Natural History Museum, London.

Due to the pandemic, researchers have been unable to travel to international sites or visit other museum collections, but they have not given up on uncovering a plethora of species new to science, both living and extinct.

If you want to know more about 2021’s new species, as well as species found beneath Antarctica, below Truth News share all the details with you.

New species discovered in 2021

This is the main species discovered by scientists from the Natural History Museum, London:

spinosaurid dinosaur

Two new species of spinosaurid dinosaur were discovered from fossils found on the Isle of Wight: one called the “hell crane” and the other the “shore hunter.”

Decades-old fossils from the Isle of Wight, often called Britain’s dinosaur capital, also reveal Brightstoneus simmondsi, an iguanodon with an unusual snout.

Fossil finds elsewhere reveal Africa’s first ankylosaur, Chinese sauropods, and the oldest carnivorous dinosaur found in Britain.

Other discoveries of ancient creatures in 2021 include spiders trapped in amber, herbivorous relatives of crocodiles, and a “Jurassic mouse” that once ran between the legs of dinosaurs 166 million years ago in what is now Scotland.

Earth is home to a wide variety of small, shrimp-like crustaceans called copepods. They are found worldwide, from mountain lakes to ocean trenches, and scientists discovered 291 new copepod species by 2021.

The “Eurythenes atacamensis”, a crustacean related to shrimp, was found scavenging in the Atacama Trench, off the coasts of Peru and Chile.

In addition to wasps, moths, crabs and flies, the researchers also discovered 90 new beetle species, including the bright purple and green beetles from India and the large-jawed species from the Philippines.

And scientists have finally solved the mystery of the Southeast Asian bush locust. The first time they heard his unusual and beautiful song was in 1990, but they didn’t connect until now.

There are five new species of East African plants, commonly called balsam or “don’t touch me.” These plants usually have pink or white flowers, but some have started producing red flowers to make them more visible to birds.

Scientists also discovered 10 new reptiles and amphibians, including a snake named Joseph’s racer. A 185-year-old painting helped researchers describe the species. Rhabdophis bindi is a new species of snake from India and Bangladesh that lives in evergreen tropical forests.

Unfortunately, some of the newly discovered species may also become extinct, underscoring the importance of recognizing and understanding all the creatures on our planet.

How many new species will be discovered in 2020?

In 2020, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences have described 213 new 2020 species in scientific journals: 101 ants, 22 crickets, 15 fish, 11 geckos, 11 sea slugs, 11 flowering plants, 8 beetles, 8 echinoderms, fossils, 7 spider, 5 snakes, 2 lizards, 2 aphids, 2 eels, 1 moss, 1 frog, 1 amphibian fossil, 1 seahorse, 1 clam fossil, 1 cracker, also known as sand dollar, 1 crinoid fossil, or lily sea, and 1 coral.