Earth is home to an estimated 8.7 million species, though the vast majority remain undiscovered.
In the last decade, scientists have found some surprising creatures.
A 2011 study estimated that scientists had not yet identified 86% of species on Earth,
and 91% of ocean species.
Scientists chip away at that number every year, traveling to remote mountain forests
and the deepest regions of the seas to catalogue new animals.
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They've uncovered bizarre creatures in extreme environments and unknown mammals hiding in
plain sight.
Today we bring you the list of top 10 new animal species that were discovered in the
last decade.
10.
Tapanuli Orangutan Discovered as a separate specie in 2017, the
Tapanuli Orangutan is a critically endangered species of the Ape family with less than 800
animals counted in the wild.
The animals are found only in Sumatra, a large island located in the Indian Ocean and is
administered by Indonesia.
The population is separated into three distinct areas and conservationists are having a hard
time finding a way to have the three colonies move around to interact and breed together.
Tapanuli Orangutans don’t reproduce until they are relatively old and a female won’t
produce another child for 6 to 8 years after giving birth.
This extremely slow rate of reproduction makes an orangutan population susceptible to hunting
pressure.
9.
Olinguito The olinguito is the smallest member of the
raccoon family and has thick, woolly fur.
Its discovery was announced on 15 August 2013 by Kristofer Helgen, the curator of mammals
at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The animal mainly eats fruit, but may also eat some insects and nectar from some flowers.
Olinguitos are solitary animals that live in trees and are mostly nocturnal.
It is an adept jumper that can leap from tree to tree in the forest canopy.
They live in Ecuador and Colombia around 5,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level and are found
only in cloud forests of the northern Andes Mountains.
8.
Uromys Vika Mammologist Tyrone Lavery had only heard stories
about a giant rat called Vika until he came across the species in 2010 on the Solomon
Islands.
This large rodent lives in trees and is known to eat coconuts.
For a perspective of size, consider it to be almost as big as a house cat.
However, scientists consider that this specie is critically endangered due to extensive
logging of forests.
The rare animal looks more like a cute cross between a squirrel and a possum than a large
rat.
Local rumors describe it as a tree-dwelling creature that can crack coconuts open with
its two front teeth.
7.
Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemur Discovered only during the last decade, the
fat-tailed dwarf lemur is the only primate that hibernates for a very long time.
Recent studies show that, these animals hibernate on average for as long as 7-months.
During this period, the animals heart rate drop from 180 beats per minute to about 8
beats per minute, and the body temperature drops significantly as well.
And you might be thinking, what’s with the fat tail?
So, it’s called the fat-tailed dwarf lemur as it stores fat in its tail for surviving
the hibernation period and can hold up to 40% of its body weight worth of fat in its
tail.
6.
Phuket Horned Tree Agamid While some of the discoveries in the recent
years might look cute and cuddly, some come with thorns.
Discovered in 2015 in Phuket Thailand, it has a very unique appearance with horns on
its body.
This lowland forest-dwelling species is a medium-sized lizard ranging from 7.5 to 15
inches in length.
It has horns running down from its head but stops at the beginning of its tail.
The spiky lizard is threatened by habitat loss and attempts to collect it to keep as
a pet and conservation efforts are underway to ensure the safety of the specie.
5.
World’s Smallest Frog Discovered in 2012 in the rainforests of New
Guinea, Paedophryne amauensis is the world's tiniest vertebrate.
At an average of just 7.7 millimeters long, the little frog inhabits southern Papua New
Guinea and eats tiny invertebrates like mites.
Research shows that unlike the usual frogs, this one lives all of its life on land and
does not include a tadpole stage in its lifecycle.
The young ones hatch as miniatures of the adults as hoppers and as time goes by the
skeleton is reduced and there are only seven presacral vertebrae present.
This helps them jump thirty times their body length.
4.
Araguaian River Dolphin Through DNA testing, scientists discovered
a new species of pink river dolphin in the Amazon's Araguaia river basin.
Members of the species are gray to pink in color and have a body length range from 1.53
to 2.6 meters.
The total population of the species is estimated to be of the order of 600 to 1500 individuals,
and genetic diversity is limited.
The ecology of its habitat has been adversely affected by agricultural, ranching and industrial
activities, as well as by the use of dams for hydroelectric power.
3.
Fire-Tailed Titi Monkey In 2011, while looking for animals in southern
Brazil's Mato Grosso, Julio Dalponte – a member of Brazil's Institute for the Conservation
of Neotropical Carnivores, noticed an unusual monkey with a reddish-orange tail, "like a
blaze," he says.
Titi Monkeys are territorial monkeys.
They live in family groups which consist of parents and their offspring, about 3 to 7
other members.
They defend their territory by shouting and chasing off intruders.
Both male and female.
2.
Mouse Deer Once thought to be extinct, so technically
not a new specie, but delightful to know they still exist, mouse deer were sighted after
decades of inactivity in Vietnam.
The silver-backed chevrotain, also known as the Vietnamese mouse-deer, is about the size
of a large rabbit, with a silver sheen on its rump.
Due to its excessive hunting and poaching, its numbers are very low in the wild.
1.
Wakanda Fish A newly discovered species of African fish
with gleaming purple scales has been named after Wakanda, the fictional home of Marvel's
character Black Panther.
The fish's common name is vibranium fairy wrasse, after the powerful metal that lines
the Black Panther's suit.
Under a microscope, scientists analyzed the fish's scales, fins, body structure, and DNA,
and determined that it was a new species previously unknown to science.
Both male and female wrasses boast a vibrant purple color with a pair of facial stripes
above their eyes.
Their fins and tails are also a beautiful two-toned color.