We Won’t Stop Finding New Species Worth Saving

They are all worth saving, of course. But there is something about the discovery of previously unknown species of animal, even in places relatively densely populated by people, that underscores the goals of conservation writ large. There are more out there; there will always be more.

A new report from Conservation International on a 2022 expedition in a part of Peru between the Amazon and the Andes known as the Alto Mayo includes the discovery of 27 previously undescribed species of animal. Remarkably, this includes four mammals, including an amphibious, web-footed mouse that one expert said qualifies as almost “mythical.”

“Discovering four new mammals in any expedition is surprising – finding them in a region with significant human populations is extraordinary,” said CI scientist Trond Larsen, according to a press release accompanying the report. “This is a vibrant, dynamic mosaic of ecosystems, both natural and anthropogenic, that we must maintain and restore if we hope to protect the species found there.”

The expedition documented more than 2,000 species in the Alto Mayo overall. Along with the amphibious mouse, other brand new mammals include a bat, a squirrel, and a spiny mouse. They also found eight new fish, three new amphibians including the rain frog seen above, 12 new insects including 10 butterflies and two beetles, and several others. There are 48 species of plant and animal that the team says still need further research to determine if they are new to science.

“We found that areas closer to cities and towns still support incredibly high biodiversity, including species found nowhere else,” Larsen said. The Alto Mayo overall is home to hundreds of thousands of people, including indigenous groups like the Awajún. “These findings underscore that even in areas heavily influenced by people, biodiversity can persist but only if ecosystems are managed sustainably.”

The new discoveries are, of course, extremely cool. But the expedition also observed almost 50 species that are currently threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN Red List. That includes some larger creatures, like the Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey. The overlap between unknown and endangered is, unfortunately, ubiquitous: recent studies have shown that previously undescribed species have a far higher extinction risk than known species, which makes sense for a variety of reasons. Other analyses suggest that many undescribed species have already disappeared on humans’ watch, meaning our current estimates of extinction rates — already distressingly high — could be underestimated.

The positive spin on this is that there is just so much undiscovered life still out there, on a planet we have thoroughly explored, trod upon, built up, and ransacked. Millions upon millions of species, maybe as many as 80 or 90 percent of all of them, still unknown to us. A whole mysterious world out there, just as worth preserving as any.