It always comes as a surprise when you see on the news that some new animal or plant has been discovered. I mean, you would think we would have seen them all by now!

But apparently there are still a lot of things to find. In fact, scientists have only identified around 10 percent of all the species on Earth so far! 

“Scientists estimate that we’ve identified only one-tenth of all species on Earth,” said Dr.
Shannon Bennett, chief of science at the California Academy of Sciences, in a statement.

“While it is critical to place protections on known threatened species, we must also allocate resources towards identifying unknown species that may be just as important to the functioning of an ecosystem,” Bennett said.

Researchers connected to the institution described 138 new species in 2024, including 32 fish. One standout was a pygmy pipehorse named Cylix nkosi. Other discoveries included a toothy toadstool, and a vegetarian piranha with a distinctive mark.