A local legend of a mysterious bird with big eyes grew into the discovery of the Príncipe scops owl. A biologist on the team tells the story of finding and cataloging this new species.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on New species
Displaying 1 - 20 of 31 articles
Black corals provide critical habitat for many creatures that live in the dark, often barren, deep sea, and researchers are learning more about these rare corals with every dive.
Spectacular finds of the world’s oldest jawed fishes from China push back the origins of jaws and teeth, and suggest how limbs might have evolved.
The identification of a vulture that lived more than 50,000 years ago is shedding more light on biodiversity loss and ecosystem change in Australia.
To many people, Australia’s spider diversity is a source of fear. To arachnologists, it’s a goldmine, with most Australian spider species still yet to be discovered.
Between 250 and 200 million years ago, a whole host of bizarre horseshoe crabs had evolved in two distinct groups. Only one of these groups survives.
After more than 300 years of effort, scientists have documented fewer than one-third of Australia’s species. The remaining 70% are unknown, and essentially invisible, to science.
We discovered 11 (and probably more) new species of stygofauna living in water underground. These animals are usually blind, beautifully translucent and long-limbed.
This newly discovered ancient monk seal is challenging previous theories about how and where monachine seals evolved. It’s the biggest breakthrough in seal evolution research in about 70 years.
If albanerpetontids were around today, they’d easily fit in your hand. And although their bones are found all over the world, these unique amphibians eluded experts for a long time.
The discovery that gentoo penguins are actually four distinct species has important implications for their conservation.
This stroke of serendipity shows how much there is still to be learned about the natural history of Australia. Surely more surprises are out there waiting for us.
The extraordinary story of a stingray, its discovery and its uncertain fate in the Yemen war.
The sugar glider is an icon of the Australian bush. But discovering it’s actually three distinct species has big consequences for its conservation.
The extinct Mukupirna - which translates to ‘big bones’ - is estimated to have been more than four times larger than any living wombat.
South Africa is home to four other seahorse species, but this was the first time a pygmy seahorse had been observed in South Africa, let alone Africa.
“I arrived in Perth and bought a foam mattress for the back of my car – my bed for half of the trip. I stocked up on tinned food, and I headed north in search of these tiny eight-legged gems.”
Scientists thought there was only one sixgill sawshark species – until now.
This newly discovered species is the oldest one known to resemble today’s penguins in both size and leg proportions, unlike its giant co-habitants at the time.
Six months after huge floods swept Queensland we can start to appreciate the huge effect they had on native species.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Assoc. Professor, The University of Western Australia
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Professor, Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Reader in Cultural History, Newcastle University
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Adjunct assistant professor, Southern Cross University
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Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Adjunct associate professor, The University of Queensland
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Adjunct Asssociate Professor, James Cook University
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Associate professor, University of Sydney
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Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York
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Director of the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO
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Professor, Research Institute for Environment & Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Charles Darwin University
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Lecturer, Southern Ocean Vertebrate Ecology, University of Tasmania
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Provost and Vice President, Charles Darwin University
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Professor chair in Tropical Ecology and Conservation, University of Salford
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Adjunct Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
