10 species of animals that mankind only recently learned

In total, about 8.7 million different species of animals live on our planet, but only 20 percent of them are described. Each year, scientists manage to discover about a thousand species. We will meet those who have been introduced to the world in recent years.

Araguay River Dolphin (Brazil)

A new species of river dolphins, Inia araguaiaensis, was discovered in the Araguaya river, which evolved from the Amazonian dolphins as a result of changes in the riverbed several million years ago.

Peacock Leopard Spider (Australia)

Maratus pardus are very colorful, small-sized peacock spiders living in Australia. Such a bright outfit is inherent only to males, while females possess a rather modest gray fur coat.

Spotted Pufferfish (Japan)

Once in the Sea of Japan, not far from the Ryukyu archipelago, at the bottom, circular drawings of sand were discovered of amazing beauty, the diameter of which reached as much as two meters. Then to find out exactly who is the author of such an amazing creation, failed. Now it is known that it is the males of the new species of pufferfish - Torquigener albomaculosus - who build them to attract the attention of females. Females will subsequently lay their offspring at the center of these castles.

Palochnik (Vietnam)

This species of stick cactus (Phryganistria heusii yentuensis), which lives in the Tai Yen Tu reserve, stands out for its large size. The length of his body can be up to 32 centimeters, which makes him the second among the longest insects on the planet. The first place belongs to the stickman from the island of Borneo.

Cockroach Wasp Dementor (Thailand)

The name for this species of wasp - Ampulex dementor - was chosen from the famous saga of the boy wizard Harry Potter. The analogy with book dementors, sucking the soul out of their victims and leaving only a motionless body shell, is no coincidence. Dementor wasps act almost identically - they affect prey with nerve poison, while it does not die, but cannot move.

Forest Tiger Praying Mantis (Rwanda)

The species of the mantis Dystacta tigrifrutex was discovered in the Newngwe National Park, and received the characteristic “tiger” because its hunting methods are similar to the methods of the tiger. The females of these mantis have no wings, so they, like big cats, sneak in the undergrowth, looking for prey. Males, endowed with wings, calmly fly among the foliage.

Indian blind eye (USA)

Amblyopsis hoosieri is a type of blind eye found in caves in southern Indiana. These small fish have no eyes, therefore, seismosensory channels located on their head help them navigate in space.

Creatures X (Australia)

Creatures known as Dendrogramma enigmatica and Dendrogramma discoides were found off the Australian coast. These multicellular organisms do not belong to any of the known types of animals, so scientists had to isolate them in the new genus Dendrogramma.

Tarantula Spider Lennon (Brazil)

A new species of tarantulas Bumba lennonii lives in the state of Para. The scientists who discovered it, as it turned out, are big fans of The Beatles, so they dedicated their find to John Lennon.

Black-Tailed Marsupial Mouse (Australia)

Small nocturnal animals Antechinus arktos live in the highlands on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. Previously, they have long been considered one of the subspecies of Swanson's marsupial mouse, but recently, scientists have found that this is still an independent species.