Animals, plants, mushrooms: every year, science uncovers previously unknown species. The year 2024 was not lacking. Thus, the list of 2.2 million species already existing has grown further and the BBC has selected a few that are worth looking at a little more closely. Here are four of the most surprising ones.
Very fragrant mushrooms
In recent years, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, have classified approximately 149 new plants and 23 new fungi from around the world. Among them, three species of mushrooms are distinguished by a unique feature: they emit a strange fishy smell.
These poisonous mushrooms belong to the genus Russula. They produce trimethylamine, a molecule present in many of our foods and which is responsible for this rotten fish smell.
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A vampire hedgehog
The purpose of these long fangs remains a mystery for the moment, but they appear more elongated in males, suggesting that they may have a role to play in sexual selection. Also, these vampire hedgehogs are only one of the 234 new species discovered this year in the Greater Mekong region (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam), clearly showing the abundant biodiversity of this part of the world.
Pirate spiders
New species of spiders have been discovered on the tropical island of Saint Helena, in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean. These are compared to pirates since they seem to have the annoying habit of violently seizing the webs of other spiders and killing their occupants.
The names of these new species are Ero lizae and Ero natashae. Individuals measure around 4 millimeters and have two spike-like protuberances on the back of the body, the purpose of which is not yet known but which certainly give them a rather frightening appearance.
A semi-aquatic mouse
During a thirty-eight-day expedition to the Alto Mayo region of northwest Peru, researchers discovered twenty-seven new species, including a rare amphibious mouse from the Daptomys genus. This one was found in a small patch of swamp forest and has webbed feet, which allows it to evolve in its waterlogged environment. Researchers have noted, however, that its habitat is already threatened by agriculture.
“We are seeing more and more new species being discovered on the brink of extinction, or even disappearing as we discover them, explains Martin Cheek, researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Most often, it is the destruction of their habitat by humans that is responsible.”
