Spiders, Snakes, Whales: Hundreds of New Species Discovered This Year

The year 2020 brought its share of difficulties and heartache, but our planet’s biodiversity came out on top as conservation efforts paid off: hundreds of new species have been discovered.

Here are a few discoveries in the reptile department: a new iridescent snake in Northern Vietnam, a dwarf gecko measuring no more than 2.9 centimeters in the Eastern Ghats range of mountains in India, and a highly venomous mountain fer-de-lance viper in the Andes, South America.

As far as mammals go, scientists discovered that the greater glider, a possum-like mammal that originates in Eastern Australia’s forests, has three distinct types instead of one. Also, three new beaked whales varieties were tentatively discovered near the San Benito Islands, Mexico, and the existence of the Popa langur was confirmed in the Myanmar’s forests a hundred years after being predicted.

Amphibians, spiders and mollusks are not to be outdone: North Carolina, United States, now has 64 salamander species, the Lilliputian frog – one of the smallest amphibians in the world measuring one centimeter – was discovered. And the devil-eyed frog was re-added to the catalog after being believed to be extinct for two decades. A spider named after the Joker’s actor was found in Iran, as well as a new edible snail in Japan.