A few days before the end of 2019, human beings can be in luck: the Earth continues to surprise us. In the era of technology, where there are few corners of the planet that are not inhabited and in a time when we believe we know everything, nature continues to make its way with force. Thus, the California Academy of Sciences has just released the 71 new species found this year.

Today, we have all kinds of technologies that allow us to reach the deepest corners of our planet – even from the sofa of our house, but there are still some completely unexplored places that still provide us with all kinds of surprises. Thus, in the XXI century, scientists have managed to discover more than fifty species of which, to date, we had no knowledge of its existence.

After a year of tireless work touring some of the most familiar and remote places on Earth, we have achieved great results“, says Shannon Bennett, head of the California Academy of Sciences. Thus, scientists have announced that, in 2019, they have discovered a total of 17 fish, 15 squamous sauropsids, 8 flowering plants, 6 marine slugs, 5 arachnids, 4 eagles, 3 ants, 3 spiny, 2 wasps, 2 petrels, 2 mosses, 2 corals and 2 lizards.

“Today, scientists estimate that more than 90% of the species of nature remain unknown. A rich diversity of plants and animals is what allows life on our planet to thrive: the interconnection of all living systems it provides collective resistance to our climate crisis. Each newly discovered species serves as an important reminder of the fundamental role we play in understanding ecosystems“, says Bennett.

These are some of the species found:

Siphamia arnazae

CARDINALE OCCHI DI GATTO
Non stiamo parlando di un alto prelato dallo guardo felino, ma di un pesce.
Il Pesce Cardinale Occhi di Gatto (Siphamia arnazae) dei mari di Papua Nuova Guinea: è una delle 90 nuove specie animali descritte nel 2019 da @calacademy.https://t.co/xSKbhcXiY0 pic.twitter.com/5tizdmOsUN

— Nicola Bressi (@Nicola_Bressi) December 9, 2019

Serratifolia Gravesia

NEW SPECIES ALERT! Gravesia serratifolia (Melastomataceae: Sonerileae) • A New Species discovered in #Madagascar. https://t.co/U5zgCJwtNJ pic.twitter.com/wnJZkimJDk

— Botanist Adventures (@BotanicsMan) February 1, 2019

Dipturus Iamillai

Today is #FlatSharkFriday!!! The Warrah skate, Dipturus lamillai, was described for the cold waters of the Falkland Islands. The common name is for the warrah, the extinct wolf off the islands. The scientific name honors Julio Lamilla, a Chilean #FlatShark expert. pic.twitter.com/LgcId3Q6p9

— Chondrolab (@chondrolab) May 4, 2019

Cirrhilabrus wakanda

https://twitter.com/estrelacaiu/status/1203892625314582529

Yacuri Marsupial Frog

Rana marsupial de Yacuri, Provincia de Loja
Gastrotheca yacurihttps://t.co/MX1l8DHYrp
Fotos PUCE-BIOWEB#ranas #anfibios #biodiversidad #frogs #nuevasEspecies #newSpecies #amphibians #ArcaDeNoe #EcuadorMegadiverso pic.twitter.com/pDPWsAhQgV

— BIOWEB (@bioweb9) December 15, 2019

Spinipterus moijiri

A new species of auchenipterid catfish, Spinipterus moijiri, was recently discovered in the middle Río Purus basin, Brazil – https://t.co/FFV9klgOJ1

Image Credit: Rocha et al. 2019#newspecies #newcatfish #newcatfishspecies #newfish #newfishspecies #fishhobby #aquariumhobby pic.twitter.com/g4YbRuAmZQ

— Amazonas Magazine (@AmazonasMag) December 5, 2019

Camellia debaoensis

YELLOW MELLOW TEA! #newspecies of #camelia discovered: Camellia debaoensis (Theaceae) • from Limestone Karsts in southwestern China. https://t.co/8FnELwYgTZ pic.twitter.com/4V43kgJn63

— Botanist Adventures (@BotanicsMan) November 29, 2019

Psilotris vantasselli

Also today at GenBank: sequences from Psilotris vantasselli, a #newspecies of goby from the tropical western Atlantic, from Tornabene & Baldwin https://t.co/BVH87QhSo0 pic.twitter.com/PKaZ9elXPY

— John P. Sullivan (@halooie1) November 19, 2019

Caecilia pulchraserrana

Recent #herpetological survey in the wet tropical #forests of Serranía de los Yariguíes (Colombia) adds an endemic #NewSpecies of #caecilian to the Neotropical genus <Caecilia>.

Study: https://t.co/aVNqpKHvWn. #Amphibia #Amphibians #Herps #Herpetology #Biodiversity #Taxonomy pic.twitter.com/gVZxfcuPc7

— ZooKeys (@ZooKeys_Journal) November 1, 2019

Vettonic Linaria

There are plant species yet to be discovered in central Spain. We just described Linaria vettonica, a new narrow endemic from Sierra de Gredos. #newspecies #taxonomy #botany https://t.co/IumU7GP6l3 pic.twitter.com/99FcYKZvYH

— Mario Fernández-Mazuecos (@mfmazuecos) October 11, 2019

Janolus Tricellarioides

For #SeaSlugDay, we asked b-day boy Terry Gosliner what he wanted to give the #nudibranch-loving public. His answer? Helloooo Janolus tricellarioides, the very 1st new species he collected in the Philippines (1992), named this year w/Dr. Marta Pola of @UAM_Madrid pic.twitter.com/wCz5hY42rT

— CA AcademyOfSciences (@calacademy) October 29, 2019

Cordylus Phonolithos

Cordylus phonolithos is a #NewSpecies of girdled #lizard from southwestern Angola. ? pic.twitter.com/uFcBBGLKQV

— Amit Badal (@AmitBadal) December 11, 2019

Kuniesaurus albiauris

A new species and genus of skink from Isle of Pines, New Caledonia – Ross Sadlier @austmus and Aaron Bauer @VU_Biology – Exciting stuff! (publication number 741 for Aaron Bauer)Kuniesaurus albiauris https://t.co/et8IkfLaqy pic.twitter.com/TG12MPYE6a

— Todd Jackman (@toddrjackman) February 22, 2019

Lola Konavoka

#Opiliones paper. Ubick & Ozimec describe a second species of Lola (Phalangodidae), L. konavoka from a cave in Croatia. Both spp. are highly troglomorphic, blind, single-cave endemics. L. konakova is considered critically endangered. Images from paper: https://t.co/ZXIFguPftQ pic.twitter.com/CvZbc6S4hp

— Shahan Derkarabetian (@sderkarabetian) May 13, 2019

Pinnotheres bicristatus

Descubierta una nueva especie de cangrejo guisante en aguas andaluzas ➡️ https://t.co/lgcH9pcWeS @ICMAN_CSIC @CSICAndalExtrem.
'Pinnotheres bicristatus', que vive como simbionte de la ostra de perro 'Anomia ephippium' fue localizado en el golfo de Cádiz y en el mar de Alborán pic.twitter.com/XtO0joi5ga

— IONSA (@IONSAQUIMICA) March 7, 2019