California Academy of Sciences describes 138 new species in 2024

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 18, 2024) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2024, enriching our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity and strengthening our ability to regenerate the natural world. The new species include 32 fishes, 17 leaf bugs, 15 planthoppers, 14 worms, 12 skinks, 11 fossil gastropods, nine plants, eight sea slugs, seven spiders, seven beetles, two ghost sharks, one cusk eel, one gecko, one potato bug, and one pygmy pipehorse. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with several international collaborators—described the new-to-science species.

“Finding and describing new species is vital for understanding the biodiversity of our planet and protecting it from further loss,” says Academy virologist and Chief of Science Shannon Bennett, PhD. “Scientists estimate that we've identified only one-tenth of all species on Earth. While it is critical to place protections on known threatened species, we must also allocate resources towards identifying unknown species that may be just as important to the functioning of an ecosystem. These yet-to-be discovered living building blocks provide a more comprehensive understanding about how ecosystems have evolved and work, including the best ways to protect and regenerate them. After all, we can't protect or care about what we don't know exists."

Proving that our vast and dynamic planet still harbors unexplored places with never-before-recorded plants and animals, the scientists made their finds across six continents and three oceans, from harsh mountain peaks to hundreds of feet beneath the ocean’s surface. Their efforts help advance the Academy’s mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Below are highlights from the 138 species described by the Academy this past year. For a full list of species and high-resolution images, please contact press@calacademy.org.

A damselfish in the deep 

From a sponge-dwelling goby in the Indonesian archipelago to a deep-sea ghost shark in the South Pacific, Academy researchers described a whopping 35 species of fish in 2024. In partnership with Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, Academy Ichthyology Curator Luiz Rocha, PhD, described Chromis abadhah, a stunning new-to-science damselfish from the Maldives. This opalescent reef-dweller was spotted during a survey of Maldivian mesophotic coral reefs, the relatively unknown deep-ocean ecosystems also known as the twilight zone (100-500 feet beneath the surface). Rocha and his collaborators chose the epithet abadhah, the local Dhivehi word for “perpetual,” to honor the initiative’s commitment to devising solutions to our planet’s environmental challenges through science and innovation.

“This genus was previously only known in shallow reefs in the Maldives, so it came as a surprise when the dive team surfaced with C. abadhah from mesophotic depths,” says study co-author and biologist Ahmed Najeeb. “This addition to the inventory of species inhabiting Maldivian waters is an encouraging step in continuing to explore our marine life."

Rocha, who was also the recipient of the 2021 Rolex Award for Enterprise, hopes this discovery will call attention to the plight of mesophotic coral reefs and their need for our protection. "This beautifully elegant new species was discovered on reefs never seen before, yet we saw signs of human impact on every dive, from plastic pollution and discarded fishing lines to widespread coral bleaching.”

Pygmy pipehorse pushes into new waters 

After first describing the pygmy pipehorse genus Cylix in 2021, Academy research associate Graham Short added another pygmy pipehorse to the group: C. nkosi. While the genus was originally found in the cool temperate waters surrounding the North Island of New Zealand, this new species was discovered in the subtropical waters off the coast of South Africa, officially expanding the known range of this group into the Indian Ocean. 

“We heard about an unfamiliar species from local divers in South Africa’s Sodwana Bay, so we suspected we’d find something new,” says study co-author Richard Smith, PhD. “But South African reefs present notoriously difficult diving conditions with rough weather and intense, choppy waves—we knew we only had one dive to find it. This species is also quite cryptic, about the size of a golf tee, but luckily we spotted a female camouflaged against some sponges about a mile offshore on the sandy ocean floor.”

Short underscores the value of museum collections in making these discoveries:  “In order to describe a new species, you need at least one female and one male specimen to address any sexual dimorphism and for scientific completeness. We examined a single male specimen from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity collection—which had remained unidentified since it was collected in 1987—to complete the study.”

The study authors chose the species epithet nkosi, the local Zulu word for “chief,” to reference its crown-like head shape and acknowledge the KwaZulu-Natal province where it was found. 

An edible and endangered dahlia 

Academy-based postdoctoral researcher and resident daisy expert Isaac Lichter-Marck, PhD, studies plants that “live in kooky places.” This year, Lichter-Marck co-described Dahlia gypsicola, a new dahlia species that thrives in the nutrient-poor gypsum soils of Oaxaca, Mexico. Unlike the ornamental dahlias you might plant in your garden, this critically endangered flower possesses a set of evolutionary adaptations, such as semi-succulent leaves and a thick, water-storing root, that may help it to survive the harsh gypsum outcrops of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains.

“This discovery confirms a geographic pattern of species richness, as it highlights Oaxaca as a center of biodiversity and draws our attention to the areas of Mexico that we must continue to explore,” says study co-author and collaborating researcher Arturo Castro-Castro, PhD. “It also contributes to Mexico’s rich biocultural heritage, as the roots and flowers of many dahlia species are edible. The leaves of D. gypsicola, which are semi-succulent and aromatic, are consumed as a raw quelite (wild, edible greens) by the inhabitants of San Sebastián Tecomaxtlahuaca and Santiago Juxtlahuaca in the Mixteca Region of Oaxaca.”

Marine worms add to a library of life 

In a revision of the Iphione genus of marine scaleworms, Academy invertebrate zoology collection manager Christina Piotrowski co-authored a paper describing eight distinct species that, until now, were taxonomically lumped together. By analyzing DNA sequence data and comparing museum specimens from populations around the world, Piotrowski and her collaborators were able to draw more accurate species boundaries within the Iphione group. 

“Countless untapped diversity, including new-to-science species, is housed within museum collections,” Piotrowski says. “These museums, including the Academy’s Invertebrate Zoology Collection, function collectively as a library of the planet’s biodiversity, allowing scientists to make new discoveries and test new theories about species definitions and boundaries.”

Marine scaleworms live in nearly every ocean habitat and play critical roles in marine foodwebs, from recycling nutrients to maintaining biodiversity. Though this group of small, segmented worms is incredibly diverse with nearly 13,000 known species, these animals remain vastly understudied. 

For Piotrowski, studying these invertebrates represents a more holistic approach to biodiversity science and conservation: “When assessing environmental health and resilience, charismatic and well-known species, such as vertebrate animals, tend to be prioritized. However, this does not consider the total biodiversity within an ecosystem and therefore can only provide a partial picture of a habitat’s conservation needs. We need to more fully understand a natural system in order to better protect it.”

What—or who—is in a name?

Academy researchers Brad Balukjian, PhD, and Matt Van Dam, PhD, introduced 17 new insects in the Pseudoloxops family from French Polynesia. Known familiarly as “plant bugs,” these invertebrates are small, brightly colored bugs that can typically be found feeding on the flowers and young leaves of native plants. They also represent the power of a name. 

“The bulk of these insects were given their official species names by a group of fifth graders on the island of Mo'orea as part of UC Berkeley’s Manumanu Project,” says Balukjian, who is also the project’s lead researcher. “Manumanu (the Tahitian word for “insect”) is an educational outreach initiative that uses insect biodiversity to train the next generation of community scientists by encouraging local fifth grade students to connect more deeply with their local wildlife. With the help of the local cultural nonprofit Te Pu Atitia, the students named several insects in the Tahitian language: P. aama is named for the Tahitian word ‘a’ama, meaning “on fire,” due to its bright red coloration; P. raimana is named for the Tahitian word rai’mana, meaning “power of the sky,” as its wings resemble lightning; and P. tairoto is named for the Tahitian word ta’iroto, meaning “lagoon,” referencing its shiny blue-green hues.” 

Balukjian also named one species after Vice President Kamala Harris (P. kamalaharrisae) and another after Harrison Ford (P. harrisonfordi) for their commitments to climate and conservation science. 

Press interested in a full list of species and high-resolution images should contact press@calacademy.org.

###