It may seem like humans have conquered the entire planet — and in many ways we have. But Earth’s wild places still hold an astonishing number of secrets.
Every year, researchers find hundreds of new species of plants and animals — along with a mind-boggling thousands of new insects. Yet they’re still only scratching the surface of what may be out there. Scientists say a huge fraction of Earth’s biodiversity is still unknown. While estimates vary, it’s thought that 86 to 99 percent of species are yet to be discovered, depending on how you count the microbes.
The idea of discovering a new species may conjure up an image of pith-helmeted adventurers trekking through the jungle in search of a legendary creature. And it is true that rainforests are biodiversity “hotspots” that yield their fair share of discoveries. But many new species are found in familiar places or even museum archives as DNA testing reveals new insights about organisms that look similar but turn out to be genetically distinct.
