Wild New Animal Species

Every year, new animal and insect species are discovered by scientists around the world. Some are tiny little bugs, whereas some are fish, frogs, and even monkeys! Let's take a look at some of the species that have been discovered in recent years. 

Dementor Wasp

• This wasp, whose formal name is Ampulex dementor, is native to Thailand and was described by scientist Michael Ohl at the Museum for Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. 
• Museum visitors were invited to choose between several names. The museum offered this choice in an effort to get visitors involved in the species discover process. The name itself refers to the Dementors from the Harry Potter series!
• The Dementor wasp preys on cockroaches in a very particular fashion. It injects the cockroach with venom, which causes paralysis, and then eats the cockroach alive. 

Vampire Flying Frog

• This flying frog, scientifically known as Rhacophorus vampyrus, was first discovered by Jodi Rowley in 2008 and formally introduced to the world in 2010. 
• The frog lives in the trees of southern Vietnam, and glides between the branches using webbing around its feet. 
• The vampire flying frog may have quite an exciting name, but in actual fact the frog does not use fangs to suck the blood of its victims. These little frogs acquired their unique name because, as tadpoles, they have small, curved, black hooks/fangs. 

Urubamba Brown Monkey

• This species of monkey, offically called Callicebus urubambensis, is a member of the titi primate family and resides in the South American country of Peru. 
• These little monkeys are quite small, usually smaller than a house cat, eat mostly fruit. They also mate for life! 
• The sad part of this discovery is that, pretty much as soon as they were discovered, these little guys were declared endangered. The Amazon Rainforest is at such risk, due to deforestation, that many animals who live there are at risk. 

Ninja Lanternshark

• This shark is quite amazing! It's Latin name is Etmopterus benchleyi and it was discovered by a scientific team at the Pacific Shark Research Centre in Moss Landing, CA. 
• The Ninja lanternshark isn't very big - it's only about 18 inches long. It lives deep in the waters of the Pacific coast of Central America. 
• The shark's dark color conceals it, but it also glows in the dark, which helps it track its prey. 

Isn't it amazing that new species are still being discovered? There's so much about our planet that we don't know. Thinking about all the wildlife that is out there in the world, we need to keep in mind that it's our responsibility to take care of the Earth and ensure that it's a safe place for all species of animal to live. 

Have Your Say!

Have you heard about any other newly discovered species? Share what you know with our Kidzworld readers in the comments section!