New Species

In part 2 of Taxonomy Basics, Ashleigh Whiffin of National Museums Scotland brings us into the entomology collection to learn the fundamentals of curation and preservation, including which pins to us…

In part 1 of Taxonomy Basics, Evan Waite from Arizona State University teaches us all about collecting entomological specimens. From which traps to use to tips on sharing your collection with others,…

“Another spider paper?!” you might ask. “More new spiders, what’s so interesting?” Well in addition to a revised genus and three new species, Adrià Bellvert and Miquel Arnedo’s most recent publicatio…

Skinks are one of the most diverse families of lizards, and Ishan Agarwal studies skinks in India, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. From the forest to the lab to the museum, Ishan s…

Mike Stephan is a lawyer obsessed with scientific etymology, specifically tautonyms, binomial names in which the generic name and species name are exactly the same. Scientific naming conventions and …

There are no snakes in Alaska, so what’s that snakelike shape crossing the road? Few people would guess it’s actually thousands of fly larvae moving in a very peculiar pattern that gives the snakewor…

This is a short episode to share some thoughts and feedback from this year's New Species community survey, as well as some updates on what is to come for the podcast.

Take the community survey here …

Who wouldn’t want to receive thousands of millipedes in the mail? When Dr. Henrik Enghoff does it’s through his partnership with FoRCE, the Forest Restoration and Climate Experiment, a group research…

How many nature enthusiasts can relate to this scenario: you’re watching the landscape go by as you drive, and suddenly you see an area that could be favorable habitat for your target species. Stop t…

Southern Africa is home to over 1,200 species of irises, and if that number doesn’t blow you away, hearing Dr. John Manning’s speak about his new species certainly will. In this fascinating episode w…

Dr. Catalina Romero-Ortiz has been fascinated by pseudoscorpions for over a decade, and she wants everyone to understand how amazing they are. But beyond inherent scientific value, Catalina wants to …

What do glaciers and scorpions have in common? They’re the focus of Javier Blasco-Aróstegui’s paper in which he and his coauthor describe a new species from the foothills of Mount Olympus. It’s an ar…

When researchers talk about species disappearing before we can discover them, they’re talking about species like Javier Lobon-Rovira’s new gecko. With a specific and rapidly fragmenting habitat, this…

The island of Saint Helena can’t be described without the word special. It’s a small territory in the south Atlantic that is home to some of the most unique biodiversity in the world, including some …

On this podcast we talk a lot about natural history collections. In fact, a spot (or more) of collections work is pretty much required to describe a new species. But what actually counts as a natural…

You’ve got to hand it to leaf insects; their camouflage is so well-refined that studying them is difficult and collecting them is near-impossible. A sub-group of stick insects, members of the family …

Mysmenopsis is a tiny spider genus that has been shaped by women; women have collected, identified, and described the majority of members of the genus. In fact, Dr. Nadine Dupérré alone described 25 …

Grab your parkas, we’re going to Antarctica! Or at least some researchers did in the 1960s, but it took starfish expert Dr. Chris Mah until the past few years to take a look at their samples and find…

Cedric Lee was collecting slugs with another diplopodologist James Bailey when they stumbled upon a very odd creature; thin and string-like with lots of fine legs and a long body. “We recognized that…

“I always say that insect taxonomists will never get really rich but you will see parts of the world where nobody else gets a chance to go to. It’s a great chance to explore the world”

This special e…