Scientists identify new species of animals every year, and the percentage of discoveries is increasing more and more over time. However, over the last decade, they have discovered a lot of surprising creatures. So, read on to find out more!

Tapanuli orangutan

• 2017

“Great apes are among the best-studied species in the world,” said scientist Erik Meijaard. “If after 200 years of serious biological research, we can still find new species in this group, what does it tell us about all the other stuff that we are overlooking?”

The olinguito

• 2013

“The age of discovery is not over,” Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, told National Geographic. “In 2013 we have found this spectacular, beautiful animal, and there’s a lot more to come.”

Uromys Vika

• 2017

“It’s the first rat discovered in 80 years from Solomons, and it’s not like people haven’t been trying – it was just so hard to find,” said Tyrone Lavery.

“It’s getting to the stage for this rat that, if we hadn’t discovered it now, it might never have gotten discovered,” he said. “The area where it was found is one of the only places left with a forest that hasn’t been logged.”

Phuket Horned Tree Agamid

The spiky lizard is threatened by habitat loss and attempts to collect it to keep as a pet.

A tiny frog

• 2012

“I think it’s amazing that they’re continuing to find smaller and smaller frogs,” Robin Moore told National Geographic. “They’re adapting to fill a niche that nothing else is filling.”

The fire-tailed titi monkey and a honeycomb-patterned stingray were discovered in the Amazon rainforest

• 2017

“We’re in 2017, verifying the existence of new species, and even though resources are scarce, we are seeing an immense variety and richness of biodiversity,” said Ricardo Mello. “This is a signal that we still have much to learn about Amazon.”