Question: Are there animal species that we do not know that exist

Hannah Cornish answered on 15 Jan 2019:

Hi Eva,

Yes there are! Scientists are discovering new species all the time, especially from invertebrate groups like insects.

There are about 1.5 million species altogether that have been described and named by scientists. When someone discovers a new species they have to check it hasn’t been discovered before, then describe it in a scientific journal and give it a name. They also keep one specimen of the new species in a museum that everyone else can use as the official example of that species (this is called the type specimen).

There have been about 5,000 species of mammal described and named by scientists, and there are probably a few more to find. This one was discovered about 5 years ago – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23701151

There have been around 1 millon species of insects that have been described by scientists, and we think there are about 5-10 million more insect species to find. If you want to find and name a new species, then you should become an insect scientist!