5 New Animal Species Discovered in 2023

Scientists are spotting new critters all over the world in 2023. Here are our favorite new species discovered this year.

By Gabe Allen
Oct 30, 2023 4:00 PM
Capitojoppa amazonica female
Capitojoppa amazonica is a large parasitoid wasp species that has only been discovered in the Allpahuyao-Mishana National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon. Here, the wasp is photographed from the front. (Credit: Kari Kaunisto)

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If you work in an office, like me, it’s easy to go through most of the day only interacting with other humans. But all it takes is a walk in the park to see that we are just one of the many animals that walk this Earth. Ants crawl out of cracks in the sidewalk, songbirds flit between tree branches and, if you’re unlucky, yellow jackets show up to steal a sip of your iced tea.

Some animals, like squirrels and pigeons, have become all-to-familiar. But, others have evolved and thrived in environments rarely seen by human eyes — the depths of the ocean and remote swaths of the Amazon Rainforest.

Even in the midst of what scientists are calling the sixth mass extinction, caused by anthropogenic climate change, the world is teeming with life. Researchers encounter undiscovered species and describe them to their peers in academic papers about 8,000 times per year, according to one estimate.

The following list is not comprehensive. Instead, this is a list of a few of the best looking and, of course, most charismatic new animals discovered in 2023.

1. Vampire Wasp, Peru

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