Over 600 new species found

Australian scientists discover over 600 new species in 2022

CANBERRA: More than 600 new Australian species were discovered last year, government data has revealed.

According to the latest Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), which was published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Wednesday, scientists named 626 new native species of flora and fauna in 2022.

They include Lamarckdromia beagle, a crab endemic to waters off the coast of Western Australia (WA) that covers itself in sponges scavenged from the seafloor to camouflage from predators.  Another, the Glyptapanteles andamookaensis, is a parasitic wasp from South Australia that injects its larvae inside a living caterpillar to gestate. When hatched, the wasps burst out of their hosts.

The latest edition of the ABRS was published one day after the Taxonomist Appreciation Day in celebration of the work scientists do to identify, classify and name new species.