Finding New Life on Planet Earth

Thought we knew all about the inhabitants of planet Earth? Think again. Scientists are discovering new life forms every day. Most are tiny — bacteria, viruses and the like.  But some are full-sized critters that have somehow escaped our notice until now.

Some of the new species we're finding were actually found long ago — but have yet to be identified and studied. Smithsonian researchers, for example, have brought back samples of life forms from all over the world, depositing many in storage facilities to await research funds. As funding becomes available, new species are unearthed, examined, classified and named.

Many of the new species, though, are actually being discovered every day in wild parts of the planet.

Conservation International (CI) is one of many organizations that explores planet Earth in search of as-yet-unknown life. In April 2009, CI traveled with a team of international scientists to southwestern Ecuador to conduct a survey.

Among their findings:

Researchers also found a healthy colony of a frog species called Atelopus sp. This find was significant because, until now, the species had been thought to be nearly extinct.

The truth is, we've barely begun to scrape the surface of planet Earth and its life. In recent months, new equipment has been developed to explore the bottom of the sea — a vast expanse that is less well known than the surface of the moon.

Photo courtesy of Chris Austin, Louisiana State University.