UK scientists identify 550 new plant, animal species in 2021, including beetle from India

The scientists at the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom have identified 552 new species in 2021. The new species identified by the scientists include six new dinosaurs, an Indian beetle named after Larry the cat and several crustaceans that are significant for the planet’s carbon cycle, reported The Guardian. This year, the researchers were able to identify previously unknown species across the trees from two carnivorous dinosaurs called spinosaurs.

Reportedly, the spinosaurs have been given the nicknames ‘the riverbank hunter’ and ‘hall heron’. The scientists were able to identify five new snakes including Joseph's racer. The scientists found these snakes with the help of a painting that was 185-year old. As per the news report, more than half of the new species that were identified by the researchers at the Natural History Museum included copepods, small shrimp-like creatures.

Scientists identify wasps, moths, amphipods, beetles 

Scientists identified several other species which included 52 wasps, 13 moths, five amphipods, seven crabs, six flies. 90 new species of Beetles were identified by researchers in 2021 which included a pair of purple and green metallic beetles from India and a marsh-loving beetle named after Larry the cat, as per the Guardian report. Mecopoda simonodoi has been found by the researchers and five new species of plants from eastern Africa were identified. Apart from plants, scientists were able to identify eight new species of algae, three diatoms and six parasitic worms. 

Amid the international travel restrictions, scientists in the United Kingdom tried to find collections and species that were present on the Earth millions of years ago. Dr Susannah Maidment, a senior researcher in paleobiology at the museum, who helped in identifying some of the species stressed that they are aware of the United Kingdom’s dinosaur heritage for more than 150 years, as per the news report. Maidment added that the new techniques and data has been helping them to find the "hidden diversity of British dinosaurs." 

Image: Unsplash/Representative