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Science | Geography

Scientists spot ‘impossible’ new whale species

Are we killing species faster than we thought? Naturalists discover thousands of new animals and plants each year. Yet, at the same time, countless more are wiped out by humans. As the sun rose over the Pacific on 17 November, the crew of the Martin Sheen caught some ripples in the ocean surface. Then, three slick, curvaceous forms bobbed out of the water, before plunging back towards the deep. It was over in an instant. But for the marine biologists of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, it was life-changing. Studying photographs, videos and the acoustic signals, they quickly realised that they had laid eyes on a never-described species of beaked whale. “It just sends chills up and down my spine,” recalled Dr Jay Barlow, one of the expedition leaders. “We might have accomplished what most people would say was truly impossible – finding a large mammal that exists on this earth that is totally unknown to science.” While sighting a new whale is remarkable, smaller organisms are discovered all the time. Naturalists have claimed that we live in “a new age of discovery”. In 2016, scientists globally described some 18,000 new plants and animals. Last year’s new sightings included a gecko able to disguise itself as a tree, a Madagascan frog smaller than a fingernail and a pocket shark that glows in the dark. And there is much more to uncover. Scientists estimate that there are 8.7 million species of animals, plants and fungi in the world. Of these, we have named a mere 1.6 million. There is still 82% of life remaining for us to identify – without accounting for microscopic organisms like bacteria and viruses. These might number over a quadrillion. But our age is also one of extinction. Through human activities like hunting, habitat destruction and climate change, whole species are being erased forever. According to entomologist Quentin Wheeler, “We’re actually losing species faster than we’re describing and naming them.” More than 460 plant and animal species were declared extinct in the last decade, including the Pinta giant tortoise, the Christmas Island bat and the mouse-like Bramble Cay melomys. These are just creatures that we knew. Modern scientific cataloguing of living things began with the 18th Century Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus. Innumerable organisms might have been driven to extinction before they were recorded. Recent research has shown that the giraffe, once believed to be a single species, has at least three variants. How do we know that the same might not be true of the Dodo? And climate change affects habitats that humans have yet to fully explore. As the ocean heats up, who is to say there are not innumerable gelatinous creatures perishing in the Mariana Trench, unseen by human eyes? It could be argued that none of this is new knowledge. Conservationists have identified the speed and the severity of the problem for decades. In 2002, for instance, the biologist E O Wilson posited that half of all plant and animal species would be dead by 2100. Despite this, human inaction is particularly acute in the developing countries that house many of the earth’s most biodiverse regions. The savannah might teem with wildlife, but it could also provide home and work for thousands of impoverished humans. As climate scientist Emma Archer explains, “You can’t just tell leaders in Africa that there can’t be any development and that we should turn the whole continent into a national park.” Are we killing species faster than we thought? Dead on arrival Without question, say some. Homo sapiens have existed for 200,000 years, but in that time we have only managed to glimpse a paltry proportion of the other organisms with which we share the Earth. As we drive the flora and fauna known to us towards extinction by eradicating habitats and heating up the globe, it follows that unknown lifeforms are facing a similar demise without our knowledge. Thought who, say others. Biologists have warned us about the havoc our actions wreak on the Earth’s biodiversity for decades. But populations and their leaders have consciously decided to ignore them, instead prioritising human development – something no-one has the moral or political authority to stop. KeywordsQuadrillion - One quadrillion is one followed by fifteen zeroes. 

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