3 Interesting Species Recently Discovered

Around 10 million species are still waiting to be discovered around the world - at least that's what scientists believe. Every year, on the birthday of 18^th century Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who is considered as the father of modern taxonomy, the International Institute for Species Exploration releases its list of top new species found over the last 12 months.

This year's top ten list includes the following:

Giant tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustoi) from Galapagos, Ecuador

While all these giant tortoises from the Galapagos look similar, scientists found a new species on the eastern part of the island. Unfortunately, there were only about 250 of them, which means that the discovery immediately called for an attempt at conservation. BBC News noted that the new species was named after a retired park ranger named Don Fausto, who worked for four decades to help conserve giant tortoises in the area.

Giant sundew (Drosera magnifica) from Brazil

The giant sundew is believed to be the first plant species discovered through photos posted on social media. The plant is a massive species at 48 inches - the largest ever seen. At the size of it it's a wonder why it took so long to find - however, The Smithsonian said that it exists only at the summit of a single mountain in Brazil, 5,000 feet above sea level.

Hominin (Homo naledi) from South Africa

The latest link to human evolution is the Homo naledi, which shares the same features, such as size and weight of our earlier ancestors. Its brain case is similar in size to the Homo species from two to four million years ago. National Geographic reported that scientists have been trying to pin down the age of the Hominin's remains, which is why the discovery is extremely important: it created a better picture in regards to the human evolutionary timeline.