In Rutland, England, the fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur – also known as a sea dragon – were found in February 2021, with the resulting research published in early 2022. The impressive and well-preserved skeleton was first found during a routine draining of a lagoon at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. It's the biggest and most complete skeleton of its kind ever found in the UK, and scientists also believe it's the first of its species, known as Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, to be discovered in the country.
In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the Pacific Ocean exploded, releasing an enormous column of water and ash. Months later, studies revealed that the explosion was the largest ever recorded: it was the only eruption ever known to have broken through the mesosphere (penultimate) layer of the atmosphere. Sadly, the spewing volcanic eruption had devastating impacts back here on Earth, triggering vast tsunamis that displaced thousands of people.
Mount Etna's last eruption and more of the world's most active volcanoes
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London are at the forefront of horticultural research, with dozens of new plant species discovered here every year. But in July 2022, scientists announced a particularly exciting find: an enormous species of water lily called Victoria boliviana. The species is thought to be the largest in the world, with leaves up to 10 feet (3.2m) in diameter. Native to Bolivia, the gargantuan plant shown in this image was grown in the Gardens’ Waterlily House from seeds donated by Bolivian scientists.
In August 2022, scientists in Morocco discovered a terrifying fossil that offers a window into what once swam at the bottom of our oceans. Described as a cross between a Komodo dragon, great white shark, killer whale and T-rex, the fossil was named Thalassotitan atrox, which means 'dreadful titan of the sea'. The ancient sea creature lived around 66 million years ago and measured 40 feet (12m) in length. The team that found the fossil believe that the creature spat out its prey’s bones, some of which might still lie fossilised nearby.
Ultra-dry conditions revealed huge dinosaur tracks in a muddy riverbed at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas in August 2022 – one of many finds brought about by last year’s droughts. Said to belong to an Acrocanthosaurus, a 15-foot-tall (5m), seven-tonne early cousin of the T-rex, the tracks are around 113 million years old. Another species, the Sauroposeidon, measuring 66 feet (20m) tall and weighing a whopping 44 tonnes, is also likely to be responsible for some of the prints. Although the park is famed for its dinosaur tracks, this was the first time these particular footprints had been seen.
In China’s Yunnan Province, scientists discovered the remains of an early gibbon, which fills a massive gap in the fossil record and could unlock knowledge about the evolution of apes (and therefore, humanity). As reported in a study published in September 2022, fossils of the hylobatid family of apes are extremely rare, and the only ones previously discovered dated back just two to three million years. This new specimen was around seven to eight million years old.
While most of the new species discovered each year are invertebrates, fish and plants, scientists occasionally describe a new type of mammal. In September 2022, researchers announced the naming of a new species of sloth, the southern maned sloth (Bradypus crinitus), which lives in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and has a head like a coconut. Previously, only one species of maned sloth was thought to exist, but genetic and physical analyses revealed that there are actually two.
Discover the animals that were saved from extinction by conservationists
In the same month, scientists named the oldest known dinosaur to have been discovered in Africa. The skeleton of the newly named Mbiresaurus raathi, which was strikingly intact, was found in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe over the course of two digs in 2017 and 2019. The early dinosaur roamed the Earth some 230 million years ago and was a type of sauropod – a subgroup that could weigh up to 120 tonnes.
Some 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid hit Earth and wiped out almost all the dinosaurs. But a recent study has confirmed that the event – whose impact site was at Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (pictured) – also triggered a colossal tsunami with mile-high waves that radiated outwards for thousands of miles. The study presented the first-ever computer simulation of the Chicxulub tsunami, which was said to be strong enough to disturb undersea sediments halfway across the world.
In October 2022 a new study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, revealed that the first animals on Earth may have evolved earlier than even our oldest fossils suggest. The current fossil record indicates that animal life originated on Earth between 572 and 602 million years ago, after a huge ice age. However, this new research (conducted using molecular biology) suggests that animal life could date back up to 850 million years. If correct, the research suggests animals could have lived in extreme glacial periods, when the planet was covered in ice.
One of the most striking species discovered last year was this beautiful rainbow-coloured fish, Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa. The Maldivian species, known as the rose-veiled fairy wrasse, was found in the Indian Ocean's mesophotic zone, which is between 131 and 230 feet (40-70m) underwater. Like other species of wrasse, it changes in both sex and appearance as it gets older, shifting from female to male and becoming more brightly coloured (in order to attract a mate).
These strange gaps in the grassland, which number in their millions and are found in the heart of the Namib Desert, have puzzled scientists for decades. But new research has finally answered the question of how they’re formed. According to scientists at Germany's University of Gottingen, the grasses outside the circles suck up water from within the circles, causing the grasses inside to die. The research finally solves the mystery of the bizarre phenomena, which were previously thought to have been created by termites.
Another recent scientific discovery with far-reaching implications was this strikingly well-preserved baby woolly mammoth, which dates back to the last ice age. When it was first uncovered, in deep permafrost in the Yukon’s Trʼondek Hwechʼin Traditional Territory, Canada, researchers were stunned. Its perfectly preserved skin, trunk, toenails and hair made it the best woolly mammoth specimen ever found in North America.
Among last year's stranger pieces of scientific research was this study on honeybees. Conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol, the study measured electrical fields near swarms of honeybees and found that the insects were capable of producing as much electrical charge as thunder clouds. The findings are unique in demonstrating that living organisms can have an impact on atmospheric electricity.
In November 2022, scientists announced the discovery of a 285-mile (460km) river beneath the Antarctic ice sheet – that’s longer than London’s River Thames. The river was found using a series of aerial surveys, in which an ice-penetrating radar was mounted onto an aircraft to map the landscape from above. It’s thought that the river might accelerate ice loss as the moving water can eat away at the ice sheet from below.
Scientists recently found an enormous seagrass forest with the help of some unlikely participants: sharks. The research, which was carried out in the sea surrounding the Bahamas, involved strapping cameras onto tiger sharks and getting them to film the ocean floor. This allowed scientists to collect vital data, and proved that a forest stretching 35,000 square miles (92,000 sq km) covers the Caribbean seabed – the largest seagrass forest currently known to exist.
It might not be a discovery on Earth, but a new piece of research points to the existence of a previously unknown 'super-Earth' planet. Super-Earths are essentially rocky planets at least twice the size of our own, some of which lie within habitable zones of their suns. The newly discovered planet, TOI-1075 b, isn’t habitable as its temperature is an estimated 1,050°C (1,922°F) and its surface might be molten lava. But at 10 times the size of Earth, it’s among the largest super-Earths ever discovered, and could tell scientists important information about how planets like ours are formed.
During the Devonian period over 300 million years ago, f. Now, a new piece of research has suggested that the evolution of tree roots may have triggered the series of extinctions that occurred during that time. According to the study’s authors, tree roots are thought to have filled oceans with excess nutrients, causing the rapid formation of destructive algae blooms, which in turn depleted oxygen levels in the water and led to mass extinctions.
Most people are familiar with mummification, the process by which ancient Egyptians treated and wrapped their dead. But until recently, the reasoning behind it was misunderstood. The prevailing theory since Victorian times was that the technique was simply for preserving the human form. Now, a new exhibition will argue the process was actually used to transform corpses into a shape the gods would accept, in order to steer the deceased towards divinity. The research has been unveiled to the public at a new exhibition, Golden Mummies of Egypt, showing at Manchester Museum throughout 2023.
Some 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but just where did it come from? That question may have been answered by an unlikely source: this meteorite, which was discovered in a family's front garden in Winchcombe, England. A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, revealed that the meteorite contained water similar to that found on Earth, which suggests rocks from space may have brought water and other components onto our planet billions of years ago.
Huaca Pintada – a magnificent 98-foot (30m) mural dated to the 9th century – was pretty impressive when it was first uncovered in northern Peru a century ago, and it's just as good second time round. A group of grave robbers first unearthed the work in 1916, but destroyed part of the wall when they were forbidden from looting their find, causing the site to fall into obscurity. Now a team of Swiss-Peruvian student archaeologists have dug the mural back out of the dirt after a two-year battle to excavate the privately-owned land, revealing vibrant images of mythical scenes. The (re)discovery was described by local academics as "the most important in recent years".
Benjamin the thylacine, more commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, died of exposure in Hobart's Beaumaris Zoo in 1936, just 59 days after the species was granted far-too-late legal protection. A wolfish marsupial with tiger-like stripes, the thylacine was wiped out by hunting, habitat loss and disease, and the remains of the last living creature were long thought lost. After decades of unsuccessful searching, the animal's pelt and skeleton have now miraculously reappeared in a vault at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, their absence apparently the result of an administrative error.
In 2019, France watched in horror as Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral – a symbol of the city and country – sustained devastating damage from a fire that led news bulletins the world over. But during its restoration archaeologists made a remarkable discovery: two sarcophagi buried beneath the cathedral centuries before. Now the coffins have been opened and their occupants identified: an elite 17th-century clergyman and a young horseman nicknamed 'Le Cavalier'.
Experts that recently exhumed the remains of a 100-million-year-old reptile have described their findings as the "Rosetta Stone of marine palaeontology". In a world first, both the head and associated body of the long-necked plesiosaur (a kind of extinct marine reptile that co-existed with dinosaurs) were uncovered in a remote region of Western Queensland. Experts say that the discovery could be key to unlocking valuable information about Australia's Cretaceous period.
Egypt – home to the Giza Pyramids – is fertile ground for archaeologists, with experts consistently uncovering fascinating relics that reveal wonders of the ancient world. One of the latest discoveries is a series of 4,300-year-old tombs in Saqqara, less than 20 miles (32km) south of Cairo. The findings date to the fifth and sixth dynasties of Egypt's Old Kingdom and also include carved statues and a mummy covered in gold leaf.
Recent data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft has revealed an active volcano on the surface of Venus, a planet previously thought to be geologically lifeless. Images showed how the volcano suddenly collapsed, causing the size of its caldera to grow considerably. Experts say that this geological activity proves that Venus is not a dying planet and that the eruption will have revealed new rock that will help scientists study its interior.
In 2023, a new giant species of Golden Trapdoor Spider was discovered hiding away in the forests of central Queensland, Australia. The name of the spider, Euoplos dignitas, meaning dignity or greatness in Latin, reflects its size – females, who are larger than the males, can grow up to 5cms in body length. The rare spider, which can live up to 20 years and inject (non-deadly) venom from its fangs, can only be found in the Brigalow Belt in Central Queensland. As the woodland has been affected by human development and land clearing over the last 150 years, sadly this new spider species is already endangered.
The sprawling East Antarctic Ice Sheet has kept a secret ancient landscape hidden for eons, according to scientists from two UK universities, Newcastle and Durham. They used satellites and advanced radio-echo sounding techniques to reveal the forgotten landscape's valley and ridges, which were apparently sculpted by rivers some 14 million years ago. The findings give suggestions as to how the icy landscape has changed over time, and thus might allow experts to draw conclusions about its future responses to our changing climate.
Perhaps the world may have been better off without knowing about the existence of so-called 'Vampire wasps' – but that's exactly what's been uncovered by experts this year. They were discovered as part of extensive scientific studies in the Peruvian Amazon and are so named for their macabre characteristic of blood sucking and killing their prey from the inside out, by depositing larvae into host species such as caterpillars and beetles. Spooky stuff.
Now check out these new animal and plant species – which have all been named after celebrities