As biodiversity declines, researchers race to name millions of species unknown to science

An abyssal sea anemone growing in a manganese-encrusted reef 4,100 metres beneath the surface.

In 2023, scientists discovered thousands of unknown life forms in the Pacific Ocean. The discovery highlighted an unsettling fact: 86 per cent of land species and 91 per cent of marine species remain undiscovered. Are we running out of time to classify the life around us?