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From ancient dinosaurs to worms at the bottom of the ocean -- scientists and associates of the Natural History Museum in the UK -- have described more than 815 new species in 2023.

Dr Simon Loader is principal curator in charge of vertebrates at the Natural History Museum. He told Newsday: 鈥淎n incredible 574 species are wasps and insects.鈥�

Most of the new species belong to a parasitic wasp group that typically lay their eggs inside unsuspecting host species, which eat their way out when hatched. Dr Loader said one species from Costa Rica had been named 鈥楧alek鈥� after the villains in the popular British science fiction TV series, Doctor Who.

Traditionally new species are named after the person who made the discovery or those who have provided funding. However, Dr Loader thinks this practice needs to change as it is 鈥渘ot always the most appropriate thing. It might actually be better to have a name that reflects where they鈥檙e actually found and honouring more what the animal looks like rather than some sort of patronym, which can often be a bit problematic moving forward when you look at the history of that individual.鈥�

He added: "We're finding many new species and that's a common pattern we're finding across the very biodiverse rich areas of the world...that includes Madagascar...the rainforests of Central Africa and then right over into the near tropics and...south-east Asia. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done and many discoveries to come."

(Picture: Shows a new species of wasp from Costa Rica named Dalek Nationi, after the Doctor Who villains the Daleks. Credit: John Noyes / Natural History Museum.)

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