Top Ten New Species 2014 List Includes Carnivore That looks Like a Teddy Bear

A teddy bear-faced carnivore and a 12-meter tall tree are among the top ten species discovered last year.

The list has been compiled by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry's (ESF) International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE). It shows that even though several species are going extinct, there are several others that are yet to be discovered and studied.

To create the list, an international committee of taxonomists sorted through 18,000 new species discovered last year.

"The majority of people are unaware of the dimensions of the biodiversity crisis," said Dr. Quentin Wheeler, founding director of the IISE and ESF president.

According to estimates by researchers, at least 10 million species are yet to be found.

"The top 10 is designed to bring attention to the unsung heroes addressing the biodiversity crisis by working to complete an inventory of earth's plants, animals and microbes. Each year a small, dedicated community of taxonomists and curators substantively improve our understanding of the diversity of life and the wondrous ways in which species have adapted for survival," Wheeler said in a news release.

Bassaricyon neblina, the carnivore that topped the list, looks like a cross between slinky cat and a wide-eyed teddy bear, researchers said. The animal lives in the Andes Mountain in Colombia and Ecuador and is the first large carnivore to be discovered in the Northern Hemisphere in the past 35 years.

A 40-feet tall tree called Kaweesak's Dragon Tree obtained the second place on the list.

Next in the list is ANDRILL Anemone; its discovery was widely covered by the media including Nature World News (read the article here).

A tiny shrimp, "alien microbes" that live in clean rooms, a leaf-tailed gecko, fairy-like firefly and a cave-dwelling snail are also part of the list. Read the complete list along with the description of the creatures, here.

Researchers said that an inventory like this is needed to understand and appreciate the diversity among living organisms.