Over the course of 2019, scientists identified over 400 new species according to the experts at the Natural History Museum.
These included snakes, beetles and even dinosaurs that had previously been unknown to science.
New kinds of lichen and marsupials are also among the list of 412 officially recognised new species compiled by the museum's 300 scientists.
One of the new species – a type of beetle – was named after teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
'Species discovery is always exciting and shows just how much there is still to understand about our planet', said museum director of science, Tim Littlewood.
'Learning how evolution has yielded new species able to live in Earth's diverse habitats is awe-inspiring.
'Sadly, much of that adaptation and biological diversity is now severely threatened and we are losing species faster than we can discover them.
'We are losing our understanding of the natural world, breaking our own connection with it and the connections that underpin nature's stability.'
The largest group of newly described species are Coleoptera, or beetles, found in places including Japan, Malaysia, Kenya and Venezuela.
Dr Michael Darby named one of the Nelloptodes gretae after 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg.
Max Barclay, senior curator in charge of Coleoptera at the Natural History Museum, said this was a particularly poignant name.
'It is likely that undiscovered species are being lost all the time, before scientists have even named them, because of biodiversity loss.
'So it is appropriate to name one of the newest discoveries after someone who has worked so hard to champion the natural world and protect vulnerable species.'
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