The Species Database believes that 35 percent of what lives in nature remain undetected

The bank is not full yet!

This is what Stine Svalheim Markussen says. She is responsible for the species project in Trondheim Species Database. Like most banks, they also have room for more.

They recently published an overview of how different people who live in Norwegian nature are. Everything from polar bears to amoebas, from fir trees to tiny mushrooms and algae.

As of today, researchers know of 46,891 different species in this country. But they estimate that only 65% of the species are there.

– There is still a lot undiscovered at sea. There is a hard time finding the species because they are hidden from us. But there is a lot more on Earth, too. Mushrooms for example. There is a lot undiscovered, Markusen says.

discoveries every year

Perhaps not surprisingly, mammals, birds, and fish have the best overview. The plant kingdom also possesses a great deal of knowledge.

If it goes into amoebae, then there is a lot that is unknown.

There is still a lot we don’t know about insects. Our projects revolve around wasps and feeling. There are flies, mosquitoes and the like. Every year we get new species being discovered there, she says.

Discovering new species is arduous and time-consuming. First of all, you need to know a lot about the species you want to investigate. Then you have to go out into the field and look. Especially in areas where this species is conceivable.

Those who are lucky enough to find something new should provide a detailed description of the new species and publish it in a journal. Then you should get a name. It is a process that can take many years.

You can have types that look exactly the same, but are actually different types, says Markusen.

new discoveries

The search for new species is largely purposeful and meticulous. But sometimes researchers find them, too.

Two researchers from Trondheim had an event last summer. In an anthill under a rock in Risør, the two had to search for wasps living with the ant. Hit inside tua to flash. At first they found a never-before-seen fly wasp in Norway.

But tua has many secrets to offer. Unexpectedly, a little beetle appeared that lived there as well. The club beetle they found was also a completely new species in Norway.

Then there was the little naked snail that was found in the North Sea outside western Norway not too long ago.

The master student who found the snail, which is about four centimeters long, wanted to pay tribute to the species data bank. Jorunna Artsdatabankia It was confused with another naked snail, but closer examination showed that it was an entirely separate species.