Hi everyone, incredibly it's time for the third biennial New Species Census! Every two years I ask listeners to answer a few questions about who they are, how they listen, and what they would like from the podcast in the future.

Take the survey: https://forms.gle/V8G9VSKxfvaxhxdx5

The survey will be open until February 13th 2026, after which time I'll post a summary of the feedback on instagram.* Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts! I'm so grateful to everyone who listens to this little hobby podcast, and your feedback really helps it to grow.

If you have general feedback or have missed the window, you can always email me at [email protected]. Thank you as always for listening!

*Please note there are a few people confused - the New Species Podcast instagram is @newspeciespodcast! There is another account called New Species which is not me.

Do you ever wonder if your pet could be a new species? Paleontologist Benedikt Kästle took a closer look at his, and it led to a brand new genus and species! Also known as woodlice, these popular pets are easy to keep and easier to enjoy for the way they skitter and roll up. Benedikt explains that his scientific background can help members of the isopod community connect the valuable experience they have from rearing isopods to the broader research community, where much about isopods is still unknown.

Benedikt does this both through his instagram account and in his conversations with hobbyists from around the world, and it makes an impact. This new species is one of many that went undescribed for many years. Now its name is known from Martinique to Germany and beyond. Listen to this episode for a story that celebrates the humble roly poly in all its diversity and mystery.

Benedikt Kästle’s paper “Description of a new genus and species of terrestrial isopod (Oniscidea, Armadillidae) endemic to Martinique” is in volume 47 issue 29 of Zoosystema. 

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema-2025v47a29

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Benedikt Kästle - Transcript

New Species: Caribodillo martinicensis

Follow Benedikt on instagram: @sumerian.demon

Episode image credit: Benedikt Kästle

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and “like” the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

Stoneflies, or Plecoptera, are an order of insects with around 4,000 species. But that’s about to change. In her paper “Stonefly systematics: past, present, and future,” Anna Eichert and her colleagues from around the world map out the way stoneflies have changed as a group over time, some of the factors that shape our current understanding of the stoneflies, and what can change in the future to make sure our knowledge of stonefly diversity continues to grow. Learn from Anna’s account of her experiences and her passion for stoneflies in this episode, and next time you encounter a stream, flip over a rock or two.

Anna Eichert’s paper “Stonefly systematics: past, present, and future” is in volume 9, issue 4 of Insect Systematics and Diversity. 

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaf026

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Anna Eichert - Transcript

Episode image credit: Anna Eichert

Email Anna: [email protected]

Follow Anna on Instagram: @annaeichert, @bugtimez

And Bluesky: @annaeichert.bsky.social‬

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

The genus Adelopsis is one of the many groups of LBB’s, ‘little brown beetles’ that often get left behind or unidentified by researchers. Eduardo Gomyde is a scientist giving them a closer look. “We're not just identifying species,” he explains, “but we are also analyzing and understanding the finer scale of the [features] that help us to differentiate them.”

Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Eduardo and his coauthor carefully examined the tiniest of details. To find these specimens they had to sort through countless vials of “bycatch”, material leftover from other research that gets deposited in museum collections. Listen in as Eduardo describes his work, and learn about the great joy he takes in giving the LBB’s the attention and care they deserve.

Eduardo Gomyde’s paper “Revisiting the concept of ‘ultra evolved’ aedeagi of Adelopsis Portevin, 1907 (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae: Ptomaphagini) using scanning electron

microscopy, with description and redescription of species” is in volume 17 issue 1 of Megataxa.

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/megataxa.17.1.3

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Eduardo Gomyde - Transcript

New Species: Adelopsis boraceia, Adelopsis monticola, Adelopsis vanini, Adelopsis gibber, Adelopsis ilhabela, Adelopsis caeteh, Adelopsis gandarela, Adelopsis sacerdotis

Episode image credit: Eduardo Gomyde

Listen to Eduardo and I discuss the movie Mosquito Man on a free bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mosquito-man-144374393

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

How much do you know about lichens? These incredible taxa are understudied, but today’s guest is making sure they’re not undervalued. “You can’t look at lichens under a microscope and not become immediately obsessed,” says Dr. Erin Manzitto-Tripp. “It’s an endless world of magnificent, beautiful biodiversity.”

Erin works in the mountains of Colorado to describe new species of lichens along with the rest of her fantastic lab. For this paper they called not just on the power of nature, but also on the power of music. These three new species are named after the Indigo Girls, the individual members of the band and the band itself, in thanks for the many gifts Erin and others have received through their music.

Erin Manzitto-Tripp’s paper “The Thin Horizon of a Plan is Almost Clear: Towards a Lichen Biodiversity Inventory of the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA” is in volume 712 issue 3 of Phytotaxa. 

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.712.3.1

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Erin Manzitto-Tripp - Transcript

New Species: Lecanora indigoana, Lepraria saliersiae, Pertusaria rayana

Episode image credit: Erin Manzitto-Tripp

Listen to “The Wood Song,” whose lyrics gave this paper its title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0tUkepNqiA

Learn about the Lichens of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43188704

Check out Erin’s Lab and their work: https://tripp-report.com/

An article about these new species, with some beautiful photos: https://www.cpr.org/2025/07/24/cu-new-lichen-species-named-after-indigo-girls/

And the blog post from the Indigo Girls after hearing about their new species:

https://www.indigogirls.com/blog/bnjasxuusxhyfhyynob5oiko8om81a

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and “like” the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

The Cretaceous insects in the family Umenocoleidae have been difficult to classify, but for Soo Bin Lee they are a window into one of the most interesting periods of our prehistoric world. While closely related to the modern cockroaches in order Blattodea, fossil Umenocoleids have been found and researched across the world and found to be present across a larger portion of geologic time than expected. They’re linked to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, an important period of change when angiosperms, or flowering plants, exploded in diversity and prevalence and changed the development of insects as a result. 

By examining the tiny and delicate wing venation of fossils, Lee and his coauthors were able to uncover and untangle a new chapter in our knowledge of prehistory. Listen in as Lee draws us into the world of prehistoric creatures, environmental change, and the beauty and complexity of wings.

Soo Bin Lee’s paper “A new Albian genus and species and two other new species of Umenocoleidae (Dictyoptera) from South Korea” is in volume 166 of Cretaceous Research

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106013

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Soo Bin Lee - Transcript

New Species: Umenocoleus minimus, Pseudoblattapterix weoni, Petropterix koreaensis

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

Do you have a love of holometabolic insects? Ivonne Garzón is the president of their fan club! She studies a subset of geometrid moths that may look drab, but their colorful caterpillars and relationships with toxic plants make them endlessly interesting. “There is no way to get bored,” Ivonne says, “There is no way! You are amazed all the time.” 

The story of these moths also includes community; a visit to a caterpillar lab, a collaboration with the local herbarium, and a poll where over 5,000 people chose the name for one of her new species. For Ivonne, taxonomy makes her life joyful and interesting. Make your life more joyful and interesting by listening to Ivonne’s interview as she shares her wealth of knowledge and curiosity with all of us.

Ivonne Garzón’s paper “A new cryptic Phyllodonta Warren (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Mexico City with documentation of its life history” is in volume 5666 of Zootaxa. 

It can be found here: www.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5666.1.8

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ivonne Garzón - Transcript

New Species: Phyllodonta coztomatlivora

Episode image credit: Ivonne Garzón

Check out Ivonne’s lab instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/leps.de.mx/

Listen to Rosemary Gillespie’s episode on New Species: https://www.newspeciespodcast.net/release-happy-face-spiders-with-rosemary-gillespie

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

Los puercoespines, una de las criaturas más adorables y dolorosas a la vez, captan la atención en toda su área de distribución mundial. En este artículo, Héctor Ramírez-Chaves y sus coautores describen una nueva especie de puercoespín de los Andes colombianos. El trabajo los ha llevado a recorrer diferentes ecosistemas y a numerosos museos internacionales. Mientras Héctor describe la increíble biodiversidad de Colombia, también aborda la importancia crucial de su trabajo. "Aún necesitamos estudiar a los roedores aquí en Colombia", afirma. "Hay muchos grupos de especies nuevos que no se han estudiado en absoluto porque no son muy carismáticos, por lo que se los descuida. No se los estudia y son muy importantes para el ecosistema. Por eso, necesitamos más atención en estos pequeños mamíferos".

Si no quieres enamorarte de los puercoespines, ¡no escuches este episodio! La alegría de Héctor es contagiosa y la curiosidad de estos misteriosos roedores es irresistible.

El artículo de Héctor Ramírez-Chaves, “Una revisión del complejo Puercoespín Quichua Coendou quichua (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) con la descripción de una nueva especie de Colombia”, se encuentra en el volumen 106, número 3, de la revista Journal of Mammalogy.

Puede consultarse aquí: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyae140

Puede consultar la transcripción de este episodio aquí: Héctor Ramírez-Chaves - Transcripción en español

Nueva especie: Coendou vossi

Crédito de la imagen del episodio: Omar Daniel León Alvarado

Visite el laboratorio de Héctor en Instagram: @izbd_lab

Y consulte su enlace para ver investigaciones recientes: https://linktr.ee/izbd_lab

Siga a Nuevas Especies en Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) e Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) y dale a "Me gusta" en la página del podcast en Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

La música de este podcast es "No More (Instrumental)", de HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).

Si tienes preguntas o comentarios sobre este podcast, escríbenos a [email protected].

Si quieres apoyar este podcast y disfrutar de episodios extra, puedes hacerlo en https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

Simultaneously one of the cutest and most pain-inducing creatures, porcupines capture attention all over their worldwide range. In this paper, Héctor Ramirez-Chaves and his coauthors describe a new species of porcupine from the Andes of Colombia. The work has taken them across different ecosystems and to a good handful of international museums. As Héctor describes Colombia’s incredible biodiversity, he also addresses the critical nature of his work. “We still need to study rodents here in Colombia,” he says. “There are plenty of new species groups that have not been studied at all because they are not very charismatic, so they are neglected. People don't study them and they are very important to the ecosystem. So we need more attention in these small mammals.”

If you don’t want to fall in love with porcupines, don’t listen to this episode! Héctor’s joy is infectious and the curious nature of these cryptic rodents is irresistible.

Héctor Ramirez-Chaves’ paper “A review of the Quichua Porcupine Coendou quichua complex (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) with the description of a new species from Colombia” is in volume 106 issue 3 of the Journal of Mammalogy

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyae140

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Héctor Ramirez-Chaves - Transcript

A transcript of this episode in spanish can be found here: Héctor Ramirez-Chaves - Spanish Transcript

New Species: Coendou vossi

Episode image credit: Omar Daniel Leon Alvarado

Check out Héctor’s lab on instagram: @izbd_lab

And take a look at their linktree for recent research: https://linktr.ee/izbd_lab

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and “like” the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

The moment John Bunker saw the 200+ year old tree, he knew it might be special. He had no idea however, that it was one of America’s oldest surviving apple trees, a French ancestor to many of the apple varieties we know and love today. Combining Todd Little-Siebold’s historical research and Cameron Peace’s genetic work, in this special interview the three of them are able to tell a story of this apple tree that is not unlike the story of many new species discoveries. 

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Drap d'Or Bretagne

New (Old) Species and cultivar: Drap d'Or Bretagne 

Maine Public Radio feature: https://www.mainepublic.org/maine/2025-06-02/on-verona-island-historians-discover-one-of-the-oldest-living-apple-trees-in-north-america

MOFGA press release:

https://www.mofga.org/news/apple-discovery-announcement/

Local news article (paywalled): 

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/05/04/homestead/gardening/one-of-north-americas-oldest-apple-trees-on-maine-island-joam40zk0w/

Learn more about MOFGA: mofga.org (See you at the Common Ground Country Fair!)

John’s website: outonalimbapples.com 

My Fruit Tree Project: myfruittree.org

Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).

Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at [email protected]

If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod