Scientists at the Natural History Museum, London have described and named 262 new species to science in 2025 - Natural History Museum

In 2025, Natural History Museum curators, researchers and scientific associates have described 262 new species and published over 700 research papers, while also breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art collections, research and digitisation centre.

In 2025, Natural History Museum curators, researchers and scientific associates have described 262 new species and published over 700 research papers, while also breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art collections, research and digitisation centre.

From jewel-bright butterflies over Borneo’s rainforest to ghostly corals 5,000 metres below the Pacific Ocean, and from dinosaur-rich rocks in Colorado to cutting-edge analyses of asteroid Bennu, Natural History Museum science is reshaping our understanding of life on Earth and beyond as the race intensifies to document biodiversity in the face of the planetary emergency.

The discovery and naming of new species remains central to the Museum’s mission. By investing in collections, leading global digitisation efforts and conducting research that spans deep time, deep oceans, outer space and everyday school grounds, Museum scientists are working to ensure that we discover, understand and protect nature before it is too late.
Over the last 12 months, scientists from London’s Natural History Museum have been busy collecting, studying and cataloguing the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth. Museum scientists have given official names to 262 species, including new toads and fish, butterflies and bees and a smattering of ancient sharks.

This year’s total is dominated by moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), with 81 new species described, including a moth named for Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.