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Discovering Species

Rapid Assessment scientists search, discover, and record, Guinea, West Africa.

What we've found

	AMPHIBIANS Scientists believe that proto-amphibians were the first vertebrate animals to leave water and become terrestrial. Thanks to their sensitivity to environmental changes amphibians also act as an early warning system of ecosystem health.
	BIRDS There are close to 10,000 known bird species worldwide. Birds are important pollinators, seed dispersers and sometimes scavengers.
	FISHES There are approximately 20,000 different species of fishes worldwide that can range in size from half-inch gobbies to a 45 ft whale shark.
	INVERTEBRATES Invertebrates are a dominant force in the majority of ecosystems through their ecological function, species richness, and biomass; which is fitting since they represent over 95% of all known animals on the planet.
	MAMMALS Discovering mammals new to science is rare, but scientists still find a few, especially small mammals, in the remote places of the Earth.
	PLANTS Plants are the most critical component of the biosphere – without plants no animal life would be possible. There are over 425,000 different types of plants in the world which need water air, and sunlight to live.
	REPTILES Reptiles are divided into several major groups: turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes), and rhynchocephalians (tuatara).