# What's the largest living animal species that could still plausibly be undiscovered yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2021, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098 "2021-11-10T06:19:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/1 "2021-11-10T06:19:27Z")
Small undiscovered species, such as insects, are a dime a dozen; entomologists find new bugs all the time. But are we at a point now where no living species as large as an elephant could still yet be undiscovered on Earth? What about small antelope/deer-sized animals? In the deep ocean, could there still yet be any new living species as large as a whale or shark? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/2 "2021-11-10T08:33:34Z")
A species isn’t one of something, it is thousands of something, traveling around and eating. There is no chance that there is something the size of an elephant or whale around that isn’t just a slightly different elephant or whale that has been seen a billion times before and just not recognized as a different species. Even deer-sized animals would be things that the locals would know about even if they hadn’t been formally described by scientists. But something really novel that you can show to enough old locals and nobody recognizes it? I’d say squirrel-sized is pushing it for land. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/3 "2021-11-10T08:49:11Z")
The deep seas are still surprisingly unexplored, and it’s home to [huge creatures](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-sea_gigantism). It’s perfectly possible there are still species left there nobody has seen before. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/4 "2021-11-10T09:07:42Z")
Just discovered this year: > **[Scientists find mysterious whale is a species all its own](https://share.america.gov/scientists-find-new-whale-species/)** > > U.S. scientists have determined that a critically endangered whale is actually a new species. Learn more about the discovery of Rice's whale. And five years ago, never seen alive in the wild (or somewhere else, of course): [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-whale-species](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-whale-species) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/5 "2021-11-10T09:22:47Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Just discovered this year: Regarding your first example - according to the article, these whales were not discovered recently. They were just reclassified as a separate species. I don’t think phylogenetic reclassification of known populations is what the OP is looking for. > Scientists had long considered a group of whales in the Gulf of Mexico a subset of Bryde’s whales Your second example looks more what I think the OP is looking for, something completely unknown - as you say, apparently never yet seen alive. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/6 "2021-11-10T09:44:47Z")
I just googled “newly discovered whale species” and lots of hits were listed. Also this one: > **[New whale species discovered in Mexico | CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/09/americas/new-whale-species-mexico-scli-intl-scn/index.html)** > > Scientists working off the western coast of Mexico say they have found a previously unknown species of beaked whale. The line between completly unknown and phylogenetic reclassification is somewhat blurred, but some examples are indeed better than others. Then, as **Schnitte** has pointed out, there may be lots of cephalopods in the deep sea that only sperm whales have seen. Considering that bats are about 1/5 of all known mammals species I bet there are a lot still undiscovered. They may be lightweights but some have impressive wingspans, I don’t know whether the OP means size or weight when he says “largest”. Worm-like creatures from very different families can also be very long and remain undiscovered, both on land and in the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/7 "2021-11-10T09:58:52Z")
Thanks for the replies thus far. Yes, land-based animals would be all the more interesting. With all the people seeing things, no huge animal could go unnoticed for long. So as **Darren Garrison** said, is squirrel-sized about the biggest thing you could expect a land based species to be undiscovered as of yet? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/8 "2021-11-10T11:27:19Z")
There was a thread a few years ago about someone discovering a heretofore undiscovered valley in New Guinea. [Could not find the thread.] Not even the indigenous people were aware of it. It had some unique animals not found elsewhere, although all were related to other New Guinean animals. If there’s another such valley, there could be more undiscovered species. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/9 "2021-11-10T11:56:57Z")
Do we count things that were thought extinct but are not? > **[Vietnam mouse-deer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_mouse-deer)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > > > The Vietnam mouse-deer (Tragulus versicolor), also known as the silver-backed chevrotain, is an even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae known only from Vietnam. It was first described in 1910 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas, who procured four specimens from Nha Trang in Annam. Little is known about its distribution and ecology. After 1910, the Vietnam mouse-deer was reported next in 1990 near Dak Rong and Buon Luoi in the Gia Lai Pr... Brian ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/10 "2021-11-11T01:01:32Z")
This is probably about it: [Nimba myotis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimba_myotis) > [@](#): > > . . . also known as the **orange-furred bat** or **Nimba Mountain bat** , is in the family Vespertilionidae. The species is endemic to the Nimba Mountains. It was discovered in 2018 and officially described in 2021 . . . I suspect that lots of people informally discovered this species before, A child out playing with a companion might say something like — that sure is a strange looking bat. No publication, no discovery. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/11 "2021-11-11T10:05:47Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > In the deep ocean, could there still yet be any new living species as large as a whale or shark? I’d say yes. I wouldn’t say it was impossible for us to find a new species of colossal squid given how few specimens we’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/12 "2021-11-11T13:10:18Z")
The one that immediately came to my mind was the saola: > **[Saola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saola)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is one of the world's rarest large mammals, a forest-dwelling bovine native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of remains in Vũ Quang National Park by a joint survey of the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Saolas have since been kept in captivity mu... A scientific expedition discovered remains in 1992, and the first photo of a live specimen was taken in 1999. This wasn’t a newly reclassified species or subspecies of a known animal - it was completely unknown. It seems quite possible that there are similar completely unknown mammals lurking in remote forests. Probably not elephant-sized, but small deer, apes, large cats, and the like seem like live possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![yarblek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/71e660/32.png) [@yarblek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yarblek)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/13 "2021-11-11T13:39:19Z")
My wife is an as yet undiscovered species of elephant. Haha no, I don’t have a wife. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/14 "2021-11-11T13:59:07Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > It seems quite possible that there are similar completely unknown mammals lurking in remote forests. Probably not elephant-sized, but small deer, apes, large cats, and the like seem like live possibilities. Your example was from 29 years ago. There are billions more people now, some of whom have been looking for big new species for the past three decades. I vote for no new land species anywhere near as big as a saola ever being discovered again. Of course, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/15 "2021-11-11T14:32:19Z")
There had been people looking for big new species for _centuries_ before the saola was found. And yet… I’m not a cryptozoologist. I’m not “voting for” a land species the size of the saola being found again. I have no particular reason to think there are any extant land species of that size still undescribed in the scientific literature. But if a small deer could go completely unrecorded until 1992 in Vietnam, I see no reason to simply dismiss the possibility of the existence of a similar-sized animal in the depths of the Amazonian rainforest, or a remote valley of New Guinea, or similar regions. As I stated, I think it’s a live _possibility_, not that it’s _probable_. Of course, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/16 "2021-11-11T18:17:58Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’d say yes. I wouldn’t say it was impossible for us to find a new species of colossal squid given how few specimens we’ve ever had. It depends on what size of whale or shark they are as large as. Dolphin sized? Maybe. Humpback sized? No fucking way. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/17 "2021-11-11T18:24:46Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > This wasn’t a newly reclassified species or subspecies of a known animal - it was completely unknown. Unknown to science. But unknown to the natives? I bet if they took it around to the local elders they would find people would say “Oh, that’s a doohicky. Good eating on a doohickey. When I was just a boy, my grandfather had a doohicky-skin cap.” the same way the “newly discovered” celocanth was actually familiar (as a trash fish) to fishermen in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/18 "2021-11-11T18:47:41Z")
In 2013, a new species of flying squirrel was “discovered” by scientists at a [wild game market](https://news.mongabay.com/2013/08/scientists-discover-new-flying-mammal-in-bushmeat-market/) in Laos. If even fruit as low hanging as that still remains to be explored by scientists, I’ve no doubt there’s significant quantities of animals that are well known to local people but have yet to be discovered by the scientific community. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/19 "2021-11-11T22:05:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Unknown to science. But unknown to the natives? I bet if they took it around to the local elders they would find people would say “Oh, that’s a doohicky. Good eating on a doohickey. When I was just a boy, my grandfather had a doohicky-skin cap.” the same way the “newly discovered” celocanth was actually familiar (as a trash fish) to fishermen in that area. I kinda assumed that went without saying. Apparently it doesn’t. > [edit] The saola wasn’t a newly reclassified species or subspecies of an animal known in the scientific literatute - it was completly unknown to outsiders (presumably there were locals who were aware of its existence). If we’re going with the standard of completely unknown to any humans, including members of uncontacted tribes, then, yeah, there almost certainly aren’t _any_ living animal species on land larger than a small insect that are unknown to some humans, somewhere. Still possible, I think, in the deep ocean, of which we still know very little. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098/20 "2021-11-12T06:43:40Z")
About half to 5/6 humpback whale size (although nowhere near as massive). Given the [paucity of sightings/specimens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colossal_squid_specimens_and_sightings#List_of_colossal_squid), and the frequency with which even _those_ were taken to be the unrelated giant squid, I’m going to have to respond with: “Yes fucking way”. The ocean is a big place, and the Southern Ocean a very little-traversed and -studied part of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-living-animal-species-that-could-still-plausibly-be-undiscovered-yet/954098.md?page=2)