Hundreds of new species are discovered across the diverse tree of life around the world every year. Every single discovery is an exciting moment, but the number of them reveals how little we know about our fellow species, and just how much we need to learn while we try to mitigate our impact and reverse the biodiversity crisis. This piece, the third in our series ‘In search of secret wildlife’, explores the stages after discovering or rediscovering a species, and the importance of knowledge networks such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas, and Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites in securing the future of a species.
