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Hiding in plain sight: Discovery of cryptic species could double the number of vertebrates
- February 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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There may be twice as many vertebrates on the planet as previous estimates claimed, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. That's not because of any errors or miscalculation, but because thousands of species have been hiding in plain sight. These are so-called cryptic species that appear identical to our eyes but are actually very different genetically.
Originally published at Phys.org