The Best New Species Of 2012

Did you know that scientists discover 15,000 to 20,000 new species every year? It seems a little hard to believe, since there are already 8 million existing species known. The International Institute for Species Exploration recently listed their top, most interesting new species of 2012 - check out a few of our favorites.

The monkey that sneezes when it starts to rain

The monkey's nose is so upturned that rain causes it to sneeze. To avoid inhaling water, they sit with their heads tucked between their legs.

The blue tarantula

This jewel-toned tarantula, which hails from Brazil, might be the prettiest tarantula we've ever seen (not that it means we actually want to see it in person).

The banded box jellyfish

As deadly as it is beautiful, this jellyfish was first sited in 2001 but a specimen wasn't captured until 2008. It is one of approximately 50 box jellyfish species.