--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Researchers keep identifying new species…" description: "\"Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut open an animal and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg" --- # Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no… ![“Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut open an animal and find a new species. Where did it come from? What effect does it have on its host? What is its next host? They don't know and they don't have time…” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg) > “Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut open an animal and find a new species. Where did it come from? What effect does it have on its host? What is its next host? They don't know and they don't have time to find out, because there are too many other species waiting to be discovered and described.” [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists discover species faster than they can study ecological roles, leaving critical gaps in understanding. **In simple terms:** We find new species but lack knowledge of their life cycles and impacts. Key Takeaway Balance discovery with ecological research. Themes biodiversity research knowledge gaps conservation Mood concerned analytical Type scientific informative When to use this quote - conservation planning - policy making - education - research funding Key Concepts Ecology species interaction scientific methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can we prioritize research on newly discovered species? - What methods can accelerate understanding of ecological roles? A Different Perspective Limited resources and time constrain comprehensive study of each species. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycles/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Cycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-cycle/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Her. My mate. She’s near . . . . She was downwind but close enough that he detected her. He didn’t know what she looked like, what her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/her-my-mate-she-s-near-she-was-downwind-but-close-enough-that-he/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“You look like someone who’s discovered a new species of human”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-look-like-someone-who-s-discovered-a-new-species-of-human/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [There are several new species that are discovered each year on our planet alone, science suggests that there could be many more worlds like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-basu-prasad/there-are-several-new-species-that-are-discovered-each-year-on-our/) [Shweta Basu Prasad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-basu-prasad/) > [Discovering new species is a passion. A day without collecting plants is painful for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneille-ewango/discovering-new-species-is-a-passion-a-day-without-collecting-plants/) [Corneille Ewango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneille-ewango/) > [A new species is being born inside each one of us. Eventually, we will all express the perceptions and values of this new species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/a-new-species-is-being-born-inside-each-one-of-us-eventually-we-will/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [A new species is arising on the planet, it is arising now and you are it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-new-species-is-arising-on-the-planet-it-is-arising-now-and-you-are/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If new species arise very rapidly in small, peripherally isolated local populations, then the great expectation of insensibly graded fossil sequences is a chimera.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/if-new-species-arise-very-rapidly-in-small-peripherally-isolated/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Every paleontologist knows that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of family appear in the record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-paleontologist-knows-that-most-new-species-genera-and-families/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's impossible by micro-mutation to form any new species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-goldschmidt/it-s-impossible-by-micro-mutation-to-form-any-new-species/) [Richard Goldschmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-goldschmidt/) > [It remains true, as every paleontologist knows, that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of families,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/it-remains-true-as-every-paleontologist-knows-that-most-new-species/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [It is natural selection that gives direction to changes, orients chance, and slowly, progressively produces more complex structures, new organs, and new species. Novelties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/it-is-natural-selection-that-gives-direction-to-changes-orients/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [I'm hoping to make a new thing for the world that remains in the mind like a new species of living thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-auerbach/i-m-hoping-to-make-a-new-thing-for-the-world-that-remains-in-the-mind/) [Frank Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-auerbach/) > [Intercourse with a porpoise is a dream for me, hell bent on inventing a new species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-hot-chili-peppers/intercourse-with-a-porpoise-is-a-dream-for-me-hell-bent-on-inventing/) [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-hot-chili-peppers/) > [I think it inevitably follows, that as new species in the course of time are formed through natural selection, others will become rarer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-think-it-inevitably-follows-that-as-new-species-in-the-course-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“The description of a new species of crayfish may detail every bristle on every segment of its many appendages and never be read by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storrs-l-olson/the-description-of-a-new-species-of-crayfish-may-detail-every-bristle/) Storrs L. Olson ## More by Carl Zimmer > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that's fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-the-world-goes-crazy-for-a-lovely-fossil-that-s-fine-with-me-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Today, when we look at a brain, we see an intricate network of billions of neurons in constant, crackling communication, a chemical labyrinth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/today-when-we-look-at-a-brain-we-see-an-intricate-network-of-billions/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“The extra clutter adds no important insight; instead, it offers more clutter in which erros can lurk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-extra-clutter-adds-no-important-insight-instead-it-offers-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Evolution has led to some populations of people being able to digest milk without much trouble when they're adults as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/evolution-has-led-to-some-populations-of-people-being-able-to-digest/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Medicine allows people to live who would otherwise die, so antibiotics will let people survive infections that they might be otherwise very vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/medicine-allows-people-to-live-who-would-otherwise-die-so-antibiotics/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Two hallmarks of Homo Sapiens are decoration and self-identification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/two-hallmarks-of-homo-sapiens-are-decoration-and-self-identification/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Over millions of years the viruses in our genome mutate more and more so the look less and less and less recognizable as viruses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/over-millions-of-years-the-viruses-in-our-genome-mutate-more-and-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [ “\[Writing to Lucretius, on Epicurus' belief that the soul was no different from the rest of the cosmos; made of atoms\] "Death is therefore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/writing-to-lucretius-on-epicurus-belief-that-the-soul-was-no/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We may be sucking in all sorts of viruses and we really don't know the full range of them. Maybe we've got flu virus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-may-be-sucking-in-all-sorts-of-viruses-and-we-really-don-t-know/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“It may be hard to imagine a world before antibiotics, but now we must imagine a world where antibiotics are not the only weapon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/it-may-be-hard-to-imagine-a-world-before-antibiotics-but-now-we-must/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We really depend on viruses for our complete survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-really-depend-on-viruses-for-our-complete-survival/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Based on the number of viruses she found in her samples, Proctor estimated that every liter of seawater contained up to one hundred billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/based-on-the-number-of-viruses-she-found-in-her-samples-proctor/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [One of the big challenges now is to figure out just how many viruses there really are in the human genome. So far the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/one-of-the-big-challenges-now-is-to-figure-out-just-how-many-viruses/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Everybody can digest milk when they're little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/everybody-can-digest-milk-when-they-re-little/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) [Explore all 40 Carl Zimmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut open an animal and find a new species. Where did it come from? What effect does it have on its host? What is its next host? They don't know and they don't have time to find out, because there are too many other species waiting to be discovered and described.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Zimmer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/carl-zimmer-16331_animal_researchers-keep-identifying-new-species_1304084.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or…” — Carl Zimmer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Zimmer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Researchers keep identifying new species, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```