Colorful Caribbean Crustaceans

Discovering new species is an exciting quest, right? Well, some parts are—but after you find a cool-looking organism that you think is a new species, there's a lot more to be done. You have to confirm that it's new, write a detailed description, take photographs, collect DNA, and do other meticulous work. On average, it takes 21 years for a newly discovered species to be officially named! To speed up the process, 18 crab experts locked themselves in a room together for a few weeks to sort through potential new species. During that time, they sorted thousands of specimens, such as these colorful crabs and other crustaceans from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, including new and rare species.