On May 23,  2014, the International Institute for Species Exploration declared the olinguito as one of the “Top 10 New Species of 2014.” It was actually discovered in 2013, but we understand why it continues to be discussed as a “new species.”

The newly found appealing olinguito, according to some news people, is downright “cute” because it resembles “a cross between a slinky cat and a wide-eyed teddy bear.” It was found to live secretively in cloud forests of the Andes mountains in Colombia and Ecuador. This arboreal mammal belongs to the family Procyonidae, which includes the well-known raccoons, coatimundis, kinkajous, ringtails, and others. The olinguito is smaller, though, typically weighing approximately 4.5 pounds. The olinguito is one of the largest new mammal described in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years.

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Other 2014 wonders were revealed, such as in May 2014, through a news release from the University of Vermont. It noted that a new research study split alligator snapping turtles, the so-called “dinosaur of the turtle world,” into three species. The original species (Macrochelys temminckii) was joined by two newly classified species—M. suwannensis and M. apalachicolae, which are named after the river systems they populate: the Suwannee River and Apalachicola River. (See more.)

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Discovered in 2014 was a tiny elephant shrew, the round-eared sengi (Macroscelides micus) found in the remote deserts of Namibia, in south western Africa. It is the smallest known member of the 19 sengis.