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Q&A

How large can an Earth species be in 2016 without being discovered?

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Preface
With all technology discovered prior to this question, on today's planet, there are still some things we have not observed - which may be used to justify introducing new life forms, right here at home, in a story.


There are a LOT of unexplored places on Earth


To be clear

I am defining "undiscovered species" as:

  • Somewhat unique. Cannot be a subspecies or a division of a well-known species into groups that are somewhat similar to each other.
  • Unbeknownst to or denied by modern scientists. Can be seen by isolated or indigenous societies.
  • Lacking observed evidence of existence to the point that any actual evidence found is explained by some other phenomena. Like if the bloop was an animal and we brushed it off as ice moving, or like if this thing wasn't actually a known animal, or if this thing wasn't a sleeper shark.

So the question is

Given the above information, how large can each of the following organisms plausibly be on Earth in 2016 while remaining undiscovered with current technology?

  • Plant, fungus, or similar species
  • Land animal
  • Aquatic animal

*I will not accept "it will probably be..." I would like calculations or references as opposed to speculation, please.


Edit: In response to all answers - I ask "how large can they be" not "what is a size they could be". I do apprciate your answers but every one seems to say "this is a large thing we've seen so an organism could be at least this large". What no answer does say, as the question asks, is "based on the ways we observe the world, an organism could be at most this large".

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This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/61494. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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