These images are of the International Institute of Species Exploration's Top 10 New Species 2014.
Top 10 New Species 2014
1
Davide Necchi of Iceland captured this great brightness and quick development of aurora late August.
2
Living in complete darkness some 900-plus meters below the surface in the Lukina Jama-Trojama caves of western Croatia, the domed land snail lacks eyes, and has no shell pigmentation, giving it a ghost-like appearance. Even by snail standards, it moves slowly, creeping only a few millimeters or centimeters a week. (Jana Bedek)
3
Found in rooms where spacecraft are assembled, this microbial species could potentially contaminate other planets that the spacecraft visit. It can tolerate extreme dryness; wide ranges of pH, temperature and salt concentration; and exposure to UV light or hydrogen peroxide. It was independently collected from so-called clean rooms in Florida and 4000 km away, in French Guiana. (Leibniz-Insitute DSMZ and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)
4
This 4-5 cm single-celled amoeba from the Mediterranean Sea gathers pieces of silica spicules, which are actually sponge fragments, from its surroundings and uses them like so many Lego blocks to construct a shell. It ends up looking much like a carnivorous sponge as well as feeding like one. (Manuel Maldonado)
