When the International Institute for Species Exploration released its Top Ten List of New Species this week, institute head Quentin Wheeler said the list “highlights how little we know about life on Earth.”
Top 10 List of New Species
This spider from Madagascar spins durable webs that can span rivers, streams and lakes. (M. Kuntner)
The Eternal light mushroom is bio-luminescent around the clock and was recently discovered in coastal forests in Brazil. (Cassius V. Stevani, Instituto de Quimica Univ. de Sao Paulo, Brazil)
An iron-oxide eating microbe was discovered forming icicle-shaped rusticles on the legendary shipwreck, the Titanic. (RMS Titanic Inc.)
The largest new species on the list is an antelope that was first discovered being sold as bush meat in a West African market. (Drawing Yann LE BRIS)
A raspy cricket that is the only pollinator for a rare and endangered orchid was found in in the Mascarene Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. (Sylvain Hugel, Universite de Strasbourg,France)
Jumping cockroaches - found in South Africa - were known millions of years ago in the era of the dinosaurs. (Mike Picker, University of Cape Town, South Africa)
A leech from Peru with gigantic teeth earned the name Tyrannobdella rex or tyrant leech king. (PLoS ONE)
Golden Spotted Monitor lizard found in the Philippines. (J. Brown)
This mushroom from the Northwestern United States fruits underwater. (Robert Coffan, Southern Oregon University)
The Louisiana Pancake Batfish was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. (Prosanta Chakrabarty, Louisiana State University)