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100 new species of Sharks and Rays!
DNA evidence has helped identify 113 new sharks and rays—including a skinny saw shark, a swell shark that looks like it swallowed a Frisbee, and a river shark (see photos)—scientists announced Thursday.
Click on link to see a few photo's DNA evidence has helped identify 113 new sharks and rays—including a skinny saw shark, a swell shark that looks like it swallowed a Fr... more -
Hundreds of new animal species found
Australian scientists discover brilliant soft corals, tiny crustaceans on reefs
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New giant clam species discovered
A new species of giant clam has been discovered in the Red Sea.
The fossil record suggests that, about 125,000 years ago, the species Tridacna costata accounted for more than 80% of local giant clams. The species may now be critically endangered, researchers report in Current Biology journal.
The scientists believe their findings may represent one of the earliest examples of the over-exploitation of marine organisms by humans. T. costatahas "very peculia characteristics" that set it apart from two other species of giant clam that are also found in the area. The Latin word costatus means "ribbed" and T. costata has a disitinctive, zig-zag outline to its shell.
"The new species are mid-sized clams - up to 40cm long and a couple of kilograms heavy," explained co-author Dr Claudio Richter, from the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany. The new species has a distant relative, T. gigas, which can grow up to 1.4m long.
Live specimens of T. costata appear to be restricted to very shallow waters. Other species were also found in deeper reef zones. The clam has an earlier and shorter breeding season that coincides with the seasonal plankton bloom. Genetic analysis confirmed the status of the new species.
"One of the great features of the desert-enclosed Red Sea is that you can literally time-travel from the present, several hundred thousand years into the past," said Dr Richter. The research team uncovered well-preserved fossil evidence that suggested stocks of these giant clams plummeted some 125,000 years ago - during an interval between Ice Ages. They believe this period coincides with the appearance of modern humans in the Red Sea area.
Giant clams were abundant, large in size and easily accessible - making them an attractive food source for hunter-gatherers. In "pre-human times", T. costata may have been up to 60cm long. Since then, shell size has also decreased dramatically. "The overall decline in giant clam stocks - with the striking loss of large specimens - is a smoking gun indicating over-harvesting," said Dr Richter.
The scientists were not expecting to find a new species in an area as well studied as the Red Sea. The research highlights how little is known about marine biodiversity in general, the scientists said. "The coral reefs in particular... may still harbour very large surprises," said Dr Richter. A new species of giant clam has been discovered in the Red Sea. ... more -
eBay insect fossil is new species
A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown species of aphid.
Dr Richard Harrington, vice-president of the UK's Royal Entomological Society, bought the fossil from an individual in Lithuania. He then sent it off to an aphid expert in Denmark, who confirmed the insect was a new species, now extinct.
The bug has been named Mindarus harringtoni after the scientist.
"I was interested to see what it was because I've worked with a team of people involved in monitoring and forecasting aphids, those of greenfly and their relatives in this country," Dr Harrington told BBC News.
"I looked at it with my team and we thought we could identify it down to the level of genus, but we had no idea what the species was."
Dr Harrington sent the specimen to Professor Ole Heie, a fossil aphid expert in Denmark.
"He discovered that it was something that hadn't been described before," Dr Harrington explained. The insect itself is 3-4mm long and is encased in a 40-50 million-year-old piece of amber about the size of a small pill.
"I had thought it would be rather nice to call it Mindarus ebayi," said Dr Harrington. "Unfortunately, using flippant names to describe new species is rather frowned upon these days."
Instead, Professor Heie named the new species after Dr Harrington.
"It's not uncommon to find insects in amber ... but I'm not sure that one has turned up on eBay that has been undiscovered before. It's a rather unusual route to come by [a new species]," the researcher, based at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, explained.
He said the insect would have fed on a tree called Pinus succinifera which is itself now long since extinct. A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown... more -
New, "Chubbier" River Dolphin Found in Bolivia
The Bolivian river dolphin is a separate species from the Amazon river dolphin, scientists announced recently.
Thousands of years ago a powerful drought dried up Brazil's Madeira River, causing a "radical separation" as dolphin populations were caught on different sides of the newly created rapids, said researcher Manuel Ruiz-Garcia.
The Madeira split into today's Beni and Mamoré rivers of northeastern Bolivia.
"When they separated, [the dolphins] were never again able to return and reproduce," said Ruiz-Garcia, who heads the Molecular Genetics Lab at Javeriana University in Bogotá, Colombia.
"Thus isolated, the Bolivian river dolphin, Inia boliviensis, eventually developed," he said.
The announcement was made at a recent conservation workshop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia.
Genetic Differences
Ruiz-Garcia took DNA samples from 40 river dolphins from Bolivia and 56 from Colombia by extracting tissue from their tail muscles.
A limited comparison of the DNA revealed significant genetic differences between the two river-dolphin populations.
This led Ruiz-Garcia to initially estimate that the species separated five to six million years ago.
But after comparing 32 more genes from DNA in another 40 Bolivian dolphins and about 60 Colombian and Peruvian dolphins, he concluded that the separation happened much sooner—about 100,000 to 500,000 years ago.
"Bolivian dolphins are totally different molecularly from other dolphins," Ruiz-Garcia said. "After being split up, they accumulated mutations and formed a new species." The Bolivian river dolphin is a separate species from the Amazon river dolphin, scientists announced recently. ... more -
eBay insect fossil is new species
A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown species of aphid.
Dr Richard Harrington, vice-president of the UK's Royal Entomological Society, bought the fossil from an individual in Lithuania.
He then sent it off to an aphid expert in Denmark, who confirmed the insect was a new species, now extinct.
The bug has been named Mindarus harringtoni after the scientist.
"I was interested to see what it was because I've worked with a team of people involved in monitoring and forecasting aphids, those of greenfly and their relatives in this country," Dr Harrington told BBC News.
"I looked at it with my team and we thought we could identify it down to the level of genus, but we had no idea what the species was."
Dr Harrington sent the specimen to Professor Ole Heie, a fossil aphid expert in Denmark.
"He discovered that it was something that hadn't been described before," Dr Harrington explained.
The insect itself is 3-4mm long and is encased in a 40-50 million-year-old piece of amber about the size of a small pill.
"I had thought it would be rather nice to call it Mindarus ebayi," said Dr Harrington.
"Unfortunately using flippant names to describe new species is rather frowned upon these days."
Instead, Professor Heie named the new species after Dr Harrington.
"It's not uncommon to find insects in amber... but I'm not sure that one has turned up on eBay that has been undiscovered before. It's a rather unusual route to come by [a new species]," the researcher, based at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, explained.
He said the insect would have fed on a tree called Pinetes succinifer which is itself now long since extinct. A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown... more -
New species!: tiny robin from Gabon
"A red-breasted bird discovered by accident in the forests of Gabon is a new species, U.S. scientists said on Friday.
They have named the little bird the olive-backed forest robin, or Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus, but say they know little about it yet.
The Smithsonian Institution team found the bird while visiting the forest on a biodiversity project, said Brian Schmidt, a research ornithologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
"I suspected something when I found the first bird in Gabon since it didn't exactly match any of the species descriptions in the field guides," Schmidt said in a statement.
"Once I was able to compare them side by side to other specimens in our collections, it was clear that these birds were special."
Genetic tests confirmed the bird, which measures 4.5 inches
in length and averages half an ounce (14 grams) in weight, was a unique species.
Writing in the journal Zootaxa, the Smithsonian team said the males have a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. A distinctive white dot in front of each eye helps distinguish the species.
"Although finding an unknown species like the olive-backed forest robin was not the goal of the ... project, it is definitely a reminder that the world still holds surprises for us," Schmidt said."
Hmm, so far on Current we've seen tiny lemer, tiny snake, tiny bird...Is evolution going small on us? "A red-breasted bird discovered by accident in the forests of Gabon is a new species, U.S. scientists said on Friday. ... more -
New Bird Species Discovered In Gabon, Africa
A red-breasted bird discovered by accident in the forests of Gabon is a new species, U.S. scientists said on Friday.
They have named the little bird the olive-backed forest robin, or Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus, but say they know little about it yet.
The Smithsonian Institution team found the bird while visiting the forest on a biodiversity project, said Brian Schmidt, a research ornithologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
"I suspected something when I found the first bird in Gabon since it didn't exactly match any of the species descriptions in the field guides," Schmidt said in a statement.
"Once I was able to compare them side by side to other specimens in our collections, it was clear that these birds were special."
Genetic tests confirmed the bird, which measures 4.5 inches (11 cm) in length and averages half an ounce (14 grams) in weight, was a unique species.
Writing in the journal Zootaxa, the Smithsonian team said the males have a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. A distinctive white dot in front of each eye helps distinguish the species.
"Although finding an unknown species like the olive-backed forest robin was not the goal of the ... project, it is definitely a reminder that the world still holds surprises for us," Schmidt said. A red-breasted bird discovered by accident in the forests of Gabon is a new species, U.S. scientists said on Friday. ... more -
Unidentified Beast Washes Ashore in Jersey
This is an actual monster, some sort of rodent-like creature with a dinosaur beak. A tipster says that there is "a government animal testing facility very close by in Long Island," but unless the government is trying to design horrible Montauk monsters that will eat IEDs and fart fire at bad Iraqis, we're not sure why they would create such an unthinkable beast. Our guess is that it's viral marketing for something. Ali Lohan's new album perhaps.
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Anybody have any guesses as to what in this thing is? This is an actual monster, some sort of rodent-like creature with a dinosaur beak. A tipster says that there is "a government ani... more -
Want Scientific Immortality? Name a Species After Yourself
"Jeff Goodhartz is single and has no children. But he wanted to ensure the family name would live on after he's gone.
So he paid $5,000 to have a newfound sea worm given the Goodhartz name, ''goodhartzorum.''
''This really jazzes me up,'' said the 55-year-old high school math teacher whose namesake is translucent with a flamboyant blue tuft. ''It will be out there, the family name.''
And it will be swimming in the Belize mangroves where someone else discovered it.
Goodhartz bought the naming rights from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which unveiled its name-a-species program earlier this year. This modern twist on taxonomy is a way to raise research money, and lots of groups have been doing it.
But its growing popularity has rekindled a debate over whether the practice invites fake discoveries and has led to a push for oversight.
''It is conceivable that someone could fabricate a new species in order to make money, if it were shown to be lucrative,'' said Andrew Polaszek, an entomologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
Taxonomy ranks among the world's oldest professions, dating back to 18th century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who popularized the classification system still in use today. Of the 30 million or so species of animals, plants and microbes on Earth, only about 1.8 million have been named and identified so far.
Traditionally, the discoverer gets to christen the new organism. All living things have a two-part scientific name, usually in Latin. It's common for discoverers to name a new species after themselves or in honor of their spouses, children, colleagues, benefactors or even celebrities.
In recent years, species names have gone from finders keepers to being auctioned off or sold to donors to support research as other funding has dried up. Not all species are created equal. The rarer and more evolved the organism, the more money it tends to fetch.
Still up for grabs is a $15,000 sea slug, a pair of bone-feeding worms for $25,000 each and $50,000 rare hydrothermal vent worm. Donors receive a framed photo of their namesake and a copy of the scientific paper that describes the species. "
Say WHAT? That's a little rich for my blood! "Jeff Goodhartz is single and has no children. But he wanted to ensure the family name would live on after he's gone. ... more -
Mystery Bug Found at London Museum
"July 15, 2008—Even with 28 million insect specimens in their collection, experts at London's Natural History Museum haven't found a match for a mysterious bug—pictured above—found in their own backyard.
Since it was discovered last year by entomologist Max Barclay, the tiny, red-and-black, seed-eating ground bug has become the most common insect in the museum's wildlife garden.
It has also been spotted elsewhere in the city.
"Today we've had people ringing us up saying they've known about this thing in [central] London for six or seven years," Barclay said.
"It's only when it gets to somewhere like the Natural History Museum, where there are loads of specialists hanging around, that somebody will pick it up."
While the insect looks similar to a Central European species, Arocatus roeselii, it is a darker red and lives on plane trees—what Americans call sycamores—instead of alders.
It also resembles a mystery insect found in France that likely isn't native to Europe at all, Barclay said.
"It's also very similar to a common North American pest called the boxelder bug, but it isn't that," he added.
Barclay believes the ground bug either represents a variation of a known exotic species or it's a newly discovered species.
Museum scientists hope an analysis of the insect's DNA will finally solve the mystery."
Cool! Mysteries abound! I love stories like this. "July 15, 2008—Even with 28 million insect specimens in their collection, experts at London's Natural History Museum haven&#... more -
Monsters of the deep still undiscovered
GIVEN their size, you might assume they had all been found by now. But scientists believe the world's oceans are still hiding giant underwater creatures which have yet to be discovered.
Marine ecologists have predicted there could be as many as 18 unknown species, with body lengths greater than 1.8 metres, still swimming in the great expanses of unexplored sea. GIVEN their size, you might assume they had all been found by now. But scientists believe the world's oceans are still hiding gia... more -
New study of B.C. dinosaur bones is unable to match them to any recorded species
The Sustut dinosaur may be a new species, but we won't know for sure until more fossils can be found. It's very distinct from other dinosaurs that were found at the same time in southern Alberta." The Sustut dinosaur may be a new species, but we won't know for sure until more fossils can be found. It's very distinct fro... more
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New Found Species
Also known as elephant shrews on account of their superficially shrew-like form and long trunk-like snout, sengis comprise an exclusively African order of mammals. Relatively small, forest-floor inhabitants, only 15 species were known until recently, when a 16th, and, in sengi terms, positively huge species was dramatically unveiled to science. Also known as elephant shrews on account of their superficially shrew-like form and long trunk-like snout, sengis comprise an exclusiv... more
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Giant marine life found in Antarctica
Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and 2-foot-wide starfish.
A 2,000-mile journey through the Ross Sea that ended Thursday has also potentially turned up several new species, including as many as eight new molluscs.
It's "exciting when you come across a new species," said Chris Jones, a fisheries scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "All the fish people go nuts about that — but you have to take it with a grain of salt."
The finds must still be reviewed by experts to determine if they are in fact new, said Stu Hanchet, a fisheries scientist at New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of so... more
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New Species
