Minnows with fangs, bomber worms and more
Source: Agencies |
May 25, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A FLAT-FACED frog-fish with a psychedelic pattern and a "killer" carnivorous sponge are among the top 10 new species discovered in 2009, according to a committee of international scientists.
The list of newly described or named species is compiled every year by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists.
Also in the top 10 were a freshwater minnow with fangs found in Myanmar, the first new golden orb spider found since 1879, a deep-sea worm that releases green luminescent "bombs" when threatened, and a sea slug that eats insects found in Pak Phanang Bay in the Gulf of Thailand.
Rounding out the top 10 list were a banded knife-fish, a charismatic plant that produces insect-trapping pitchers the size of an American football, a new mushroom, and an edible yam found in Madagascar that has multiple lobes instead of one.
Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, said the list was important.
"It helps us draw attention to the importance of natural history museums and botanical gardens, in a fun-filled way by making the selection of the top 10 new species from the thousands described in the previous calendar year," he said.
The top 10 new species of 2009, chosen from thousands of species found across the globe last year, came from Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and Uruguay.
Wheeler said the annual list commemorated the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.
Since Linnaeus initiated the system for naming plants and animals in the 18th century, an estimated 1.8 million species have been named, described and classified.
Scientists estimate there are between 2 million and 100 million species on Earth, though most set the number closer to 10 million.
The taxonomists also released a report called the State of Observed Species on human knowledge of the Earth's species.
The list of newly described or named species is compiled every year by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists.
Also in the top 10 were a freshwater minnow with fangs found in Myanmar, the first new golden orb spider found since 1879, a deep-sea worm that releases green luminescent "bombs" when threatened, and a sea slug that eats insects found in Pak Phanang Bay in the Gulf of Thailand.
Rounding out the top 10 list were a banded knife-fish, a charismatic plant that produces insect-trapping pitchers the size of an American football, a new mushroom, and an edible yam found in Madagascar that has multiple lobes instead of one.
Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, said the list was important.
"It helps us draw attention to the importance of natural history museums and botanical gardens, in a fun-filled way by making the selection of the top 10 new species from the thousands described in the previous calendar year," he said.
The top 10 new species of 2009, chosen from thousands of species found across the globe last year, came from Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and Uruguay.
Wheeler said the annual list commemorated the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.
Since Linnaeus initiated the system for naming plants and animals in the 18th century, an estimated 1.8 million species have been named, described and classified.
Scientists estimate there are between 2 million and 100 million species on Earth, though most set the number closer to 10 million.
The taxonomists also released a report called the State of Observed Species on human knowledge of the Earth's species.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
