THE 10 TOP NEW SPECIES OF 2012

For the fi fth year in a row, the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State Univ.

collected and announced its picks for the top 10 new species as described in calendar year 2011.
1. Sneezing monkey

This snub-nosed monkey is the fi rst to be reported from Myanmar and is believed to be critically endangered. It is distinctive for its black fur, white beard and sneezing when it rains. Species name: Rhinopithecus strykeri.

2. Bonaire banded box jelly

This strikingly beautiful—yet venomous—jellyfi sh looks like a box kite with colorful long tails. The species was spotted near the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. Species name:

Tamoyaohboya.





3. Devil’s worm

Measuring about 0.5 mm (0.02"), these tiny nematodes

are the deepest-living terrestrial multicellular

organisms on the planet. They were discovered at a

depth of 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) in a South African

gold mine. Carbon dating indicated that the borehole water where this species lives had not been in contact with Earth’s atmosphere for the last 4,000 to 6,000 years. Species name:

Halicephalobus mephisto.

4. Night-bloomingorchid

The flowers on this rare orchid

from Papua New Guinea open

around 10 p.m. and close early

the next morning. It is believed

to be the fi rst night-blooming orchid

recorded among the more

than 25,000 known species of

orchids. Species name: Bulbophyllum nocturnum

5. Parasitic wasp

This new species of parasitic wasp cruises at just one centimeter above the ground in Madrid, Spain, in search of its target: ants. With a target in sight, the wasp attacks

from the air like a tiny

dive bomber, depositing an

egg in less than 1/20 of a second.Species name:

Kollasmosoma sentum.

6. SpongeBob SquarePants mushroom

Named after the cartoon character, this new fungus

species looks more like a sponge than a typical

mushroom. One of its characteristics is that its fruiting body can be squeezed like a sponge and bounce

back to its normal size and shape. This fungus, which smells fruity, was discovered in forests on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. Species name:

Spongiformasquarepantsii.

7. Nepalese autumn poppy

This vibrant, tall, yellow

poppy found in Nepal may

have gone undescribed because

of its high mountain

habitat (10,830 to 13,780

feet). There is evidence

this species was collected

before but not recognized

as new until botanists

collecting plants in heavy

monsoon rains made the “rediscovery.” Species name:

Meconopsis autumnalis.

8. Giant millipede.

This species holds a new record as the largest millipede

(16 cm or 6.3 in.) found in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains.

The species is about 1.5 cm (0.6 in.) in diameter with about 56 podous rings, or body segments bearing ambulatory limbs,each with two pairs of legs. Species

name: Crurifarcimen vagans

9. Walking cactus

Although this species looks more like a “walking cactus” than an animal, it belongs to an extinct group called the armoured Lobopodia, which had wormlike bodies and multiple pairs of legs. The fossil was discovered in Cambrian deposits about 520 million years old from southwestern China.           Species name: Diania cactiformis.

10. Sazima’s tarantula

Breathtakingly beautiful, this iridescent hairy blue tarantula

is the fi rst new animal species from Brazil to be named on the top 10 list. It is not the fi rst or only blue tarantula, but it is truly spectacular and from “island” ecosystems on fl attop mountains. Species name:

Pterinopelma sazimai.

Courtesy of Arizona State Univ

August 2012 • LabOutlook • 34