#newspecies

#newspecies

Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse is a Newly Discovered Fish in the MaldivesOh, this fish is pretty!The Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) is a newly-discovered fish species off the coast of Maldives. The creature’s pink hues earned it the name  ‘finifenmaa’ which meant ‘rose’ in the local Dhivehi language. In addition, its name was a tribute to the island nation’s national flower. Local Maldinevian scientists were involved in describing and analyzing the new species. “This time it is different and getting to be part of something for the first time has been really exciting, especially having the opportunity to work alongside top ichthyologists on such an elegant and beautiful species,” said study co-author and Maldives Marine Research Institute biologist Ahmed Najeeb.The researchers involved in the study took note of the anatomy and other details of the fish and compared it to a discovered specimen (C. rubrisquamis ) to confirm that C. finifenmaa is indeed a unique species. They have discovered that the two species are unique and are different from each other. However, before the C. finifenmaa was given its scientific name, it had already been exploited through the aquarium hobbyist trade. Image credit, in order of appearance: Yi-Kai Tea; Luiz Rocha © California Academy of Sciences#marinebiology #science #research #Maldives #newspecies

Humbertium covidum: "Alien" Predatory Flatworm named after COVID-19Scientists have named a newly discovered species of hammerhead flatwormHumbertium covidum. Sounds familiar? This predatory flatworm was named in homage to all the loved ones that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken from us.Like its name, the hammerhead flatworm has a distinctive hammer-shaped head. Its slick 3-cm long body is metallic black and, unlike many other flatworm species, lacks stripes or other ornamentation.Related: We Don't Talk About Covid, No no no

Ramisyllis kingghidorahi: New Species of Branching Worms Named After Godzilla's Nemesis King GhidorahThe naming of newly discovered organisms after famous people is not a new practice, but this particular species of branching worms is named after Japanese fictional monster Godzilla's archenemy, King Ghidorah.Ramisyllis kingghidorahiwas discovered in Sado Island, Japan. It lives in the internal canals of sea sponges. Like its three-headed, two-tailed namesake, R. kingghidorahi boasts a body that branches into multiple posterior ends. Interestingly, it only has one mouth. This finding baffles scientists with the following question: how can a single tiny mouth manage to fit a huge, branching body?An international multidisciplinary team of scientists led by Göttingen University described the new species in an article published in Organisms Diversity & Evolution.

Uvariopsis dicaprio: New Species of Evergreen Tree in Cameroon Named after Leonardo DiCaprioThe first new plant species to be given a scientific name in 2022 was this new tropical evergreen tree from the Ebo forest of Cameroon.The 4-meter tall plant, with distinctive yellow-green flower that grows on its trunk, was named Uvariopsis dicaprioin honor of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has campaigned to save the forest from logging.The plant was previously unknown to the scientific community as well as to local inhabitants. The tree was identified as new by Martin Cheek of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, together with his colleagues from the National Herbarium of Cameroon and the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon. "This is a plant which, for a botanist, just jumps out at you," says Cheek, "It's so spectacular."As there are fewer than 50 individual U. dicaprio trees found - and all are located in the same area of the Ebo forest, the species is considered critically endangered.Photo by: Lorna MacKinnon#NewSpecies #Cameroon #Tropical #Uvariopsisdicaprio #Environment #LeonardoDicaprio #plant

Trigonopterus corona: New Species of Tiny Beetle Named after the CoronavirusWhat was supposed to be a research trip to Papua New Guinea became a discovery of new weevil species for Alexander Riedel when he found himself grounded on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Together with Raden Pramesa Narakusumo, Riedel studied the local weevil specimens, and they discovered 24 species.The duo found it difficult to name the newly discovered species, but they settled calling one Trigonopterus corona, to show how much impact the pandemic had over the project.Some species had "standard" names, while others were named after Indonesian film characters and Star Wars characters, like the T. gundala and the T. yoda, respectively.Trigonopterus corona is not the first species to be named after the coronavirus. A caddisfly and some wasp species were named after it, too.More about this over at PENSOFT.(Image Credit: Alexander Riedel)#Taxonomy #Weevil #Beetle #NewSpecies

New Species of Dinosaur with Bizarre Armored Spikes Discovered in MoroccoA peculiar fossil with a series of spikes connected to a rib was recently discovered in the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco. It turned out to be the remains of the oldest ankylosaur ever found and was the first discovery of its kind in Africa.Dr. Susannah Maidment, a researcher at theNatural History Museum (NHM) and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham, said, “At first we thought the specimen could be part of a stegosaur, having previously found them at the same location. But on closer inspection, we realized the fossil was unlike anything we had ever seen.” She added, “It is completely unprecedented and unlike anything else in the animal kingdom.”Researchers named the species Spicomellus afer, with Spicomellus meaning “collar of spikes” and afer meaning “of Africa.”This extraordinary specimen was thought to be fake at first, but CT scans proved it to be real. The discovery also suggested that ankylosaurs and stegosaurs co-existed instead of competing with each other. Now, it is part of NHM’s collections and atopic for further studies.Image: Trustees of the Natural History Museum#dinosaur #ankylosaur #NewSpecies #spikes #discovery

Regular Guy Found a New Snail Species and Named it After Young Environmental Activist Greta ThunbergIn giving a species a scientific name, scientists use a two-name system called a Binomial Naming System. The first word is the genus and the second is the species. A new species of land snail was discovered by Citizen scientist J.P. Lim. Along with other participants and local staff of the National Park, they decided to name the mollusc Craspedotropis gretathunbergae. The snail was named after Greta Thunberg as their way of acknowledging that her generation will be responsible for fixing problems the older generation made. Thunberg is a Swedish activist known for her effort in raising awareness about climate change.Image: Taxon Expedition#GretaThunberg #Snail #NewSpecies

‘Mermaid’ Plant Species Discovered in IndiaBiologists have discovered a new plant species in Andamans, India.Initially found in 2019, it took Indian scientists almost two years to confirm that their discovery was novel. To be exact, experts spent 18 months comparing the new plant’s DNA with existing flora.Scientists from the Central University of Punjab named the new species Acetabularia jalakanyakae. The plant has caps with intricate designs, and according to Dr Felix Bast, it was “as if it were umbrellas of a mermaid." This particular feature led the scientists to name the plant after mermaids, with Jalakanyaka in Sanskrit translating to ‘mermaid’ and ‘a goddess of oceans’.Image credit: Felix Blast #NewDiscoveries #Plants #India #Science #AcetabulariaJalanyakae #MermaidPlant #NewSpecies #mermaid

Schneider's Marmoset: New Marmoset Species Discovered in Brazilian AmazonGood news: researchers have discovered a new species of marmoset in the Brazilian Amazon jungle. Bad news: the endangered species is found only in the "arc of deforestation," a section of the forest with the highest rates of land clearing and fires.A team of researchers led by Rodrigo CostaAraújo of Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi discovered the new marmoset species named the Schneider's marmoset (Mico schneideri). The species was named after Horacio Schneider, a pioneering Brazilian scientist in the field of diversity and evolution of monkeys.Araújo and his team noted that there are 16 marmoset species located in the arc of deforestation, but there's currently no conservation effort being made to address the loss of habitat for the animals.Image: Rodrigo Costa Araújo#marmoset #newspecies #Amazon #Brazil #monkey

This Antarctic Moss Depends on Penguin Poop to SurviveIndian biologist Felix Bast of the Central University of Punjab was on a mission to Antarctica where he stumbled upon a new species of moss.When he analyzed the moss sample back at his lab, Bast discovered that the moss only grew where it could find a source of nitrogen ... and in Antarctica, there was only one source: penguin poop!The new moss species was named Bryum Bharatiensis. Bharati is the Hindu goddess of learning and the name of one of India's Antarctic research stations.#moss #penguin #nitrogen #Antarctica #newspecies #poop #Bharati #HinduGod #goddess

Newly Discovered 'Zombie Frog' in the Amazon is Surprisingly CuteResearchers from the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Germany discovered a new species of small frogs in the Amazon, and nicknamed it the "zombie frog."Why you ask? It's because the frogs spend most of their lives buried in the soil (like dead bodies) and their existence was only discovered when the biologists noticed their mating calls after heavy rains. "We herpetologists have had to dig the animals out of the ground with our bare hands - usually while we were completely soaked ourselves - in order to identify them," said team leader Raffael Ernst as reported in Phys.org, "This somewhat eerie and muddy scenario also inspired us to use the name Synapturanus zombie for one of the newly discovered species from the narrow-mouthed frog genus Synapturanus in the Amazon region."#frog #zombie #Amazon #NewSpecies #herpetology