New Old World Monkey

Photograph courtesy Maurice Emetshu via ASU

Spotted by researchers in the Lomami Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007, the lesula monkey (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) is only the second new species of monkey found in Africa in the past 28 years.

Conservationist John Hart and a team of scientists first spotted a juvenile female at the home of a primary school teacher in the town of Opala (map). The teacher had received the monkey from a family member who had killed the youngster’s mother.

The lesula monkey is one of ten newly described species from the past year that researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) hope will help raise awareness of biodiversity on Earth.

On Thursday, the ASU researchers released their list of what they say are the top 10 newly discovered species from last year, an annual tradition dating to 2007. The group always unveils the list on the anniversary of the birth of botanist Carolus Linnaeus, the man responsible for devising the scientific classification of organisms.

“There are a lot of scientists now that think we could lose 50 percent of the species [on Earth] before the end of the 21st century,” said Arizona State University researcher Quentin Wheeler, who specializes in discovering new species and figuring out how they fit into the evolutionary history of life on Earth.

“I find it ironic that we’re spending so much money on these telescopes to hunt for Earth-like planets while we’re allowing the most Earth-like planet of all to be decimated.”

—Jane J. Lee 

Night-Light Cockroach

Images courtesy Peter Vrsansky, Slovak Academy of Sciences

Scientists described this glowing cockroach (Lucihormetica luckae) in a paper last September based on one specimen collected 70 years ago. It is possibly already extinct.

Found in Ecuador near the Tungurahua volcano, no more specimens of L. luckae have been found since a major volcanic eruption in 2010, according to news accounts.

It’s a rare example of mimicry using bioluminescence. The roach’s glowing yellow pattern looks similar to the pattern found on another glowing insect—the click beetle. The roach imitates the poisonous beetle in the hopes of fooling predators. (See pictures of other animals that glow.)

Dangerous Beauty

Image courtesy MBARI via ASU

The lyre sponge (Chondrocladia lyra) may look like an underwater candelabra, but make no mistake: It’s a carnivore with indiscriminate tastes. Its vertical stalks maximize the surface area exposed to drifting, microscopic prey.

The new sponge was discovered off the coast of Northern California in 11,100 feet (3,400 meters) of water by researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. (Related: “Earliest Animals Were Sea Sponges, Fossils Hint.“)

Penny-Sized Flower

Image courtesy Harvey Ballard via ASU

Not only is this newly described violet (Viola lilliputana) one of the smallest violets known, it’s also one of the smallest terrestrial flowers in the world. (Learn more about flowering plants.)

Found in the Andes of Peru, scientists first collected specimens in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until December 2012 that researchers formally described this new species in a paper.

Harmless Mimic

Photograph courtesy Sevastian Lotzkat via ASU

Not only is this newly described snake an example of mimicry—its color pattern imitates the deadly coral snake—it’s also a poster reptile for protest.

Its scientific name, Sibon noalamina, is Spanish for “no to the mine.” This snake lives in the Serrania de Tabasara mountain range (map) of Panama, an area with heavy mining activity that is destroying natural habitat.

The researchers hoped that the snake’s unusual name would draw attention to the deforestation issues in Panama, according to Mongabay.com.

Fungus Among Us

Image courtesy Pedro M. Martin-Sanchez via ASU

This unassuming organism has the power to wipe out the past. It’s a black fungus (Ochroconis anomala) that is staining prehistoric art on the walls of Lascaux Cave in France (map).

The paintings, dated to the Upper Paleolithic period around 40,000 to 10,000 years ago, began to disappear under the black fungus in 2001.

“The [fungus experts] actually think the treatments that got rid of a previous fungus ended up encouraging the growth of this new one,” said Arizona State’s Wheeler.

“I normally don’t think of undescribed species having such a profound threat on cultural treasures,” he said. “Most of the noxious species that we think of are the usual suspects—they’re very common and worldwide. And for a species new to science to become a threat, I just find fascinating.”

World’s Tiniest Vertebrate

Photograph courtesy Christopher Austin, Louisiana State University

This newly described frog (Paedophryne amauensis) lives among the leaf litter on the floor of New Guinea’s rain forests.

So small that it perches comfortably on the U.S. dime, members of this species are the world‘s smallest vertebrates. Adults grow to about 0.3 inches (7.7 millimeters), barely shorter than the world’s previous record-holder, an Indonesian carp whose females gets as big as 0.31 inches (7.9 millimeters). (Listen to this frog chirp.)

Showy Discovery

Photograph courtesy David Rabehevitra via ASU

This six-foot-tall (two-meter-tall) shrub (Eugenia petrikensis) resides in the forests of eastern Madagascar. Its glossy, green foliage is accented with bunches of bright pink flowers. The plant grows in sandy soil. (Read about Madagascar‘s biological bonanza in National Geographic magazine.)

Ancient Camouflage

Photograph courtesy Wang, Labandeira, Shih, and Ren via ASU

Mixed among fossilized ginkgo-like leaves (Yimaia capituliformis) from 165 million years ago, researchers found an ancient hangingfly (Juracimbrophlebia ginkgofolia).

The fly’s wings almost perfectly match the shape of the ginkgo-like leaves, the authors note in an article published last year in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Related pictures: “Oldest Flying Insect Imprint Found.“)

Social Meets Science

Photograph courtesy Guek Hock Ping via ASU

When Hock Ping Guek uploaded a picture of a green lacewing (Semachrysa jade) to the photo-sharing website flickr, he set in motion a series of events culminating in the recognition that this insect was a new species.

Shaun Winterton, an insect researcher with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, saw the picture on flickr and thought it might be a new species, according to an account in The Guardian. But scientists needed to examine an actual specimen to be sure.

So Guek collected a female S. jade and sent it to Steve Brooks, an insect specialist at the Natural History Museum in London, who confirmed the lacewing was a new species.

Winterton, Brooks, and Guek eventually described their find in a paper published August 2012. The “jade” in the lacewing’s scientific name refers to Winterton’s daughter, Jade.

source:::National geographical daily news

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