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Old September 8th, 2014 #241
Alex Linder
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New parasitoid wasp species found in China

For the first time, wasps in the genus Spasskia (family: Braconidae) have been found in China, according to an article in the open-access Journal of Insect Science. In addition, a species in that genus which is totally new to science was also discovered.

The new species, Spasskia brevicarinata, is very small — male and female adults are less than one centimeter long. It is similar to a previously described species called Spasskia indica, but the ridges on some of its body segments are different. In fact, the species epithet brevicarinata reflects a short ridge on its first tergite, as "brevi" is Latin for short and "carinata" is Latin for ridge.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-npw090814.php
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #242
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New Species of Non-Venomous Snake Discovered in Brazil

By IANS
Published: 20th August 2014

BRASILIA: Scientists from four Brazilian institutions have announced the discovery of a new species of non-venomous snake that inhabits the savannas in the central part of the country.

The new serpent has been dubbed Atractus Spinalis and belongs to the Dipsadidae family, found in several countries of the Americas and some Caribbean islands.

The snake was found and identified by scientists of the federal universities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, who carried out their studies in collaboration with researchers from the Brazilian National Centre for Research and Conservation of Reptiles and Amphibians, and with the support of the Boticario Group Foundation for Nature Protection.

The specimen found is 30 cm long, its skin is reddish with light brown markings and is of a yellowish hue underneath, the foundation said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The communique said it was found under some rocks in the Serra do Espinhaco, a mountain range that extends between the savannas in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia.

Atractus Spinalis joins the 1,815 species of reptiles and amphibians already identified in Brazil though scientists believe there are many more that are yet to be discovered.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/worl...cle2389380.ece




http://www.laprensasa.com/309_americ...in-brazil.html
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #243
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Aquitanian Pike: New Fish Species Discovered in France
Aug 30, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

French ichthyologists led by Dr Philippe Keith of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris have described a new species of pike from the Charente to the Adour drainages of France.



In France, pike is considered by default to be Esox lucius, a species commonly known as the Northern pike.

The fish is native to the Rhine, Seine, Loire, and Rhône drainages. There are records of its introduction in the small coastal French Mediterranean rivers out of the Rhône itself.

Archeological data indicate the presence of the Northern pike in the region called Aquitaine during the Pleistocene (2.5 million to 11,700 years ago), suggesting that it is native to the Dordogne and Garonne rivers and maybe also in the Adour drainage.

To clarify the taxonomy of pikes present in France, Dr Keith and his colleagues from the University of Claude-Bernard in Lyon and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris analyzed morphological and molecular data on 19th century and recent specimens collected in the main French drainages.

Surprisingly, the data revealed the presence of three distinct species: the expected and widely distributed Northern pike (Esox lucius), the Cisalpine pike (Esox cisalpinus, in the 19th century in Lake Geneva) and a previously unknown species.

The new species has been named the Aquitanian pike (Esox aquitanicus) as it was found in Aquitaine.

“The fish has grey to yellow-green flanks adorned with 16 to 30 oblique vertical bars with a width of 1–1.5 scale (very well marked in juveniles), which tend to be discontinuous into little irregular white blotches in larger fish, conferring a marbled aspect with very small white blotches,” Dr Keith and his co-authors wrote in a paper published in the journal Comptes Rendus Biologies.

“The fins’ color is yellow to orange. Dark pigmentation on paired fins are faint, as opposed to the unpaired fins which have well-developed dark vermiculations.”

Like the Northern and the Cisalpine pike, young individuals of the Aquitanian pike have a contrasting brownish vertical bar under the eye.

According to Dr Keith’s team, the new fish can exceed 1 meter in total length.

“A pike of 1.37 meters was mentioned by a French scientist in 1853 in Lake Cazeau, right in the heart of the distribution area of the Aquitanian pike.”

The fish is present in the Charente, Dordogne, Eyre, and Adour basins. Lake Mouriscot constitutes its currently known most southern location.

“The Aquitanian pike should have similar ecological characteristics as the Northern pike in terms of habitat, behavior, and predation, because no difference were mentioned about ecological traits between Aquitanian and the other French pike populations, except an earlier spawning in February instead of March-April.”

When there is cohabitation between the two species, the Aquitanian pike is able to hybridize with the Northern pike.

“It is possible that Aquitanian pike is stocked and sold as the Northern pike by fish farmers of southwestern France, in order to restock waterbodies in France or abroad for sport fishing,” the scientists said.

“Studies are strongly required to better assess the actual status and distribution of this new species.”

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/scie...nce-02124.html
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #244
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The good news: scientists have discovered a colorful new species of tree frog in a nature preserve in northwestern Madagascar.

The bad news: due to how small the area is in which the frog is found and the continuing degradation of forest habitat on the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa, the researchers who discovered the animal are recommending that it be listed as “critically endangered,” meaning there is a very high likelihood that the animal will go extinct in the wild in the near future.

Boophis ankarafensis, as the scientists have dubbed the amphibian, is bright green with red speckles red on its head and back. It was found on the Sahamalaza Peninsula in the Ankarafa forest, from whence its name comes.

http://www.newsweek.com/new-frog-spe...listing-265404
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #245
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Five New “Flying Monkeys” Identified in Amazon
Posted by Christine Dell'Amore of National Geographic in Weird & Wild on August 29, 2014

Five species of acrobatic monkey that have long flown under the scientific radar have been named in South America.

These “flying monkeys,” or sakis, are notoriously shy and hard to study in their vast Amazon rain forest homes, where they’re known to sail quickly from treetop to treetop.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic....america-sakis/
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #246
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See-Through Frogs With Green Bones Discovered in Peru
Posted by James Owen in Weird & Wild on August 25, 2014



Four new species of see-through frogs, three of which reveal green bones, have been discovered by researchers in northern Peru.

Showing their beating hearts and other body organs in x-ray detail, the newfound amphibians belong to the aptly named glass frog family (Centrolenidae).

Uncovered during extensive surveys in the Peruvian Andes, the “four remarkable species” were described August 12 in the journal Zootaxa.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic....vered-in-peru/
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #247
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Eight New Species of Spiny Predatory Katydids Discovered in Brazil
August 13, 2014 by Entomology Today Leave a Comment



Cerberodon portokalipes, one of eight new species of predatory katydids discovered recently in Brazil.

Researchers in Brazil have discovered eight new species of the katydid subfamily Listroscelidinae. In addition, they have redefined the tribe Listroscelidini and have added a new tribe and a new genus, based on morphological and molecular data. Their research was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

http://entomologytoday.org/2014/08/1...red-in-brazil/
 
Old September 8th, 2014 #248
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
Eight New Species of Spiny Predatory Katydids Discovered in Brazil
August 13, 2014 by Entomology Today Leave a Comment



Cerberodon portokalipes, one of eight new species of predatory katydids discovered recently in Brazil.

Researchers in Brazil have discovered eight new species of the katydid subfamily Listroscelidinae. In addition, they have redefined the tribe Listroscelidini and have added a new tribe and a new genus, based on morphological and molecular data. Their research was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

http://entomologytoday.org/2014/08/1...red-in-brazil/
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Old September 29th, 2014 #249
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Biologist Discover New Poison Dart Frog Species in Panama




Biologists have discovered a new bright orange dart frog species with a unique call in Donoso, Panama.

The frog that was hidden in the headwaters of the Rio Cano in Panama, grabbed the attention of the researchers for the first time when they heard the unique characteristic call. The specimen was described by researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Universidad Autonoma de Chiriqui, Panama and Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

The poison dart frog dubbed 'Andinobates geminisae' after Geminis Vargas - the wife of co-author Marcos Ponce - for her support. The species was initially collected in February 21, 2011 by field assistant Samuel Valdes.

Apart from the specimens at headwaters of the Rio Cano, biologists Marcos Ponce and Abel Batista collected additional specimens between Rio Cocle del Norte and the Rio Belen. These specimens were later transferred to the University of Panama.

"Abel Batista and Marcos Ponce were the first to note the presence of this species," said Smithsonian herpetologist Cesar Jaramillo. "They've known it was there for several years. However, they were not sure if it was only a variety of another poison dart frog species, Oophaga pumilio, which exhibits tremendous color variation. Based on morphological characteristics of the adult and the tadpole, I thought it might be a new species of Andinobates."

It was only after Professor Andrew Crawford at the Universidad de Los Andes sequenced the DNA of the bright orange frog, the researchers confirmed that the new species was new poisonous dart frog called Andinobates. Further details on the frog's genetics are available at the Barcode of Life Data System and in GenBank.

Sadly, since this new frog species was collected from the small area, threats like habitat loss and gathering the species for pet trade cause a great harm to their existence. Due to this, the biologists recommend the formulation of special conservation plans to guarantee the survival of the species.

"A. geminisae is included in the captive breeding program of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project, a consortium of six zoos and research institutions dedicated to saving amphibians from the chytrid fungal disease, which is decimating amphibians worldwide, and habitat loss," according to the news release.

The finding is published this week in Zootaxa.

The recording call of the new dart frog is available at AmphibiaWeb.Org.

Biologist Discover New Poison Dart Frog Species in Panama
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #250
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Scientists discover new species of legless amphibian in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains



Scientists have discovered a new species of legless amphibian in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.

The new species, Ichthyophis cardamomensis, is a caecilian, an order of limbless amphibians often mistaken for snakes, with larger species known to grow to 1.5 metres in length. This discovery, at only 30 cm, is linked to the continuing ground-breaking work at the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC) in Phnom Penh, a joint initiative of Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).
Leading Cambodian FFI herpetologist Neang Thy has been researching amphibians and reptiles since 2003 and is very excited that the I. cardamomensis species has been officially confirmed. This discovery is one of three new species of unstriped Ichthyophis caecelians (the other two were found in Vietnam) introduced in the 'New Ichthyophis species from Indochina' paper published recently in the Organisms Diversity & Evolution scientific journal (published by the Society for Biological Systematics).

Between 2009 and 2011, Cambodian species samples were collected by Neang Thy and Dr Lee Grismer from the US La Sierra University with final confirmation from lead paper author, Dr Peter Geissler from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany.

Why caecilians are important to conservation

The I.cardamomensis species is only the second caecilian species ever discovered in Cambodia. The other is the striped Koa Tao Island caecilian, I. kohtaoensis, which is also found in, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

"These discoveries are important to demonstrate that much of Cambodia's biodiversity remains unknown and unstudied by science, and many more areas need to be searched," Thy said.

The forested Cardamom Mountains Range represents some of the largest remaining areas of habitat for more than 80 threatened species, including Asian elephant and gaur.
Thy said in recent years the Cardamom region had revealed its extensive reptile and amphibian diversity, including frogs, turtles, lizards and crocodiles.

"We are still learning about this area and the animals in it, since it was a region
formerly held by the Khmer Rouge and the mountains were closed to researchers until the 1990s,"
he said.

"The Cardamom region it is under threat from logging, land concessions, and other habitat destruction, and the danger of any new species, including the new caecilian, is that they may be discovered one year and go extinct the next."

Caecilians have a valuable role in the ecosystems of tropical and subtropical regions, including providinga food source for the red tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus). Caecilians eat invertebrates, such as earthworms, ants and termites.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-01-scienti...bodia.html#jCp
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #251
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New tree frog species found in Central Highlands

VietNamNet Bridge - Scientists have discovered a new tree frog species in Kon Tum and Gia Lai provinces in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.



The new species is named Kurixalus motokawai to honor Dr. Masaharu Motokawa from Kyoto University. He is a researcher of mammals and has made many contributions to the study and conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam.

This is the second species of Kurixalus tree frog discovered in the Central Highlands in 2014, bringing the total number of species of tree frog in Vietnam to 73, accounting for 20% of all species of tree frogs of the world.

Morphologically, Kurixalus motokawai sp. nov. is most similar to K. banaensis but they are clearly separate from each other in mitochondrial DNA sequences. In phylogenetic analysis, the new species is clustered in the same clade with Kurixalus banaensis and K. viridescens.

However, the new species differs from K. banaensis by having a smaller body size, a higher ratio of forelimb length/SVL in both sexes, a smaller ratio of first toe length/SVL in males, a snout tip less markedly pointed, and weakly developed dermal appendages on the outer edges of fore- and hindlimbs.

Kurixalus motokawai sp. nov. also differs from K. viridescens by having a smaller size in females and a brown dorsum with dark markings.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/sci...highlands.html
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #252
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Five fascinating species discovered by Smithsonian scientists in 2014
In conservation biology, Research News, zoology / 27 December 2014

By Micaela Jemison

1. Poison dart frog from Panama

If you had the chance to name a poisonous species, would you name it after your wife? That’s what Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute researcher Marcos Ponce did when he and his team discovered a bright orange poison dart frog in Donoso, Panama. His wife, Geminis Vargas, was the inspiration for the new species, Andinobates geminisae, “for her unconditional support of his studies of Panamanian herpetology.” Read more…



2. Dragon-like mite

This new species has a face only a mother could love. But when you aren’t looking for a mate it doesn’t matter if you are attractive. Osperalycus tenerphagus, less than a millimeter long, has evolved an all-female lineage. No males and no mating. They lay eggs that don’t need to be fertilized, making little clones of themselves. The species was discovered in Ohio by Samuel Bolton, an entomologist and fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and researcher at Ohio State. Read more…



3. Bolivia’s golden bat

Whether or not you like bats,, you can’t deny this new species is golden. Myotis midastactus, is just one of more than six species described by Ricardo Moratelli, a scientist at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Brazil) and post-doctoral fellow at
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Read more…



4. Armored catfish from Colombia

Farlowella yarigui is a new species of stick catfish from South America, so called because the thin, elongated bodies of these fish mimic sticks. About 5 inches long, it lives on the bottom of clear-running streams among partially submerged vegetation and sticks. This discovery by Gustavo Ballen from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute represents the first and only species of its genus found living in the Magdalena River basin, west of the Andes Mountains in South America. Read more…



5. Poppy pollinating fly

The new fly, named Sericomyia khamensis, mimics the bumble bee to fool predators into leaving it alone. Found in the highlands of southern China by Christian Thompson, an entomologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, these flies are pollinators of the yellow poppy (Meconopsis integrifolia). Like bees, the female flies visit yellow poppies to drink nectar, but unlike their fellow pollinators they also eat the poppy pollen on the spot. Read more…



http://smithsonianscience.org/2014/1...scovered-2014/
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #253
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Elephant shrew and sea slugs among 221 new species of animal discovered this year

Species include 110 ants, 16 beetles, 3 spiders, 28 fish, 24 sea slugs, 2 marine worms, 9 barnacles, 2 octocorals, 25 plants and one mammal

- They were found by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco
- The mammal, a small round-eared sengi, was found in Namibia
- 'Hero ant' of Madagascar builds a clay nest to promote oxygen exchange
- Individuals also sacrifice themselves for the good of their colony
- Species were found in remote caves, the bottom of the sea, in African deserts and even in heavily populated areas of California
- Scientists predict we have found just 10 per cent of species on the planet


Catch of the day: A gigantic deep water worm eel, called Pylorobranchus hearstorum is the largest of its kind found off the Philippines measuring nearly 50 inches (127cm) from head to tail - almost twice as long and three times heavier than any known worm eel

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ered-year.html
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #254
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New fish species discovered in deepest part of Pacific Ocean

BY CAREY REED December 20, 2014

A new fish species has been discovered living at the greatest depths ever explored in the Pacific Ocean, researchers announced Friday.

Biology professor Paul Yancey and students from Washington state’s Whitman College found the translucent fish swimming in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean and Earth’s deepest location found off the coast of Guam.

A video shows the yet-to-be-named fish gliding slowly and looks almost as if it’s wearing a diaphanous nightgown that rises and falls behind it.

In addition to discovering this new species, researchers also brought back the deepest rock samples ever collected.

These discoveries will help scientists better understand this elusive part of the sea and the creatures that live under its extreme conditions. The research also gives insight into climate change as scientists look at how much carbon the sea absorbs and the effects it has on organisms there.

While past explorations of this cavernous crescent shaped part of the sea focused on reaching its deepest spot, Challenger Deep, Whitman College scientists on research vessel Falkor targeted depths ranging from 16,404 to 34,777 feet with five deep-sea vehicles called landers.

The Mariana Trench is nearly seven miles deep at 36,201 feet. In other words, if Mount Everest were placed at its bottom, the peak would remain 7,000 feet below sea level, according to National Geographic.

Five times longer than the Grand Canyon, the trench has been protected under the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, which former President George W. Bush put into effect in 2009. The protected area covers roughly 61 million acres of submerged lands and the waters above.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/...ells-deep-sea/
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #255
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New tiny species of snails discovered in Kenting
2015/01/14



Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) Researchers have discovered an entirely new species of land snail at Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan notable for its tiny size of just 0.2 centimeters.

The eagle-eyed research team that spotted the new species, named Hypselostoma kentingensis after the area it was discovered, was headed by Hwang Chung-chi, an assistant professor at the Department of Life Science at the National University of Kaohsiung.

They discovered the species during a field survey in 2010, and the finding was published on the January 2014 issue of the Bulletin of Malacology, a journal of the Malacological Society of Taiwan.

The fact that people can still find unidentified species of snails in low-lying areas like Kenting means "we still have limited knowledge of the biodiversity on this land," Hwang said Wednesday.

Hypselostoma is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails with whorl shells that have wide openings relative to their size.

The new find brings the number of recorded air-breathing land snail species at the national park to over 30 kinds, Kenting National Park Headquarters said.

According to the park, H. kentingensis was hard to spot because of its small size and coloring similar to the rocks on which it climbs.

The snail lives on hillside lime rocks and is resistant to heat and dryness, but only active at night and on rainy days, the park headquarters said, noting that the species is similar to snails with wide openings in Luzon, the Philippines, and Miyakojima, Okinawa, leading to speculation that they are related.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aedu/201501140033.aspx
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #256
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98 new species of beetles discovered in Indonesia

By Rachel Feltman December 22, 2014


These are the 98 new species of Trigonopterus plus T. amphoralis (row 1, 7th from left), a species lost since 1922. (Alexander Riedel)

[blacks and whites are the same species, but these beetles are all different species. does that make sense?]

There's an old story that gets tossed around about evolutionary biologist J.B. Haldane on the origin of what would become one of his favorite phrases. Someone asked him what his studies of the natural world had revealed about the nature of "the creator" if one existed.

Well, Haldane replied: If he exists, he has an inordinate fondness for beetles.

And indeed, the world has an awful lot of beetles. When you ignore bacteria (which are obviously ridiculously diverse), beetles are probably the most diverse kind of life there is. If you stuck your hand into a bag full of one of every plant, fungi, animal and insect species on the planet (ew), you'd probably pull a beetle out.

So it's no surprise that a recent expedition to find new insects in Indonesia was rather fruitful in the beetle department.

All members of the genus Trigonopterus, these beetles hail from Indonesian islands, such as Java and Bali. Museum scientists from Germany and from the Indonesian Research Center of Biology searched the leaf litter of island forests and found 99 members of the genus -- only one of which had previously been discovered.

Many of the species seem to live only in small populations in a single location, the researchers report. Because the beetles are small and can't fly, they very quickly become isolated from other clusters of bugs. So it doesn't take long for those little groups to evolve into completely different species.

The researchers blazed through the process of sequencing the new beetles' DNA. Because a lot of the rainforest in the area is now being eyed as potential farmland, they wanted to do their best to quickly show just how diverse and delicate the beetle population is.

Of course, 98 new species means 98 new names. The researchers named some for color and some for location, a few for body shape and some using Indonesian numbers. But they did indulge in one classic choice: Trigonopterus attenboroughi is named for the famed naturalist David Attenborough, joining a long and diverse list of species dedicated in his honor.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/s...-in-indonesia/
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #257
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New Bird Species Discovered in 2014
Jan 3, 2015 by Sci-News.com

A cryptic species of treehunter from northeastern Brazil, a small passerine bird from the Brazilian state Bahia and two tiny birds from Indonesia are among new species of birds described in the past year.

1. Cryptic treehunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti) from Brazil:



The Cryptic treehunter is a member of the South American bird family Furnariidae (ovenbirds).

It is about 22 cm long, with the tail accounting for more than one-third of the length, and weighs about 48 g.

According to ornithologists, it is one of the rarest birds in the world.

It is known from only two sites in northeastern Brazil – the type locality at Murici in the state of Alagoas, and Frei Caneca in the state of Pernambuco.

Based on intensive fieldwork at Murici as part of the conservation project of BirdLife International Brazil Programme, the ornithologists said, we estimated that a maximum of 5-10 pairs may have existed in the entire reserve in 2004; however, the number of birds remaining is likely lower. At Frei Caneca, we estimate that no more than one or two pairs survive.

2. Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii) from Indonesia:



The Sulawesi streaked flycatcher belongs to Muscicapa, a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.

This species has a body weight of about 12.5 g. The wing length (flattened) is 6.4 cm and the tail length is 4.5 cm.

It is widely distributed in lowland and submontane forest throughout the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

3. Bahian mouse-colored tapaculo (Scytalopus gonzagai) from Brazil:



The Bahian mouse-colored tapaculo measures an average of 12 cm in length and weighs an average of 15 g.

It belongs to Scytalopus, a genus of small passerine birds in the family Rhinocryptidae.

It is a difficult-to-see creature living mostly among the dark, dense plant cover of humid places.

4. Wakatobi flowerpecker (Dicaeum kuehni) from Indonesia:



The Wakatobi flowerpecker belongs to Dicaeum, a genus in the flowerpecker family Dicaeidae.

It is a very tiny songbird, measuring 12 cm and weighing 7 g. It is endemic to the Wakatobi Islands of Indonesia.

5. Elachuridae, a new bird family from Asia:



Elachuridae is represented by just one species – the Spotted wren-babbler (Elachura formosa).

This species is a small perching bird found in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

It measures about 10 cm in length and has a short tail. It is brown above, white below, with rufous wings. It also has white speckles all over its body.

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/scie...014-02380.html
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #258
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New Species of Varanus Discovered in Australia
Jan 5, 2015 by Sci-News.com

A team of scientists led by Dr Stephen Donnellan of the University of Adelaide has described a new species of Varanus lizard from the Dampier Peninsula, western Kimberley region.


The Dampier Peninsula goanna (Varanus sparnus)

Lizards of the genus Varanus, commonly referred to as goannas or monitors, are a moderately diverse group with 77 species from Australia, Asia and Africa. Australia is the most species-rich region with 31 species.

The discovery of a new species, named the Dampier Peninsula goanna (Varanus sparnus), is significant as it is the world’s smallest species in the genus.

Varanus also contains large-bodied species such as the Australian desert-dwelling perentie (Varanus giganteus) at over 2 meters long, and the famous Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) from Indonesia at over 3 meters long and over 80 kg.

In contrast, the Dampier Peninsula goanna has a maximum known size of only 23 cm and weighs just 16 grams.

“Observations of the captive individual indicate that this species is a highly active burrower, excavating underneath all hard structures, such as flat pieces of wood and a heating stone,” Dr Donnellan and his colleagues wrote in a paper published in the Records of the Western Australian Museum.

“This specimen readily consumed both live food (Tenebrio larvae, crickets) and wet cat food. Attempts to photograph this species in life were difficult, as the animals were constantly moving and rarely paused.”

Dampier Peninsula goanna has an apparently extremely restricted distribution, completely confined to the relatively small Dampier Peninsula area.

“This is in contrast to its two closest relatives, Varanus brevicauda and V. eremius, which nearly range across the entire arid zone that comprises the majority of the Australian continent.”

“The discovery of the new species highlights the high biodiversity values of the Kimberley region, and the possibility that more exciting finds await,” the scientists said.

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/scie...lia-02383.html
 
Old January 14th, 2015 #259
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107 new species discovered in Gulf, newspaper reports



More than 100 new Gulf of Mexico species, living in deep water areas, have been discovered, The Houma Courier newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A study released earlier this month following a five-year Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded field study uncovered 107, mainly microscopic new species of organisms.

The objectives of the study were to discover and characterize the sea floor communities that live in association with hydrocarbon seeps and on hard ground in the deep Gulf below a depths of 3,300 feet, according to a BOEM statement.

"With continuing interest in oil and gas development in deeper Gulf of Mexico waters, it is imperative for BOEM and other stakeholders to know what forms of marine life inhabit those waters in order to safeguard them during energy operations," BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank said in the statement earlier this month. "The incredible range of discoveries made during this study contributes greatly to our knowledge of the deep Gulf and enables long-term environmental monitoring as resource development takes place."

Paul Sammarco, with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Chauvin, told The Houma Courier that "It helps the understanding of the evolution of organisms."

The discoveries included a new species of tube worms and one of the largest-known mussel beds in the deep Gulf. The ocean excursions took place in 2006 and 2007 and used a manned vehicle, Alvin, and the remotely operated vehiclem Jason II, according to the BOEM.

http://www.nola.com/environment/inde...overed_in.html

Last edited by Alex Linder; January 14th, 2015 at 11:01 PM.
 
Old January 23rd, 2015 #260
Jimmy Marr
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The aggressive Brazilian ant Crematogaster ampla has a free rider problem. Imposter ants copy its body language. They infiltrate its territory, follow its scent trails, and mooch from its food sources. But for now these infiltrators must avoid touching their hosts, because something about them just doesn’t smell right.

The imposter is the mirror turtle ant Cephalotes specularis, as described in a new study by Scott Powell, an ant biologist at George Washington University. The way Ce. specularis “mirrors” Cr. ampla on jaunts through Cr. ampla‘s heavily guarded territory is a never-before-seen stage in the evolution of social parasitism, or when one organism hacks the culture of another.


Mirror turtle ant workers feeding on baited tree bark, with raised, shiny rear ends like their hosts Crematogaster ampla.
“This is literally the discovery of a species and a new parasitic syndrome at the same time,” said ant ecologist Michael Kaspari of the University of Oklahoma, who was unaffiliated with the work. “It’s the best kind of discovery science.”

Even in the world of ant parasitism—a world of slavery and Manchurian-candidate queens—Ce. specularis is weird. Powell first noticed the species out of the corner of his eye, in the midst of a swarm of Cr. ampla on a baited tree.

“Something I’d just seen wasn’t quite right,” he said. “There were these two or three ants that were almost identical to the host ant, but just sort of dodging around in amongst the chaos.” Powell and his Brazilian colleagues were intrigued. What kind of intruder was this?

The Brazilian cerrado, where both ants live, is wooded savannah. As many as 20 ant species can coexist on a single tree. Yet Powell’s team didn’t find any other ant species at nearly 200 of the host Cr. ampla’s feeding sites, likely because of the zeal with which Cr. ampla chases—and then dismembers—foreigners. No other ants, that is, except the turtle ant Ce. specularis.

While most other turtle ants adopt squat, defensive stances, Ce. specularis protects itself through mimicry. Unlike even their own soldiers, foraging Ce. specularis worker ants are dark and shiny, and they walk with their rear ends raised up in the air—all to dupe the host Cr. ampla. They even copy the same walking speed and stilt-like posture.

This lets mirror turtle ants “pass” in hostile territory, granting them access to the same food their hosts find. Although mirror turtle ants live separately from their hosts, their nests are exclusively found in Cr. ampla’s domain, suggesting deep dependence. Lab work shows that Ce. specularis ants are drawn to the pheromones marking Cr. ampla scavenging trails even more than the signals left by their own species.

That tension, between free living and dependence, is what makes Ce. specularis so interesting. Evolution treats successful species like Cr. ampla as obstacles in a landscape, forcing other creatures to find ways to go around—or through. Parasitism is a fascinating option, Kaspari said.

“Parasites were the first neurobiologists,” he said. “Natural selection has provided ample opportunity for one organism to mess with another organism, to exploit it by understanding how it perceives the world.”

Although the mirror turtle ant has appearances down, it still hasn’t fooled its host’s finely tuned sense of smell. When traffic is congested along Cr. ampla trails, Ce. specularis skirts the edges, shuffling out of the way to avoid contact. If jostled together, Powell’s team observed, the host ants do a “double-take.” But before Cr. ampla can take up arms, the intruders have already fled.

The endgame, for many parasites, is seamless integration and dependence. But Ce. specularis isn’t there – at least not yet. Regardless of whether the mirror turtle ant is heading down that road, its current semi-independent lifestyle makes it easier to study than parasites who cohabitate with their hosts.

“You’re offered a lot of opportunities to understand some of the costs and benefits of that evolutionary transition from free-living to parasite,” Powell said. With “a deeply entrenched parasite, you can never tease those things apart.”

Finding such a unique relationship takes careful attention and knack for details, Kaspari notes. Dedication doesn’t hurt, either. Building off earlier studies, he said, Powell attracted his ants with a high-sodium bait the paper refers to as “vertebrate urine.”

“His team fills up bottles every morning,” Kaspari said. “They really give 110%.”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/ev...ciess-culture/
 
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