THE TOP 10 new species of 2015 have been announced, with the list including a ‘chicken from hell’, a cartwheeling spider and a pufferfish that makes crop circles under the sea. The list was announced by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, New York, and saw an international committee of taxonomists narrow down the 18,000 new species found last year to just 10. First established in 2008, the list gives attention to the new discoveries being made in spite of widespread extinctions—species are disappearing faster than they are being found. Here’s the list:
Cebrennus rechenbergi
What it is: Moroccan flic-flac spider
The cartwheeling spider was found in Morocco and uses an acrobatic spinning technique to escape predators. When danger appears, the spider assumes a threatening posture, but if it persists, the spider flees by cartwheeling away, going uphill as well as it goes downhill. Scientists believe it tries the threatening approach first because in the barren sand dunes there are not many places to hide—running away is thought to be a last resort, as the energy needed to escape would prove fatal if it had to cartwheel over a long distance in the extreme heat.
Anzu wyliei
What it is: Feathered dinosaur
This species had a mix of bird and dinosaur feathers and comes from a group that lived in North America with the likes of T.rex and Triceratops. It had hollow bones, a short snout and a beak like a parrot. It fed on vegetation, small animals and eggs.
Torquigener albomaculosus
What it is: A pufferfish that creates sandcastles under the sea
For nearly 20 years, scientists have puzzled over the origin of intricate circles with geometric designs about 6ft in diameter that appeared on the seafloor off the coast of Amami-Oshima Island in Japan. They turned out to be the work of a new species of pufferfish, Torquigener albomaculosus. Males construct these circles as spawning nests by swimming and wriggling in the seafloor sand. The nests, used only once, are made to attract females.
Balanophora coralliformis
What it is: An atypical tuber plant
This parasitic plant has elongated, repeatedly branching, and rough-textured tubers that grow above ground. These peculiar tubers give this root parasite from the Philippines a coral-like appearance distinct from the more typical underground tubers of related species. Parasitic plants do not contain chlorophyll, so they draw their nutrition from other living plants.
Deuteragenia ossarium
What it is: A predatory wasp
This insect from China constructs its nest in hollow stems with several cells separated by soil walls. The mother places one spider in each cell and after her egg is laid, she seals it off. She fills the last cell with up to 13 dead ants, providing a chemical barrier to the nest—locking the front door.
Limnonectes larvaepartus
What it is: Indonesian fanged frog
The fanged frog from Sulawesi Island gives birth to live tadpoles that are deposited in pools of water. Only around 10 of the planet’s 6,455 frog species have internal fertilisation—and all except this new species lay fertilised eggs or give birth to tiny froglets. It is just 1.5 inches long and its range is unknown, but researchers say it appears to live in forest habitats in areas occupied by other species from the same genus.
Dendrogramma enigmatica
What it is: A potentially new phylum of deep sea animal
This and another new species D discoids are multicellular animals that look a bit like a mushroom with a mouth at the stem. They are found off the coast of Australia at a depth of about 1 km. Scientists believe they are related to both Cnidaria (such as corals) and Ctenophora (comb jellies). However, they are not unique to either, so could be a completely new phylum.
Phryganistria tamdaoensis
What it is: A giant stick insect
The species from Vietnam is from a family known as giant sticks, but it measures just nine inches in length. It is common to the town of Tam Dao, yet had eluded entomologists for years. Researchers say more giant sticks are expected to be discovered and that at present, we know little about them.
Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum
What it is: A colourful sea slug
Not known for their beauty, this sea slug stands out for its striking good looks. It is a ‘missing link’ between sea slugs that feed on hydroids and those specialising on corals. This new species, which photographs in shades of blue, red and gold, also contributed to a better understanding of the origin of an unusual symbiosis in other species of the genus. Related sea slugs have multi-branched guts in which algae called zooanthellae live.
Tillandsia religiosa
What it is: A bromeliad plant
The plant is often incorporated into displays during Christmas celebrations in Mexico—in Sierra de Tepoztlán, Tlayacapan, San José de los Laureles and Tepoztlán in particular. The bromeliad plant turned out to be a completely new species to science. It grows up to 5 ft and is found in a rocky habitat in northern Morelos. They flower between December and March.
