New species discovered in 2022

Tapir Valley Tree Frog

 

Scientists continue to discover thousands of new species every year, and 2022 has uncovered some interesting new creatures, from the delightful tapir valley tree frog in Costa Rica to the rather disgusting giant keelback slug from Europe.  

Giant Keelback Slug

Read this article at discoverwildlife.com: 24 new species discovered this year

In your blog discuss your favorite new species discovered in 2022 and answer one of the following questions: 

 - Why do you think scientists are still discovering new species, even though humans inhabit almost every habitat on Earth?  

- What methods did the scientists use to study and identify these new species?

  

- Discuss some of your favorite names that scientists used in 2022.  If you had to name a new species, what would you name it and why?  

                                                                Happy Blogging!

Chirique Fire Salamander

World’s Tiniest Chameleons Found in Madagascar

Researchers have recently discovered four new chameleon species, which rank among the world’s tiniest reptiles. Adults of the smallest species are just over an inch from snout to tail.

The four new species belong to the genus Brookesia, also known as the leaf chameleons, which live in remote rainforests in northern Madagascar. The genus is already known to contain some very small species, with members typically resembling juvenile versions of larger species.

Brookesia species tend to live within a very small range. Half the members of this genus are found in only a single location and the smallest of the newly found species — Brookesia micra — lives only on a small island called Nosy Hara. Extreme miniaturization of this sort is common in island populations. Known as island dwarfism, it may occur due to limited resources and pressure to reproduce faster.

Read more in the original article here.

'Supergiant' amphipod discovered in deep sea near New Zealand

Scientists on an expedition to sample a deep-sea trench got a surprise when their traps brought back seven giant crustaceans glimpsed only a handful of times in human history.

The "supergiant" amphipods are more than 20 times larger than their typical crustacean relatives, which are generally less than a half-inch long, and thrive in lakes and oceans around the world. They are sometimes called the "insects of the sea."

The largest of the seven specimens was about 11 inches long.

The pale, leggy creatures were found 4 miles down in the Kermadec Trench, off the northeast coast of New Zealand, one of the deepest trenches on Earth.

In addition to the animals captured in the trap, a seafloor camera more than a mile away spied at least nine supergiant amphipods. It's not clear why so many of the typically elusive creatures were in the area. A week later, when the expedition returned to the same spot, there was no sign of the supergiant amphipods.

Supergiant amphipods (Alicella gigantea) were first discovered in 1899, when a trawling expedition turned up two specimens from the Atlantic Ocean. The species wasn't seen again for nearly 100 years. In the 1970s, scientists photographed the oversized creatures in the northern Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles north of Hawaii.

Read more in the original article here.

Den Camera Shows Baby Bears’ Birth

Thanks to fiber-optic camera technology, you can watch real-time footage of a black bear named Lugnut as she hibernates in a den beneath an upturned sugar maple in northern Maine. 

Just two weeks ago, the 8-year-old Lugnut gave birth to two cubs (watch video above.) Because of their demands, her hibernation won’t be as deep as usual, and she’ll wake regularly to check on them. Most of the time, however, the cubs will be curled up against Lugnut’s warm belly, nursing as she sleeps.

The cubs will likely stay in the den for several months, and with their mother for more than a year, departing only when they’ve learned enough to survive on their own. The camera is expected to stay on indefinitely, so viewers will have a chance to watch them grow up.

Original article here.

Bio-luminescent Spewing Shrimp

A shrimp named Acanthephyra purpurea spews a bioluminescent cloud from its mouth when attacked. The burst of bright substance is enough to put would-be predators off their mark.

The bright blue bioluminescent cloud the shrimp expels isn’t "vomit." Instead, luminous fluid probably originates in the hepatopancreas – an organ that plays roles similar to the liver and pancreas in us – and, depending on the species of shrimp, can come from the mouth or nearby organs.

Original article here.

Watch a Baby Condor Hatch and Grow on Live Webcam

You can watch a pair of California condors, among the most endangered birds in the world, as they raise a new baby in view of a webcam set up by scientists at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park.

Shatash, 21, and her partner Sisquoc, 28, will take turns caring for the 9-ounce egg until it hatches in early March.

The hatching process will take a day or two, and if the chick runs into trouble along the way, Sisquoc and Shatash will be standing by to help.

Right now, Shatash and Sisquoc are tending to a life-like faux egg while theirs sits in an incubator. Closer to the end of the 52-day incubation period, scientists will switch the artificial egg for the real one.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CONDOR CAM.

California condors are very nurturing parents. They’re also very egalitarian: Both parents take care of their young. Sisquoc and Shatash will discipline, groom and play with their baby. They’ll give it feathers to play with and rub their baby’s soft pink face with their own.

 Five to six months after Shatash’s egg hatches, her chick will start to hop and flap around the nest as it learns to fly. By then, its wispy white feathers will have turned to grey. The fledgling will stay with its parents for about a year imitating them and learning how to pick up food and forage. During this time, the young bird will also learn how to interact with other condors.

Today there are only about 400 California condors left in the world.

Original article here.

High-Speed Animal Flight Videos Show Hidden Aerial World

A Dutch program called Flight Artists sent high-speed video tools to amateur photographers around the world.

The challenge was to capture nature in flight. Over the course of a year, the contest drew 460 amateurs who uploaded more than 2,400 slow-motion video clips shot with their complimentary cameras. A jury of scientists, philosophers and video experts then picked their favorites, which can be seen below.

For more information, including descriptions of all these videos, see the original article here.

World's tiniest vertebrate is a frog

The world's smallest vertebrate - animals that have a backbone - is a frog that could sit within the confines of your fingernail, a new study reports.

Scientists found the new species, which on average is just 7.7 millimeters long, in the southwestern Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea.

The frog, scientifically named Paedophryne amauensis, spends its life in moist leaf litter on the floors of tropical wet-forests. Males call out with a continuous series of high-pitched notes at dawn and dusk, resembling the sound of crickets.

Typically, small frogs dry out quickly, but this tiniest species has a habitat that stays moist for most of the year. 

Researchers say the animals have simplified skeletons and are born directly as frogs, as opposed to first going through a tadpole stage. Researchers believe these creatures eat even smaller animals, such as mites.

Previously the smallest vertebrate was believed to have been a fish known as Paedocypris progenetica, which matures at 7.9 millimeters. There has been speculation that aquatic habitats are home to the world's smallest and largest vertebrates, but this frog contradicts that theory.

Original article here.

The World's Heaviest Insect

 A nature-lover has revealed how he spent two days tracking down a giant insect on a remote New Zealand island – and got it to eat a carrot out of his hand. The former park ranger discovered the giant weta up a tree and his real life Bug's Bunny has now been declared the largest ever found.

The find is the world's biggest insect in terms of weight, which at 71g (2.5 ounces) is heavier than a sparrow and three times that of a mouse.

There are over 70 types of Weta species in New Zealand but the giant weta has been named the biggest insect in the world because of its weight. A female giant weta filled with eggs can reach up to 70g or more and the largest of the species are found on Little Barrier Island. They are usually less social and more passive than other weta.

Their diet consists of plants, other small insects and fruit. Their size is an example of island gigantism, which is a biological phenomenon leading to a larger size than their mainland relatives because of their isolation and lack of large predators.

See the original article here.

Hula Painted Frog Bounces Back From Extinction

A species of frog that was thought to have been made extinct during the drainage of the Hula marshlands in Israel, has appeared again after more than 50 years of hiding.

 The Palestinian or Hula painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer) originally went missing when the Jewish National Fund drained the marshlands around the Hula Valley in the 1950s. The swamp was a breeding ground for malaria, and the disease was killing off the population. The JNF removed the water from the swamp and redirected the flow of water to the river Jordan with artificial estuaries.

The operation led to huge destruction of ecosystems, wiping out water plants, tropical aquatic ferns, the ray-finned fish Acanthobrama hulensis and the cichlid fish Tristramella intermedia. Until this week, it was thought that the hula painted frog was among the lost species. But a routine patrol at the Ha’Hula lake by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority turned up a mysterious, unknown female frog and took it back to the lab for testing.

It was soon confirmed that it was a Hula painted frog, and the rare species had hung on amongst the devastation of its habitat.

Original article here.

High-Speed Video Shows How Hummingbirds Stay Dry

How does a hummingbird keep dry? A series of high-speed videos reveal that hummingbirds shake themselves like dogs. Of course, dogs don’t shake while balanced delicately in mid-air, flapping their wings 45 times per second. At a glance, that might not seem like a pressing problem. But for a bird that weighs a few grams and lives on a razor-thin margin of bioenergetic error, it’s a life-or-death matter. See more in the original article here.

Murmuration of Thousands of Starlings

The video above was taken at the River Shannon in Ireland. It shows thousands of starlings in shape-shifting flocks that are referred to as a "murmation."

Flesh-Eating Piranhas Bark When Angered

Hollywood has given the piranha a rough reputation as a vicious fish with a penchant for biting. But according to scientists, the piranha barks more than it bites.

 The team of biologists plunged a hydrophone (an underwater microphone) into a tank of captive red-bellied piranhas and listened in to the different sounds they make in different situations.

 So far, the team registered three distinct noises. When piranhas enter into a confrontation they’ll make a barking noise. When they’re fighting for food or circling an opponent, a piranha will make short percussive drum-like sounds. And when their jaws snap at each other, a softer croaking sound is produced.

 Read more in the original article here.

12 New and 3 Lost Night-Frog Species Discovered in India

Researchers in India have found a dozen new frog species belonging to the night frog group, named for their nocturnal habits, and rediscovered three species, one of which had not been seen in nearly a century.

Night frogs are a group endemic to India and require either fast moving rivers or moist forest floor for breeding. The researchers write that half of the newly discovered species reproduce without any physical contact between the sexes, with the female depositing her eggs on a leaf and the males later fertilizing them. Despite their chaste procreation, both parents are active guardians for the eggs, bringing them water to prevent drying out and warding off predators.

All the frogs were spotted in a region known as the Western Ghats, a mountain range than runs along the western coast of India that has been identified as one of the ten hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Because of the small area they occupy, at least six of the new species are sensitive to habitat loss and will require immediate steps toward conservation.

For more information and pictures, see the original post here.

Rare Kingfishers Hatch at the Smithsonian

Two critically endangered Micronesian kingfishers, among the rarest animals in the world, hatched recently at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

These new chicks boost the total world population to 131. The chicks are hand-reared, fed at two hour intervals, seven to eight times a day.

Extinct in the wild for more than 20 years, Micronesian kingfishers are difficult to breed in captivity. Male and female birds can be reluctant to bond. Not all parents are able to successfully rear their offspring, and their health can be delicate. A third chick hatched at the Institute’s Bird House on Sept. 3 died two days later of unknown causes.

Original article here.

Attack of the Brain-Controlling Parasites

Once upon a time, parasites were thought to live relatively simple lives: They hitched a ride on a host, sapping nutrients and energy but otherwise leaving it alone. But that was only part of the story. Many parasites actually take control, causing their hosts to act in self-destructive ways that further their invaders' interests.

Below are some examples of parasites from the original article in Wired.

The Lymantria dispar baculovirus, for example, causes caterpillars to climb into treetops rather than hiding in bark. When those that go uneaten by birds finally die and decompose (as pictured above), viral particles rain onto foliage below, infecting a new generation of caterpillars.

Zombie Ants (below): The Ophiocordyceps fungus releases a chemical related to LSD, causing infected worker ants to leave their nests and find a leaf about 10 inches off the ground. Once there, the ants attach themselves to the leaf's side, then die. Over the next year, Ophiocordyceps consumes their bodies and uses them as a launching site for spores.

Webs for Wasps (below): Wasps are famous for laying eggs in insects that become living meals for their ravenous larvae. Hymenoepimecis wasps take it one step further: On the very evening that the larval wasp will kill its orb-spider host, it causes the spider to make a new type of web. Instead of spinning an elegant skein of concentric circles, the spider makes a structure capable of supporting the cocoon that the larva will build a few hours later, after killing and eating the spider.

Original article here.

Beautiful National Parks Seen From Space

Below are several examples from this gallery of national parks seen from space.  For additional information and pictures, see the original article.

Yellowstone National Park:

Kenai Fjords National Park:

Grand Canyon National Park:

Dolphins Blast Into School of Fish

Dolphins and gannets blast through a shimmering, pulsing vortex of fish known as "prey balls" in these up-close glimpses of an underwater buffet.

In a prey ball, tens or hundreds of thousands of fish cluster into a dense swarm, moving as a single entity. It’s not clear if they’re getting into this shape to reduce their chances of being eaten, or because dolphins are herding them to be in that shape.

Dolphins circled clockwise around prey balls — dolphins appear, like most humans, to favor their right sides — skimming bites off the edges rather than plunging straight in. Often two dolphins would attack at the same time, rather than individually. When prey balls tried to dive, dolphins herded them back up.

Original article here.

New Pacific eel is a 'living fossil', scientists say

A newly discovered eel that inhabits an undersea cave in the Pacific Ocean has been dubbed a "living fossil" because of its primitive features.

It is so distinct, scientists created a new taxonomic family to describe its relationship to other eels.

The scientific team say the eel's features suggest it has a long and independent evolutionary history stretching back 200 million years.

The animal used as the basis for the new study was an 18cm-long female, collected by one of the researchers during a dive at a 35m-deep cave in the Republic of Palau.

In order to classify the new animal, the researchers had to create a new family, genus and species, bestowing on the animal the latin name Protoanguilla palau.

The team's results suggest this new family has been evolving independently for the last 200 million years, placing their origins in the early Mesozoic era, when dinosaurs were beginning their domination of the planet.

The researchers say the Protoanguilla lineage must have once been more widely distributed, because the undersea ridge where its cave home is located is between 60 and 70 million years old.

See original article here.

Slow-Motion Chipmunk