Kuala Lumpur - The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University in the United States of America and an international committee of taxonomists - scientists responsible for species exploration and classification - today announced the top 10 new species described in 2008.
Notably, two of the top 10 new species were discovered from Malaysia: the world’s longest insect with an overall length of 22.3 inches or 56.7 centimeters) and a worm-like snail whose shell twists around four axes, the most of any known land snail in the world.Lead author of the study that described the snail, and currently Species Conservation Manager for WWF-Malaysia’s Peninsular Malaysia Forest Programme Reuben Clements said, “When I first saw the shell under the microscope, I thought it was a mutant! After coming across more specimens in the soil sample, I knew that it was definitely a new species.”
The name of the bizzare snail, Opisthostoma vermiculum, appears to be restricted to a single limestone karst the Kinta Valley, Perak.
Also on the list are a pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray, a palm that flowers itself to death, a ghost slug from Wales and a deep blue damselfish.
"The international committee of taxon experts who made the selection of the top 10 from the thousands of species described in calendar year 2008 is helping draw attention to biodiversity, the field of taxonomy, and the importance of natural history museums and botanical gardens in a fun-filled way," says Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist and director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.
The taxonomists also are issuing an SOS - State of Observed Species - report card on human knowledge of Earth's species. In it, they report that 18,516 species new to science were discovered and described in 2007. The SOS report was compiled by ASU's International Institute for Species Exploration in partnership with the International Plant Names Index, Zoological Record published by Thomson Reuters, and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
There are an estimated 1.8 million species that have been described since Linnaeus initiated the modern systems for naming plants and animals in the 18th century. Scientists estimate there are between 2 million and 100 million species on Earth, though most set the number closer to 10 million.
“I hope the recognition given to this snail species will spur the Malaysian government to afford more resources for biodiversity research and surveys in our rainforests, as well as greater protection for threatened ecosystems such as limestone karsts,” added Reuben.
Photos and other information on the top 10 and the SOS report are online at species.asu.edu
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For more information, kindly contact:
Reuben Clements, Species Conservation Manager (Peninsular Malaysia) rclements@wwf.org.my, +603-7803 3772 ext 6427, +6013-218 3992.
If further clarification is required for the Top 10 list, please contact media relations director, Carol Hughes, at carol.hughes@asu.edu, 480-965-6375.
Notes to the editor:
The annual top 10 new species announcement and issuance of the SOS report commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications. Last year marked the 250th anniversary of the beginning of animal naming.
This year's top 10 picks are:
i. Hippocampus satomiae, a tiny seahorse with a standard length of 0.54 inches (13.8 centimeters) and an approximate height of 0.45 inches (11.5 millimeters). This pygmy species was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan, Indonesia. The name - satomiae - is "in honour of Miss Satomi Onishi, the dive guide who collected the type specimens."
ii. A gigantic new species and genus of palm - Tahina spectablilis - with fewer than 100 individuals found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar. This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses. Soon after the original publication of the species description, seeds were disseminated throughout the palm grower community, to raise money for its conservation by the local villagers. It has since become a highly prized ornamental.
iii. Caffeine-free coffee from Cameroon. Coffea charrieriana is the first record of a caffeine-free species from Central Africa. The plant is named for Professor André Charrier, "who managed coffee breeding research and collecting missions at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement during the last 30 years of the 20th century.”
iv. An extremophile bacteria that was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists. The species - Microbacterium hatanonis - was named in honor of Kazunori Hatano, "for his contribution to the understanding of the genus Microbacterium."
v. Phobaeticus chani made the list as the world's longest insect with a body length of 14 inches (36.6 centimeters) and overall length of 22.3 inches (56.7 centimeters). The insect, which resembles a stick, was found in Borneo, Malaysia.
vi. The Barbados Threadsnake - Leptotyphlops carlae - measuring 4.1 inches (104 millimeters) is believed to be the world's smallest snake. It was discovered in St. Joseph Parish, Barbados.
vii. The ghost slug - Selenochlamys ysbryda - was a surprising find in the well-collected and densely populated area of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.
viii. A snail - Opisthostoma vermiculum - found in Malaysia, represents a unique morphological evolution, with a shell that twists around four axes. It is endemic to a unique limestone hill habitat in Malaysia.
ix. The other two species on the top 10 list are fish - one found in deep-reef habitat off the coast of Ngemelis Island, Palau, and the other a fossilized specimen of the oldest known live-bearing vertebrate.