Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Sneezing monkey highlights new species list

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47538032/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.T71wW1KWhIg

By Wynne Parry updated 5/23/2012

The realm of living things known to science gained some fascinating new members in the past year. These include a monkey that sneezes when it rains; a tiny worm discovered nearly a mile below ground; a mushroom that looks more like a sponge and the first night-blooming orchid ever recorded.

These strange organisms and others made the top 10 list of species described in 2011.

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of scientists issued this list for the fifth year Wednesday, a date coinciding with the birthday of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who created the modern system for naming and classifying living things.

The list is intended to honor the work of explorers and museum scientists who continue to discover new plants, animals, fungi and microbes. [ Photos of the Top 10 New Species ]
Thomas Bruns
A funky new mushroom species "lives in the rain forest, under a tree," and researchers say it's nearly as strange as its SpongeBob SquarePants namesake. The bright orange (sometimes purple) mushroom, Spongiforma squarepantsii, was discovered in the forests of Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo.

Its other purpose is not a celebratory one. The list also is intended to highlight the diversity of life on the planet, which is declining due to extinctions. In fact, scientists have said we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event triggered by human activities.


Also http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120523133051.htm

Images and other information about the top 10 new species, including the explorers who made the discoveries and recorded them in calendar year 2011, are online at http://species.asu.edu. Also at the site is a Google world map that pinpoints the location for each of the top 10 new species. This year's top 10 come from Brazil, Myanmar, the Dutch Caribbean, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Borneo, Nepal, China and Tanzania.

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