Top 10 New Species Discoveries Of 2013

[hatrack]

The most famous of the top ten is most definitely the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), which made a major media splash last year when it was announced. Living in the Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador, the olinguito is a member of the Procyonidae family, which includes raccoons, coatis, kinkajous and olingos. The olinguito, often described as a cross between a cat and a teddy bear, is the first new mammal in the carnivore family discovered from the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. Photo by: Mark Gurney.


With only an estimated 2,500 left, the dragon tree (Dracaena kaweesakii) may be the most threatened species on the list. Found in Thailand—and perhaps Myanmar—the dragon tree is distinguished by sword-shaped leaves and cream-colored flowers. It grows up to 12 meters tall and is found only in limestone hills and mountains, which are being destroyed for concrete production. Photo by: Paul Wilkin.

EDIT


his is not an alien, but a new species of skeleton shrimp, also known as ghost shrimp, only distantly related to the shrimp that shows up on our plates. This species was discovered from a cave on California's Santa Catalina island. The new species is named Liropus minusculus, due to its extremely small size: males are only 3.3 millimeters, while females are even tinier at 2.1 millimeters. Interestingly, it is the first member of the genus Liropus discovered in the northeastern Pacific. Photo by: SINC (Servicio de Informacion y Noticias CientÌficas) and J.M. Guerra-García.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0522-hance-top-ten-new-species-2013.html

[Mnemosyne]

1. Interesting creatures indeed! Thanks hatrack! nt

[Nihil]

2. Thanks for the reminder that we are still discovering new species ...

... even as we work so hard to destroy their habitat ...

> found only in limestone hills and mountains, which are being destroyed for concrete production.





(Can't help it though ... that third one reminds me of the little party animal guys in "Men In Black" ...)