Top 10 species discovered in 2008

Scientists from the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists released a list of the Top 10 species discovered in 2008. These are new species, considered “unknowns” before their discoveries last year. The list includes the world’s smallest snake and a caffeine-free coffee plant. Here are the top 10 species discovered in 2008 in photos.

1. Pygmy seahorse: Classified by its Latin name, Hippocampus satomiae, this species measures about half an inch long and was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan, Indonesia.


2. A plant that kills itself: Found in a small area of northwestern Madagascar, a rare genus of palm — Tahina spectablilis — produces huge, spectacular flowers and then dies and collapses. Fewer than 100 have been found.

3. Known as Coffea charrieriana, this plant found in Cameroon is the first record of a caffeine-free coffee species from Central Africa.

4. An extremophile bacteria, Microbacterium hatanonis, was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists.
5. The world’s longest insect, with a body length of 14 inches (22.3 inches including legs), Phobaeticus chani resembles a stick and was found in Borneo, Malaysia.

6. The Barbados Threadsnake: Leptotyphlops carlae measures only 4.1 inches long and is believed to be the world’s smallest snake.

7. A pale “ghost slug“: Selenochlamys ysbryda was a surprising find in the densely populated area of Cardiff, Wales.

8. A very limber snail: This unique species, Opisthostoma vermiculum, is found on a limestone hill in Malaysia and has a shell that twists around four axes.

9. Damsel in the deep blue sea: Chromis abyssus is a beautiful species of damselfish found in deep-reef habitat off the coast of Ngemelis Island, Palau.

10. Fossil mama: A fossilized fish, Materpiscis attenboroughi, is an extremely rare find from Western Australia and shows a mother giving birth 380 million years ago.

Photos, Text via CNN.

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Tags: Nature, Science, Top 10