Posted on 12/24/2015 10:35:46 AM PST by JimSEA
In 2015, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 102 new plant and animal species to our family tree, enriching our understanding of Earth's complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include two frogs, 23 ants, three beetles, eight wasps, 11 spiders, 26 fishes, nine sea slugs, two corals, nine plants, one water bear, and eight new viruses. More than a dozen Academy scientists--along with several dozen international collaborators--described the discoveries.
Proving that our planet contains unexplored places with never-before-recorded plants and animals (with their own set of evolving viruses), the scientists made their finds over five continents and three oceans, ventured into steamy rainforests and plunged beneath the sea, looked in their own San Francisco backyards and traveled to remote islands in Africa. Their results, published in 43 different scientific papers, help advance the Academy's mission to explore, explain, and sustain life on Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
As cheerful as I could find. Go to the article for descriptions of some of the other finds. Merry Christmas all.
Caption to the above photo: Newly discovered nudibranchs — vibrant sea slugs made famous by their poisonous adaptations and importance to biomedical research — put 2015 red carpet looks to shame. This year, Dr. Terry Gosliner, world-renowned nudibranch expert, described nine colorful new species (and, together with student Carissa Shipman, the new genus Kabeiro) from the tropical waters of the Philippines, the temperate seas of South Africa, and beyond. Two jaw-dropping new nudibranch species from southern Africa — the cartoonishly bulbous Doto greenamyeri and dreamy pink-and-orange Doto splendidisima (pictured here) — were discovered during a student training expedition led by Gosliner in 2008. In terms of sea slug richness, South Africa’s diverse temperate marine environments rival those of nudibranch-packed California.
Each one came with a dozen EPA officials hellbent on closing at least one business.
Note to self...tell Clark Pest Control to spray extra hard and long this week.
Obviously we have to work harder, damnit, we are supposed to be erasing entries, not adding them!
...and a partridge in a pear tree............
Trump discovered conservative Democrats.
How many will be declared “endangered” and require Federal protection?
All of them, of course.
If you go back far enough. ;-)
More new protected species....especially the insects & viruses.
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