Photos: Top 10 new species

Each year, Arizona State University's International Institute for Species Exploration releases a top 10 list of the most interesting new species from the past year.

This weekend, the 2009 list came out. The top 10 includes a self-destructing palm, the longest insect, a tiny seahorse, the smallest snake, and caffeine-free coffee beans.

To be especially accurate, the institute does not say these are newly discovered species. That would be very Western-scientist-centric and offensive to local populations who may know about these creatures for generations. Instead, the new top 10 winners are chosen from the "thousands of species fully described and published in calendar year 2008," according to ASU's site.

First on the list is the Tahina Palm, or Tahina spectabilis. There are fewer than 100 known individual trees in northwestern Madagascar. This species grows nearly 60 feet tall, according to London-area Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. After 30 to 50 years, the palm produces seeds in a once-in-a-lifetime flowering.

"This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses," according to ASU's site. "Soon after the publication of the species, seeds were disseminated throughout the palm grower community, raising money for its conservation by the local villagers, and it has become a highly prized ornamental."

Phobaeticus chani is the world's longest insect. Its body is 14 inches long, and overall it is 22.3 inches long. It was found on the island of Borneo in southeast Asia.

Satomi's Pygmy Seahorse, or Hippocampus satomiae, is the smallest known seahorse. It is 0.54 inches long, with a height of 0.45 inches. It is found off the island of Borneo.

The Barbados Threadsnake, or Leptotyphlops carlae, is the world's smallest snake at 4.1 inches long. It was found on the island of Barbados in the Carribean.

The Ghost Slug, or Selenochlamys ysbryda, is found in Wales. The photos at the right are its teeth.

Deep Blue Chromis, or Chromis abyssus, was found in a deep coral reef off one of the Palau islands in the Pacific Ocean. According to ASU's site, its discovery shows "how little we know of deep-reef biodiversity."

Charrier Coffee. or Coffea charrieriana, is a "new caffeine-free coffee from Cameroon, the first record of a caffeine-free species from central Africa...In this case the new species could be used for breeding of naturally decaffeinated beans," according to ASU.

Microbacterium hatanonis, which has no common name, is a new species of bacteria found in hairspray.

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