New species of animals, insects and plants are discovered year by year. Being ready for new challenges people do research for many reasons and many of them really enjoy exploration. New technologies even encourage researchers and their intent of new discoveries grows day by day. With each new discovery we realize that the earth has so much to offer and it needs many devoted discoverers for further investigations. Sometimes two species live near to one another and look totally alike and are considered to be one genus. But when you analyze their DNA you see many differences in their genes and classify them as separate species.
According to scientists there are more than 10 million species worldwide, but not all of them are identified. Only 2 million species have been named since today. The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) has listed new species of the latest discoveries. Here the new species made in 2016 are sorted out.
1. Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustol)
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Photograph by Washington Tapia[/caption]This new species of giant tortoise was discovered on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Oceans. Researchers made a special analysis to make sure that these slow-moving reptiles were separate species on Santa Cruz Islands. The group of these tortoises is very small and isolated. They never attracted much attention from biologists before. This new species has been named “Chelonoidis donfaustol” after Galapagos forest ranger. These Giant tortoises live more than 100 years and weigh up to 250kg. Their shell has a more compressed shape compared to the other types. But this new species is vulnerable with an average population of 250. These Giant creatures are among the most devastated of all Galapagos species because of human exploitation. Scientists hope that due to this discovery they will be more protected.
2. Giant Sundew (Drosera magnifica)
Discovered on top of a mountain in eastern Minas Gerais in Brazil this carnivorous plant grows as tall as 1.5 meters. It has thin and sticky leaves that are covered with carnivorous glands which are very impressive at first sight. In 2012 an amateur botanist Reginaldo Vasconcelos posted an image on facebook and a year later Paulo Gonella, who was a plant researcher, came across to this photo and realized that it was a new species. The professional botanist collected many details about that plant, visited the place where it grew and compiled a lot of material making the research more complete. It can be said that Drosera magnifica is the first plant species that was discovered with the help of images posted in a social media.
3. Isopod (Iuiuniscus iuiuensis)
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Image credit: Souza, Ferreira & Senna[/caption]The isopod was discovered in a South American cave, in Brazil. One of the interesting features of this species that differentiates it from other crustacenas is that it builds spherical shelters from mud. As such it is the only one of its family. It might have learned this ability out of survival. It was found in a cave of the State of Bahia (Northeastern Brazil) and is about one-third of an inch in length. This unpigmented and multilegged creature lives in water or ashore. It is very vulnerable to predators and they use their shelters to be protected and out of danger. Having a tongue - twisting name - Iuiuniscus iuiuensis, this species is not only unique in its type but also in its name.
4. Anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema)
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Image credit: Theodore W. Pietsch, University of Washington[/caption]This small fish is one of the most unique and the strangest-looking creatures in the ocean. This species was discovered in the northern Gulf of Mexico during an assessment of damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They live at depths where no sign of light can penetrate and live at depths ranging between 3280-4900 feet. Male fishes are much smaller than females. This species is famous for its appendage (esca) attached to the top of their heads. This esca produces light which helps them to attract prey. By esca they generate their own source of light. The scientists Dr Sutton and Dr Theodore Pietsch from the University of Washington named this newly discovered Anglerfish species as Lasiognathus dinema derived from Greek.
5. Hominin (Homo naledi)
Homo naledi is an unknown species discovered in South Africa. It is said that this species lived around two million years ago. It has similarities with Australopithecus and other Homo species with its skull shape. Modern humans are also part of Homo. Homo naledi also has humanlike hands, wrist, foot and lower limb. It represents 15 different individual fossils with its complex skeletal elements. Based on the overall anatomical features scientists classify this species within the genus Homo, rather than within the genus of Australopithecus. According to this it can be assumed that the species may have evolved separately in different areas of Africa. This species of hominin is yet the most unique in its type discovered in Africa. In Sotho language the word “naledi” means “star” and “dinaledi” means “chamber”. Together they mean a Rising Star cave system where the fossils were found.
6. Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea)
[caption id="attachment_2219" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Image credit: archive.feedblitz.com[/caption]Living only off southern Australia this new species is known as seadragons, which are close relatives of seahorses. They are very delicate and only 2 species have been known till now. As the name itself suggests, they are similar to mythical fire-breathers. The color of this species is vivid red which is totally different from the orange tint in Leafy Seadragons and the yellow and purple hues of Common Seadragons. Based on the genetic evidence it can surely be said that their features of skeleton are also very distinct. According to scientists such coloring of the new seadragons suggests that they live in deeper waters than the other seadragons as the red hues can be absorbed only at depth. The name Phyllopteryx dewysea also refers to the Ruby Seadragon.
7. Sparklewing Damselfly (Umma gumma)
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Image credit: Jens Kipping[/caption]One of the newly discovered species of dragonflies is Sparklewing Damselfly from Africa. Familiar to rock-and-roll fans it was named after Pink Floyd’s album Ummagumma (which has another meaning as a British slang term word for making love). All damselflies are bound to fresh water. Their presence highlights the fact of good water. They lay their eggs in fresh water, too. They are very sensitive to changes in their homes and especially in water clarity and water flow. But because of the human exploitation by fishing, mining and agriculture, these freshwater-dependent species will be categorized as endangered than the other species living elsewhere. This new species is very colorful and so specific that you identify them very easily. This discovery shows that not all unknown species are indistinct, unattractive in appearance or disgusting.
8. Flowering Tree (Sirdavidia solannona)
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Image credit: Thomas Couvreur[/caption]This extraordinary species was discovered in Africa’s Monts de Cristal National Park in Gabon. The new species was named Sirdavidia, after Sir David Attenborough who had a great influence on the careers of the scientists who discovered this genus. It was discovered nearby the main road and this was a great surprise to all researchers to find it in one of the well known botanical areas in Gabon. Because of its rarity this new species is classified as endangered and it can be found only in two localities. This new discovery made all the scientists be sure that there is a wonderful but unknown biodiversity in Africa. Sirdavidia is a tree growing about 4 to 6 meters tall. The leaves have oval shape with long tips. It is made up by red sepals and petals with bright yellow tip at the center.
9. Tiny Beetle (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington)
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Image credit: Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington[/caption]This species hails from Peru. They were named after Paddington Bear, a famous and beloved character from children’s literature who came from “darkest Peru”. Scientists hope that in this way they will draw attention to the threatened Andean spectacled bear which was the author’s inspiration. These beetles are very small, just 1 millimeter in length. They were discovered in water and have feather wings. Due to this they belong to the featherwing beetle family and are named for the peculiar shape of their wings. These water creatures are called phytotelmata. The tiny beetles have a very unique way of life. They make their homes in small pools of water that accumulate in hollows of trees or in tropical plants with short stiffs and spiny leaves.
10. Primate (Pliobates cataloniae)
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Image credit: sciencedaily.com[/caption]Researchers discovered this new species through fossil remains of a skeleton in Can Mata, Spain. The ape is considered to be a female that weighed 4-5 kg and lived 11.6 million years ago. Her discoverers named this female individual “Laia”. David Alba from the University of Barcelona thinks that the main implication of Pilobates is that small-bodied primates which played a great role in the evolution of today’s apes and humans. Pilobates have many features of its wrist that is similar to loving hominids. Like other great apes it had the ability to rotate its wrist to climb the trees with ease. It also has specific ears with a bony ear canal that you cannot find in today’s hominids. Other parts of this species are a little bit primitive which helped the discoverers to decide their place in the evolutionary tree.
11. Graciliella
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Image Credit: Dragiša Savić[/caption]These new discovered beetles are very similar to spiders. This new genus contains four species of the beetle. This new study was led by a cave biologist from Serbia, Njunjić. He and many other researchers made a molecular analysis to find out the genetic differences between cave beetles from different countries. As a result they became sure that the cave beetles from Montenegro and Croatia are totally new species. The beetles are long-legged and plump-bodied. They live their entire lives in caves and as a cave-adapted animal it lives without eyes, wings and has no color. The lack of eyesight doesn’t bother them as they developed other characteristics and do everything with touch. Stuck on their body they have a long appendages which help them to store fat when there is a scarcity of food they use it.
12. Talamancan Palm-Pitviper (Bothriechis nubestris)
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Image credit: University of Central Florida.[/caption]Found in the high forests of Costa Rica this green-speckeled species is one of the most venomous snakes. The University biologist Christopher Parkinson made a genetic research to show the differences between the green-speckled and black-speckled Palm-Pitviper snakes ensuring that these two are totally separate species. Though they look and behave mostly identically they are distinct genetically. Scientists analyze their venom with great interest as they think it brings many challenges for them. According to their study the toxin of these snakes are similar to a neurotoxin found in some rattlesnakes but hasn’t been seen before. Talamancan Palm-Pitvipers are small to medium sized, in general 61 centimeters long. But a large snake may also reach about 30 inches. They are mostly found in trees where their green or black color makes an amazing camouflage.
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