recent discoveries

Recent discovery

If you have ever tried to keep track of the latest discoveries of animal species if not here we are to help you to see the list of the recent animal species discoveries.

The discovery of an animal species begins with a careful observation of external aspects of the species and the investigating its functions and interrelationship with other living organisms.

Rattle snake's new species discovered on 28th August 2009

Updated on : 28th Aug 2009 01:45 p.m IST.

Scientist of Russia and Vietnam has discovered a new species of rattle snake in the north western province of Cao Bang. The newly discovered rattle snake is the fourth species in the family. The rattle snake belongs to the protobothrops family.

The new species is named Protobothrops trungkhanhensis Orlov, Ryabov. This is a rifle species found only in the Trung Khanh Nature Reserve in Cao Bang, Vietnam.

Compared to other species in the family this snake is small measuring 733 mm in length. The snake has small triangle shaped head and small scales in the body.

The scientist team who all discovered this species includes Nguyen Thien Tao, Protobothrops cornutus, P.jerdonii and P. mucrosquamatus.

Rattle snake's new species discovered on 28th August 2009

Updated on : 26st Aug 2009 11:53 a.m IST.

The team of scientist from Texas A&M University and Pennsylvania State University in the U.S., the University of La Laguna in Spain, and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and University of Hamburg has discovered a species of crustacean belonging to the Remipede genus. The team discovered this species at Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

The species was found to be swimming elegantly in the complete darkness constantly looking for the prey. The rapacious crustaceans that belong to the class Remipedia depend on their antennae which search the lightless annulled in all the directions. Their head is outfitted with powerful prehensile limbs and venomous fangs.

The species was named Speleonectes Atlantida. This species is structurally similar to Speleonectes ondinae that has been found in the same lave tube in 1985.

Over the last 30 years the Remipedia are the most remarkable discoveries of biology. The first species of the Crustacean group was discovered in 1979.

The large specimen can measure up to four centimeters. The small and eyeless species are not capable of crossing the entire ocean by active swimming. This is the main reason for their separated global distribution. Therefore the remipedes are considered as a ancient group of crustaceans.

Ostentatious, deep-sea worms discovered

Updated on : 21st Aug 2009 1:51 p.m IST.

Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have invented seven new species of ostentatious deep sea worms off the coast of Oregon's.

The worms live at a depth of 1,800 to 3,700 meters. The worms are good swimmers with radiant, transparent bodies developing rows of stiff hair that work like paddles. They move with the help of these stiff hairs. They are not so big; they range from 18-93 millimeters.

When disturbed these creatures eject orb like parts of their body which displays a gleaming green of bioluminescence. This green blobs might serve as decoys to divert their predators. The researchers have nicknamed it as "green bombers" as it emits green blobs.

The bombs look like a filled sphere which burst into light when the animal throws it. The bomb thrown could cause a strong glow for a few seconds. When the worms throw their bombs they are able to regenerate new bombs for later news.

Karen J. Osborn so-discovered, a postal doctoral researcher at the Scripps institution of oceanography in La Jolla said that "Oregon is the hotbed for these guys."

Like much other sea worm the ancestors of these worms live on the mud of the sea floor. Rouse said that the bombs were once gills. The relatives of these worms have gills in the same place as the bombs. But for some reason the gills would have turned into bombs.

Many things like what they eat, how they are able to find each other, how they reproduce, why they have detachable luminescent bombs and what they have to do with the enemies are all unknown.

Bare faced bulbul - Pycnonotus Hualon

Updated on : 19th Aug 2009 6:32 p.m IST.

In the remote areas of Laos a rare songbird that belongs to the bulbul family has just been discovered. About 130 species is included in the bulbul family. It has been nicknamed with the scientific name as "Pycnonotus Hualon" meaning "bald headed" and it is found in the lands between frightening and appealing. This is the only bird of its type in Asia.

University of Melbourne and Wildlife Conservation Society scientists made this discovery.

The thrush-bird has no feather on its face and head hence it got the nick name "bare headed bulbul". The bird is greenish olive with a light colored breast. His face is pink in color with bluish skin around the eyes which extends to the bill. A narrow line of hair like feathers runs down the centre of its crown and is typically featherless.

This songbird appears to inhabit in trees. In any case this song bird is very rare but the lack of feather in the singing bird is even more matchless. The song of the bird is also so unique, mostly drawing the attention for bubbling, churring and exciting sounds. The bird has the capacity to sing at least one song that starts distinctly and ends abruptly in a higher and separate note.

In spite of being a songbird the Hualon also exist as a love bird. It pairs with a mate of opposite sex for unlimited periods of time, sometimes even for years. This bird is further described as a shy and retiring bird.

Black Frog

Updated on : 17th Aug 2009 7:19 p.m IST.

A previously unknown species was found by two scientist named Herpetologist Gerardo Chaves and his colleage Adrian Garcia working in university of Costa Rica. It was a frog. It was just two centimeter long and a member of the tink group. Most of the frog of this group has a bell like call. The new species was named Diasporus ventrimaculatus. This name refers to the spotted belly of the frog. The female frog is black in color and the male ones are spotted orange, red and grey black in color. Regarding the difference in the coloration the biologist Gerardo Chaves said that "This differentiation in the skin of males and females was a characteristic that had only been detected in the country in the late golden toad of monteverde". Males naturally make their calls in the early hours of the sunset. But the females make a hissing noise instead of repeating the call in the same manner.

This frog species is widespread in Valle de Silencio valley. This frog species develop straight from the egg into a little frog and hence do not have the tadpole stage. The habitat of the frog is unusual since the valley they have been discovered is 8,200 feet high which is so high and so cool for the tink frogs to habitat. Hence their habitat is the rainforest with the cool temperature. At present the new species is estimated to be atleast 1000.

Recent Videos

Snowball(TM) Rocks The World Science Festival
Very Smart Mathematical Dog

From the Gallery