This hairy crab can also put on its own vest! But it's not the most amazing new species of the past year

What good things have scientists discovered in the past year of 2022?

Although fungi, plants, insects and arthropods account for a large proportion of the newly discovered species each year, there are always some species that surprise us and make us wonder why we have overlooked their existence .

Jiangxi giant salamander

In 2022, the national treasure "Baby Fish" family welcomed a new member. Scientists from the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that a group of giant salamanders discovered in Jiangxi belonged to a new species and named it Jiangxi giant salamander (Andrias jiangxiensis).

Wild ecological photos of Jiangxi giant salamander adults｜Yi Murong

What is even more gratifying is that due to living in a closed environment for a long time, their population genes are well protected . They are a group of "pure-blooded aristocrats."

The Chinese giant salamander is not a single species, but consists of 5 to 8 species with significant genetic differentiation. Although there are many artificially cultivated giant salamanders today, there is a common problem of hybridization. This genetic pollution can also spread to the wild through escaped giant salamanders, endangering wild populations.

Protecting this precious population of Jiangxi giant salamanders is crucial to preserving the gene pool of Chinese giant salamanders. However, they only live in 36 square kilometers of water , and their survival is very fragile. Scientists call for rescue and protection work to be carried out as soon as possible.

Ecological photo of a 10-month-old Jiangxi giant salamander｜Yi Murong

Southern Maned Sloth

Who would have thought that scientists would have the opportunity to discover a new mammal in 2022, and one that is this large. It must be... because... it... doesn't like to move... right...

Life is stillness 🦥｜ Andreia Martins

The southern maned sloth lives in the tropical rainforests along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. It was once thought to be the same species as the maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus), but after morphological analysis, DNA identification and field observation, scientists believe that they are actually two species. Among them, the southern maned sloth (B. crinitus) is mainly distributed from Rio de Janeiro to Espírito Santo, while the original "northern" maned sloth is distributed in Bahia and Sergipe.

Principe Scops Owl

The Principe Scops Owl (Otus bikegila) is found in the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe in western Central Africa. It has attracted the attention of scientists because of its unique call. This short call sounds a bit like a chirping insect, and some people think it sounds like a sounding toy.

Discovered! ｜Philippe Verbelen

Sadly, this cute little owl may not be around anymore. Scientists have scoured the island of Principe and found it only in an uninhabited patch of old-growth forest in the southern part of the island . Given its small range, scientists believe it should be listed as a critically endangered species (CE).

Beagle Crab

Hmm? Why does this crab look like it was breaded and deep fried?

Its fur is longer and thicker than its relatives｜Colin McLay / WA Museum

The newly discovered crab is named Lamarckdromia beagle and belongs to the family Dromiidae. Species in this family often carry sponges or sea squirts on their backs , and even use pincers to trim the sponges into a shape that suits them. The beagle crab in the picture below carries a sponge on its back, fixed with its specially evolved hind legs. Sponges not only provide camouflage, but also emit chemicals that discourage predators.

Trending this week: Sponge vests | Colin McLay / WA Museum

The Beagle crab was found in the waters off western Australia. The name of this genus comes from Lamarck, one of the founders of the theory of evolution, and the name of the new species has two meanings: one is to commemorate the Beagle, the ship Darwin sailed on, which passed through this place, and the other is because its yellow-brown "hair" looks like the hair of a cute dog.

As to why it is so furry, scientists have not yet figured it out.

Pink Rose Wrasse

This attractive little fish lives in shallow coral reefs from the Maldives to Sri Lanka and was long thought to be the adult of another closely related species.

So beautiful｜YI-KAI TEA

The Pink Rose Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) is the first species to be officially named by local Maldivian researchers. Its name is taken from the Dhivehi name of the Maldivian national flower, Rosa polyantha, "Finifenma", which is very consistent with its bright body color.

Rainbow fish｜YI-KAI TEA

Swift Mill

Derek Hennen, a myriapod taxonomist and a die-hard fan of Taylor Swift, named a newly discovered millipede Nannaria swiftae to thank Taylor for her music that helped him through the ups and downs of his student life.

I wonder if Malu will be included in TS's next song｜Derek Hennen

The millipede is found in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States and belongs to the family Xystodesmidae. The researchers also named another new species discovered at the same time after his wife, N. marianae, "to thank her for her patience as I always stopped to look for millipedes during our hikes together."

Don’t be too quick to praise the romanticism of taxonomists. Arthropods are known for their extremely high diversity (and abundance), and have always been a rich mine for discovering new species. The researchers discovered a total of 17 new species this time , enough for everyone to give a few to their relatives and friends. And because of these discoveries, the number of species in this genus has increased to 78, making it the most species-rich genus in the entire radiate family.

Tapir frog

Is this the Chocolate Frog from Harry Potter?

Another species discovered because of its unique call | Germán Chávez

The tapir frog (Synapturanus danta) is only about 2 centimeters long and lives in the peat of the Putumayo Basin in Peru. It is very secretive. When scientists were investigating in the area, they often heard strange "beep-beep-beep" sounds coming from underground at night. With the help of local guides, they took great pains to finally find this new species.

The tapir frog belongs to the Microhylidae family. Although it has not been described by science before, it is familiar to locals , who call it "rana danta" (tapir frog) because of its long nose, which resembles that of a tapir. It spends its entire life underground and plays an important role in the land's ecosystem and nutrient cycle.

Minor Individuals｜Germán Chávez

Sean Ella Colubrid

The Shawnee's snake (Phalotris shawnella), with its bright red and black stripes and yellow neck, may look scary, but it's not actually venomous.

The name comes from Sean and Ella, two children of the founding team members of the local environmental protection agency Fundación Para La Tierra | Jean-Paul Brouard

Found in the Laguna Blanc area of ​​Paraguay, it belongs to the Colubridae family and lives a semi-burrowing lifestyle.

Laguna Blanca was briefly protected by law, but has now lost its protected area status. Scientists fear that the Sean's Colubridae may be Critically Endangered (CE) due to its small range, habitat fragmentation, and over-exploitation of agriculture in the area .

Bamboo Tarantula

The bamboo tarantula (Taksinus bambus) was discovered by Thai YouTube celebrity and wildlife blogger JoCho Sippawat.

Bamboo Tarantula｜JoCho Sippawat

Some tarantulas live on the ground, while others live in trees, but the bamboo tarantula only lives on bamboo and never on other plants. This habit is very rare. They live in the bamboo forests of the mountains at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters in Tak Province in northern Thailand, and use the holes made by other animals in the bamboo to live.

The species name of the bamboo tarantula comes, of course, from the bamboo plant. It belongs to a newly discovered genus named after the 18th-century Thai king Taksin, who ruled Tak province before becoming king.

Bolivian Royal Water Lily

In 2022, scientists at Kew Gardens in the UK discovered that a new species of Victoria boliviana was hidden among the Victoria planted in the garden. This is the first new species of Victoria discovered in more than a century, and it is also the largest water lily species in the world. Its leaves can grow to more than 3 meters in diameter, which is larger than the other two types of Victoria that have been discovered.

The first day of blooming of the Victoria amazonica in Bolivia｜Lucy Smith

The Bolivian Victoria amazonica is native to the Mamore River in Bolivia. A Victoria amazonica plant only blooms one flower at a time, and each flower only blooms for three days. When the flower first blooms, it stands upright on the water surface and is pure white; as time goes by, the flower turns pink and gradually sinks into the water. This sounds like a Mary Sue setting, but this is indeed what Victoria amazonica looks like.

Second night of opening｜Lucy Smith

The story of finding a new species of Victoria is also very interesting. In 2006, Carlos Magdalena, a water lily expert working at Kew Gardens, saw a photo of a giant water lily on the Internet, identified it as a new species, and began looking for it. Ten years later, Bolivia donated some Victoria seeds, and Carlos planted them side by side with two other known Victorias - when they gradually grew slightly different structures, he was finally able to determine that this seed was the new species he had been dreaming of.

But in fact, there is a Victoria amazonica plant in Kew Gardens that has flowers very similar to the new species. It had previously been mistaken for the Amazon Victoria amazonica - Carlos never expected that the new species he had been looking for was right before his eyes .

Carlos Magdalena (left) and botanical artist and illustrator Lucy Smith (right) measuring the leaves of a Bolivian royal water lily | RBG KEW

Of course, the number of new species discovered by scientists over the past year is far greater than the ones we have listed.

A new species of rain frog, named Tlalocohyla celeste, was discovered in a rewilding nature reserve in Costa Rica | Juan G. Abarca

The Kibale leafhopper (Phlogis kibalensis), found in Kibale National Park, Uganda, belongs to a genus last recorded more than 50 years ago | Magnolia Press

Burmagomphus chaukulensis, a new member of the family Scolopendra, was discovered in Chaukul village in Maharashtra, India. The area has a high biodiversity with more than 190 known species of dragonflies and damselflies, 40% of which are endemic to the area.｜Hemant Ogale

A new species of Sceloporus huichol, found in central Mexico. Species of this genus are often called "spiny lizards" | Eric Smith

The first new plant species described by scientists in 2022, Uvariopsis dicaprio, was discovered in the Ebo Forest in Cameroon. The new species is named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who once called for an end to deforestation in the Ebo Forest on the Internet | Lorna MacKinnon

A new species of Gastrochilus pankajkumarii found in the forests of Vietnam. The plant is very small, only about 10 cm | NGUYEN Van Canh

These species, which have existed on Earth for a long, long time, finally have names that humans can call out in 2022. When we get to know one more species, it's like removing a piece of mosaic, and the world we know becomes clearer and more specific.

On the first day of the new year, let us say hello to our new friends and hope that they can live peacefully on this blue planet.

References

[1] https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/new-species-discovered-this-year/

[2] https://www.zoores.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101

[3]https://lssf.cas.cn/lssf/zgxnyssw/xwdt/202205/t20220520_4571012.html

[4] https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyac059/6702641

[5] https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/87635/

[6] https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5129.3.1

[7] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/20/fluffy-crab-that-wears-a-sponge-as-a-hat-discovered-in-western-australia

[8] https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/78139/

[9] https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/73485/

[10] https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/80281/

[11] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/944208

[12] https://zse.pensoft.net/article/61064/element/8/37243//

[13] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/952694

[14] https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/76876/list/7/

[15]https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.883151/full

[16] Uncovering the giant waterlily: A botanical wonder of the world | Kew

Compiled by: Maya Blue

Editor: Mai Mai

Source: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/new-species-discovered-this-year

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

If you need to reprint, please contact sns@guokr.com