Come and see which new animals are going to be made into emoticons!

In the past 2021, many new species officially appeared in the human vision and became our neighbors on the earth that we can call by name. However, at the same time, many species will never see the wind, frost, rain and dew of today again.

On the first day of 2022, let's say hello to our new friends one by one. Among them, there are chameleons the size of melon seeds, octopuses that look like Dumbo, venomous snakes named "Suzhen", fish wearing "light yellow striped long skirts", cicadas with their own cloaks... There are so many wonderful species, you will miss out if you don't see them!

New world record

Nano Chameleon

Nano chameleon (Brookesia nana) standing on fingertips | References [1]

Scientists have discovered the world's smallest known reptile, which is only the size of a melon seed and can easily stand on a human finger. The tiny chameleon lives in the rainforests of Madagascar and feeds on small insects on leaves.

In 2012, researchers collected two specimens, one male and one female, which were only 29 mm and 19 mm long, respectively, including their tails. The reproductive organs of adult males reach one-fifth of their body length, so that they can mate with females that are much larger than them without being "out of reach".

Millipede

1306-legged true millipede (Eumillipes persephone) | References [10]

It is the first millipede (also known as millipede) to have true "thousands of legs". It is a millipede with 1,306 legs, the most legs ever found. It took researchers a lot of effort to count its legs!

This true millipede has a 10-centimeter-long thread-like body with 330 segments, no eyes, and short legs. The large number of segments and legs allows them to generate enough propulsion to shuttle through the gaps in the soil where they live.

Weird, cute

"Zombie Frog"

Synapturanus zombie, a frog with a narrow mouth | Antoine Fouquet

Frogs usually have large mouths in proportion to their bodies. However, the newly discovered "zombie frogs" in the Guiana Shield have narrow and pointed mouths, which, together with the orange-yellow dots on their backs, form a unique appearance. This frog is less than 4 cm long and usually lives underground. Only heavy rain can "elicit" the calls of male frogs. The researchers who followed the sound dug the frogs out of the mud with their bare hands; at the same time, they themselves were covered in mud and drenched like drowned rats - it was this strange scene that made them name the new species "zombie frog".

Orange Bat

Orange bat (Myotis nimbaensis) | Bat Conservation International

The bright orange fur of this species is unique to the dark-colored, nocturnal bats. During field research in the mountains of Guinea, researchers initially thought it was a variant of a common species, but after a series of studies, they discovered that it belonged to a new species that had never been discovered before.

However, according to scientists' assessment, this newly discovered bat is likely to be critically endangered.

Pygmy Sea Dragon

Cylix tupareomanaia | References [7]

A new species of Syngnathidae has been discovered in New Zealand. It is a close relative of the seahorse, and its candy-colored appearance allows it to blend in with the surrounding coral reefs. Whether it is a human or a predator, it is easy to miss it if you don't have a pair of sharp eyes.

Regal Dumbo Octopus

Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis imperator) | Alexander Ziegler

These cute octopuses have big ears and look like a classic Disney character, Dumbo. This is a characteristic of the genus Octopus, which is why they are called Dumbo octopuses.

The newly discovered Dumbo octopus, named the Emperor Dumbo Octopus, lives on the Emperor Seamount on the bottom of the North Pacific Ocean. Researchers cleverly used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), minimally invasive genetic testing and micro-CT technology to confirm its new species identity without dissection.

It's not easy to get to know you

Suzhen Ring Snake

Bungarus suzhenae | References [5]

Suzhen Krait is found in Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province and Kachin State in northern Myanmar. This snake is covered with white stripes, so scholars decided to name it after the mythical figure Bai Suzhen in The Legend of the White Snake. This is also the first time that Chinese scholars have named a species of the genus Krait.

However, this highly venomous "Suzhen" is not someone to be trifled with, and herpetologist Joseph Slowinski died in northern Myanmar in 2001 after being bitten by it; in 2015, herpetologist Hou Mian was bitten by it in Yunnan and fell into a coma, and survived after more than 70 hours of rescue.

Snakes with black and white rings may belong to the genus Krait, which is highly venomous, or to the genus Leucomorpha, which is non-venomous. When we are in the wild, it is difficult to immediately confirm their identity, so don't take the initiative to approach them - of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best strategy.

Wuyi Forest Rana

Wuyi forest frog (Rana Wuyiensis), female on the left, male on the right | References [2]

In Wuyishan National Park, investigators saw a Fujian bamboo snake preying on a wood frog in a ditch. They took a photo and enlarged it, only to realize that no one had ever seen this kind of wood frog! The investigators quickly went to the nearby area to find some wood frogs of similar size but different body color, and compared the specimens and sequenced their genes. Unexpectedly, by accident, they actually found a wood frog that had never been described before, and named it the Wuyi wood frog.

“I’m sorry to meet you this way” | References [2]

Hingu screech owl

Hingu screech owl (Megascops stangiae) | Kleiton Silva

It was discovered at the same time as the Alagoas screech owl (Megascops alagoensis). The screech owl genus includes small and medium-sized owls, named for their sharp and piercing calls. When studying them, it is also a problem to lure them out - cleverly, scientists recorded the calls of their own kind and played them repeatedly, and the extremely territorial owls would come out to defend their territory.

In the familiar territory, there is also you who I have never met

Shenzhen Giant Crab

Shenzhen giant crab (Megapleonum shenzhen) | Shenzhen Evening News

This new species named after Shenzhen is the second species of the genus Macrognatha and is also endemic to Shenzhen. In 2018, Dr. Huang Chao accidentally saw a photo of a crab on the Internet and searched for it many times according to the location provided by the publisher. It was not until this year that this species was given a name and entered people's field of vision.

If you have eaten Chinese hairy crabs, you may have noticed that the abdomen of the male crab is an acute triangle, which is a characteristic of most freshwater crabs. The uniqueness of the giant crab is the wide abdomen of the male, which is also the reason for their name.

Homer loach

Homatula guanheensis | References [19]

It looks like a loach, but it wears a "light yellow striped long skirt". This is the first new species of fish discovered by a Henan scientific research team and distributed in Henan Province. It can be called a 100% "Henan fish". However, they are rare and face the risk of extinction, and urgently need rescue protection.

Taishun flat wax cicada

Taishun flat wax cicada (Catullioides taishunensis) | References [18]

Shiny black wings and a silver head with bright red stripes - this little "fighter" with its own cape is a new species of the family Cyperus punctatus discovered by researchers in Zhejiang Province this year.

Coming from ancient times

Misanosaurus

Restoration of Pendraig milnerae | References [12]

It is the oldest carnivorous dinosaur, only 1 meter long. Its fossil was unearthed in a quarry in the UK in 1952 and was once thought to have been lost. Later, paleontologist Angela Milner finally found it in a specimen box of crocodile bones in a museum, bringing the fossil that had been dusted for decades back to light.

It is a pity that Milner, 73, died in August 2021 and did not live to see the publication of Archosauria michelii. But the dinosaurs named after her will continue to shine in the academic world.

Dragon Man

Reconstruction of the head of Homo longi | References [16]

The name "Dragon Man" may be different from what you think. It does not mean "descendants of the dragon" but "people from Heilongjiang" - that's right, the skull fossil of Dragon Man was unearthed in Heilongjiang, Harbin. Researchers believe that this is a new species of the genus Homo.

This skull was discovered in 1933. According to research by Dr. Ji Qiang's team at Hebei University of Geosciences, the age of this dragon man skull may be between 146,000 and 309,000 years old, and it was found in the late "Middle Pleistocene" lake strata. In order to adapt to the cold winter in high latitudes, the dragon man was very strong.

The plant world, refreshing cognition

Aspidistra longhuiensis

Aspidistra longhuiensis | Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences

It belongs to the genus Aspidistra. The name "Aspidistra" has existed since ancient times. Volume 9 of the Qing Dynasty's "Illustrated Records of Plant Names and Realities" records: "Aspidistra - also known as the flying centipede, can be found in Jianchang and Nangan. It looks like a newly born palm leaf, thin at the bottom and wide at the top, more than 2 feet long, with coarse grain and tough texture, and does not wither in winter. The roots near the roots are black like eggs, and the horizontal roots are very long, with dense whiskers, shaped like a centipede, so it is named after its shape." This means that its rhizome has dense whiskers, like a centipede; "Aspidistra" means that the perianth tube is surrounded by lobes, like a spider holding eggs.

However, we can also see from the picture that the longhui spider does not seem to look like a spider holding eggs. Through anatomical identification, specimens and literature review, the researchers determined that it is a new species of the genus Aspidistra with a unique appearance.

Aspidistra radiata, which looks more like a spider holding eggs | References [23]

Tobacco "killer"

Nicotiana insecticida | Maarten Christenhusz / Curtin University

In Australia, researchers have discovered a new species of the nightshade family. This tobacco plant with small white flowers may look harmless, but it can wreak havoc on insects. Its surface is covered with glands that secrete mucus, which can trap and kill insects such as aphids and flies.

Goodbye, no time to wave

However, also in 2021, six species were listed for the first time or re-listed as extinct in the Red List of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), including two reptile species, one insect species and three plant species. Unfortunately, most of them were short-lived, and before humans had a chance to learn more about them, they had already disappeared in the long river of time.

This bright blue gecko with black spots (Phelsuma edwardnewtoni) was last seen in 1917 and has not been recorded since. After a second survey failed to find any, the IUCN listed it as extinct in 2021.

An extinct gecko (Phelsuma edwardnewtoni) from Rodrigues | Wikimedia Commons

This Mexican tree species, scientifically known as Licaria mexicana, was last collected by humans around 1930. Due to the massive deforestation, its habitat has been completely destroyed. In 2021, they were assessed to be extinct, and we can only see a few leaf specimens left by individuals hundreds of years ago.

Leaf specimen of Licaria mexicana | References [22]

Due to habitat destruction caused by human activities, the populations of countless species have become precarious under human eyes, and despite many efforts to save them, they are still powerless. The Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is the largest marsupial in modern times. Due to the mass slaughter of humans, they were declared extinct in the 1930s. In 2021, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) released a color restored version of the Tasmanian tiger video. This video was shot in 1933, and three years later, the last Tasmanian tiger died of exposure in the zoo. Today, we can only see them running freely on the grasslands and jungles from this video, but they in the video cannot hear our apologies and remembrances that have been separated for nearly a hundred years.

These neighbors who waved goodbye left only a fluttering back. But we were lucky to have had a glimpse of them, because there are many species that have quietly left before humans discovered them. The only traces of their life on Earth may be the unchanging mountains and oceans that still remember them in silence. We can only hope that, with the attention of humans, those species that are still alive can spend the long years on Earth with us.

References

[1]Extreme miniaturization of a new amniote vertebrate and insights into the evolution of genital size in chameleons | Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80955-1.

[2] Our research team discovered a new amphibian species in Wuyi Mountain_Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences (nies.org)

[3]“Zombie Frog” Discovered - Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz

[4] A unique species discovered in a mountain stream was named Shenzhen Giant Crab - Photo News (sz.gov.cn)

[5]Chen ZN, Shi SC, Vogel G, Ding L, Shi JS (2021) Multiple lines of evidence reveal a new species of Krait (Squamata, Elapidae, Bungarus) from Southwestern China and Northern Myanmar. ZooKeys 1025: 35-71. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1025.62305

[6] Chengdu Institute of Biology discovered a new species of highly venomous snake, Suzhen Kaiserpent, in Yingjiang, Yunnan Province----Chinese Academy of Sciences (cas.cn)

[7]A beautiful new cryptic fish species endemic to Aotearoa, New Zealand: The Manaia Pygmy Pipehorse - The Australian Museum Blog

[8]Two New Species of Screech Owls Identified | Biology | Sci-News.com

[9]Sidnei M. Dantas et al. 2021. Multi-character taxonomic review, systematics, and biogeography of the Black-capped/Tawny-bellied Screech Owl (Megascops atricapilla-M. watsonii) complex (Aves: Strigidae). Zootaxa 4949 (3); doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.3.1

[10]Marek, PE, Buzatto, BA, Shear, WA et al. The first true millipede—1306 legs long. Sci Rep 11, 23126 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02447-0

[11]Ziegler, A., Sagorny, C. Holistic description of new deep sea megafauna (Cephalopoda: Cirrata) using a minimally invasive approach. BMC Biol 19, 81 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-021-01000-9

[12]Spiekman, Stephan NF, Martín D. Ezcurra, Richard J. Butler, Nicholas C. Fraser, and Susannah CR Maidment. 'Pendraig Milnerae , a New Small-Sized Coelophysoid Theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales'. Royal Society Open Science 8, no. 10 (October 2021): 210915. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210915

[13] Issue 501: “Spider holds an egg”, what kind of “egg” is it holding? ---- Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (whiob.ac.cn)

[14] Aspidistra elatior | iPlant - Plant Species Information System

[15]Chase, MW and Christenhusz, MJM (2021), 994. NICOTIANA INSECTICIDA. Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 38: 350-364. https://doi.org/10.1111/curt.12402

[16]Ni, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2021.100130

[17]https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/163601681614080.html

[18] Zhu, H.-Y., Yu, F., Xu, S.-Y., Ma, F.-Z., Wang, R.-R., Song, Z.-S., 2021. Taxonomic study of the Oriental genus Catullioides Bierman, 1910 (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Tropiduchidae), with description of a new species from China. ZooKeys 1037, 119–136. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1037.65481

[19] A new fish species was discovered in Henan Province. It wears a “light yellow striped long skirt” and has a graceful posture (people.com.cn)

[20]Zhou, C., Ma, W., Wang, https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e65130

[21]https://www.iucnredlist.org/

[22]Licaria mexicana (Brandegee) Kosterm. (gbif.org)

[23] Zhong Zhixiang, Cai Xiuzhen, Tian Jing, Hu Guangwan, Wang Qingfeng. A new species of Aspidistra (Asparagaceae) from Yunnan: Aspidistra radiata[J]. Acta Botanica Sinica, 2016, 34(06): 842-848.

[24]Colourised Footage of the Last Tasmanian Tiger | NFSA

Author: White Stork on the Shore

Editor: Mai Mai

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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