As every year, an international committee of taxonomists, gathered by the International Institute for Species Exploration (ASU), has chosen the10 most curious and rare species described in 2008. The list was released on Saturday, May 23, the anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus, the scientist who started the species classification system.
Among those selected this year, apygmy seahorsethe size of a peaHippocampus satomiae) discovered in Indonesia, a giant plant from Madagascar (Tahini spectablilis) that dies immediately after flowering, and atiny barbados snake (Leptotyphlops carlae), which measures just over ten centimeters and is considered the smallest on the planet.
Thetop tenalso includes thelongest insect in the world (Phobaeticus chani), with more than 50 centimeters and the appearance of a stick; abacteria extremófiladiscovered by Japanese scientists living in thehairspray (Microbacterium hatanonis); a snail from MalaysiaOpisthostoma yarn) with a flexible shell capable of twisting and rolling; and acaffeine-free coffee beanfrom Cameroon (Coffea charrieriana).
The list is completed by the “ghost” slug (Selenochlamys spree) found in Cardiff(UK); a beautiful deep blue fishThe deep chromis) found deep within the Palau reef; and the fossilized fishMaterpiscis attenboroughifrom Australia, considered the last viviparous vertebrate.
