Sci-News.com presents some of the best species officially described in 2013. A walking shark, a snail with semi-transparent shell, a venomous crustacean, a flying squirrel and giant viruses are among the top 20.
11. Pristiophorus lanae, a species of sawshark from off the Philippine Islands:
Pristiophorus lanae. Image credit: David Ebert.
Sawsharks are a small group of bottom sharks, easily distinguished by their saw-like snouts and a pair of long barbels. Because of their snout, sawsharks can sometimes be confused with sawfishes.
Pristiophorus lanae is a slender-bodied five-gilled sawshark, measuring up to 80-85 cm in length.
12. Olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), a new mammal from Colombia and Ecuador:
The Olinguito, Bassaricyon neblina, in the wild. Photo credit: Mark Gurney.
The animal belongs the family Procyonidae, which it shares with raccoons, coatis, kinkajous and olingos. It is the first carnivore species discovered in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades.
The Olinguito, the smallest member of the raccoon family, looks like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear.
13. Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus lavasoensis), a new lemur species from Madagascar:
Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus lavasoensis (Andreas Hapke)
The Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur measures up to 20 – 22 inches (50 – 55 cm) and weighs up to 0.3 kg.
This species is extremely endangered. “Census data of Cheirogaleus lavasoensis are unavailable. Our preliminary estimate is that less than 50 individuals remain,” scientists said.
14. Pandoravirus salinus, a new giant virus:
Pandoravirus salinus (© IGS CNRS-AMU)
Pandoravirus salinus was found in a sediment sample collected off the coast of central Chile. Its sister species, Pandoravirus dulcis, was collected from a shallow freshwater pond near Melbourne, Australia.
In addition to being huge – about 1 μm in length and 0.5 μm in diameter, these viruses have enormous genome sizes. The genome of Pandoravirus salinus is 2,473,870 DNA bases long, while Pandoravirus dulcis runs 1,908,524 bases.
15. Bothriechis guifarroi, a green palm-pitviper from Honduras:
Male Bothriechis guifarroi, the newly discovered palm-pitviper from Honduras (Josiah H. Townsend)
Bothriechis guifarroi is highly poisonous snake. It was discovered in the Texiguat Wildlife Refuge, one of the most endemism-rich and diverse highland forests in Mesoamerica.
16. Enyalioides azulae, a new woodlizard species from Peru:
Enyalioides azulae, adult male about 96 mm long (Venegas PJ et al)
Enyalioides azulae, along with other new species, Enyalioides binzayedi, has been uncovered from poorly explored areas of the Peruvian jungles.
17. Cyatta abscondita, a new species of fungus-farming ant from Brazil:
Cyatta abscondita. Image credit: Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo / Smithsonian.
Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) are nocturnal and forage for organic debris to grow their fungus gardens, which hang in curtain-like columns from the ceilings of their hidden underground chambers.
The fungi that the Attini ants cultivate are probably not completely dependent upon their ant partners to survive and reproduce; they may be capable of surviving independently. The ants, however, are obligatorily dependent on the fungi for their survival.
18. Helen’s Tree Frog (Rhacophorus helenae), a species of flying frog from Vietnam:
Helen’s Tree Frog, Rhacophorus helenae (Jodi J. L. Rowley et al / Australian Museum)
Helen’s Tree Frog is a 10-cm-long bright green frog with a white belly. It has webbed hands and feet like parachutes to glide from tree to tree.
The frog is known only from two patches of lowland forest in the middle of agricultural land not far from Ho Chi Minh City.
19. Marohita mouse lemur (Microcebus marohita), a new lemur species from Madagascar:
Caught on camera for the first time, this image shows the newly identified Marohita mouse lemur, Microcebus marohita (Photo courtesy of Peter Kappeler)
Mouse lemurs are omnivorous, nocturnal primates native to Madagascar. The Marohita mouse lemur has grey-brown fur and weighs 2.5 to 3 ounces (65-85 grams).
20. Calotes bachae, a spectacularly colored lizard from Vietnam:
Male Calotes bachae. Due to their shining blue coloration, they can be spotted from far away even in the deep Vietnamese rainforest (Peter Geissler)
Calotes bachae measures up to 10 cm in length, and has spines on its back.
Males of Calotes bachae impress with their astonishingly rich coloration. During the mating season, their azure heads shine bright like in a contest, just to impress the females.
Calotes bachae can also reduce their play of colors, similar to the well-known chameleons. For example, at night they are inconspicuously dark and brownish.
