NEWLY DISCOVERED ANIMAL SPECIES

Newly Discovered Chameleon. Photo: University of York

The conceit that the natural world has already been fully explored is nothing but an illusion. In fact, science is constantly discovering new species of animals in environments ranging from rainforests to deserts. Starting today, All About Wildlife.com will be keeping a running list of new species. We will also run photos of these species if and when they are available to us. To see our frequent updates, just click “New Species” in the navigation bar.

The New Chameleon

Tanzania—specifically the Udzungu Moutains National Park region in that East African country—is home to one of the newest vertebrate species known to science. The new chameleon species, Kinyongia magomberae, the males of which sport a single blade-like horn on their snouts, was first observed by Dr. Andrew Marshall of the University of York in the UK. Dr. Marshall’s first encounter with the chameleon took place when he spotted one unfortunate member of the species in the process of being devoured by a snake. Live specimens were subsequently collected.

Prior to the discovery there were approximately 160 chameleon species worldwide. Now, apparently, there are approximately 161. 12/2/09

A ‘Brand-New’ Monkey

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society turned up a ‘brand-new’ monkey species in northwestern Brazil earlier this year. The tiny (less than 3/4-pound, or 340-gram) Mura’s saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) was discovered living in the Purus and Madeira river basins in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. The primate is already considered to be under threat by development in its rainforest habitat. 12/2/09

Fearsome Fanged Frog

A large, bird-eating frog with fangs was just one of 163 new species discovered by World Wildlife Fund scientists working in Thailand’s Mekong River region. Males of the new frog species, Limnonectes megastomias, apparently use their fangs for fighting, as the researchers found several apparent combatants that bore scars, and some that were even missing limbs. Scientists know that the species preys on birds, because they found feathers in their feces. Would you like to see a quick slide show of some of these new Southeast Asian species? 12/2/09

A Giant, Cuddly Rat

Scientists exploring a crater on Mount Bosavi in New Guinea found a host of new species, including 16 frogs that had never before been seen, a new bat, and a giant, furry rat that was not afraid of humans. The Bosavi woolly rat, which measures about 82 centimeters (32 inches) in length and weighs around 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) even allowed itself to be picked up and cuddled by its discoverers. The creature showed no fear because it apparently had never seen people before. 12/2/09

World’s Tiniest Deer

The eastern slopes of Asia’s Himalaya Mountains have produced well over 350 new species of amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals over the last decade. One of the most recent discoveries was a miniature muntjac—a type of Asian deer—that was proven by genetic testing not only to be a distinct species, but the world’s tiniest species of deer. the miniature muntjac reaches an adult weight of no more than 24 pounds (10.9 kilos), and a height of no more than 30 inches (76.2 cm). Another Himalayan discovery was a frog, Rhacophorus suffry, that uses its large webbed feet for gliding from tree to tree. 12/2/09

Two More Of The World’s Smallest

At less than half an inch (11.5 mm) in length, Hippocampus satomiae is the world’s smallest seahorse. It was discovered recently in the waters off of Derwan Island, near Indonesian Borneo. The pony-size seahorse was named after Satomi Onishi, the diving guide who collected the creature for biologists to get a look at.

And on the other side of the world, the world’s smallest snake, the Barbados threadsnake, Leptotyplops carlae, turned up on Barbados as well as a few neighboring islands. The threadsnake measures just 4.1 inches (104 mm) in length. 12/2/09