The World Health Organization (WHO) this week reflected on COVID-19 and ongoing efforts to understand the disease WHO recalled that on 31 December 2019 its Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of “viral pneumonia” in the city “In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives and our world,” the UN agency said on Monday Worldwide, there have been 777,074,803 confirmed cases of the disease “We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19,” WHO said “This is a moral and scientific imperative the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics. “ WHO also honoured lives lost to the disease and recognized those are still suffering from it or from long COVID The agency also expressed gratitude to the health workers “who sacrificed so much to care for us and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.” WHO has published an interactive timeline of its response to COVID-19 It said staff initiated emergency procedures on 1 January 2020 and informed the world three days later WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test we convened experts and ministries of health from around the world what we learned and what it meant for people,” the agency said In a message commemorating Friday’s International Day of Epidemic Preparedness UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged all nations to invest in resilience and equity to make a healthier and safer world for all Brazilian biologists from the Federal University of Paraíba have discovered a new species of porcupine in the genus Coendou also known as prehensile-tailed porcupines or coendous solitary rodents native to Central and South America Prehensile-tailed porcupines measure 0.7 – 1 m long including the tail and weigh about 3 – 5 kg leaves and buds as well as fruit and root vegetables The most prominent feature of these animals is their long They use it as a fifth hand that helps them hold on to branches as they climb through the forest canopy Prehensile-tailed porcupines spend the day sleeping in a hollow tree or curled up in the fork of a branch; at night they move around Although these porcupines tend to move slowly they are surprisingly agile and can climb quickly when necessary They cannot jump and must descend to the ground if they need to cross a gap between trees is only known from the Baturité Range in the Brazilian state of Ceará “The name refers to the locality of origin, a forests on a mountain range similar to the Brejos de Altitude of the Brazilian Northeast where a fauna different from that of the surrounding semiarid Caatinga can be found,” co-authors Dr Anderson Feijó and Dr Alfredo Langguth wrote in the paper published in the journal Revista Nordestina de Biologia Coendou baturitensis is a medium-sized prehensile-tailed porcupine with body densely covered with tricolor quills “On the back the quills are long with a short dirty white basal band followed by a long brown intermediate band and a dirty white terminal band the quills are shorter than on the back and are distinctly darker This is due to short basal and distal bands of dirty white color and a long intermediate brown band Coendou baturitensis is similar to Coendou speratus but can be distinguished by having the tip of the quills white Bibliographic information: Anderson Feijó and Alfredo Langguth A new species of porcupine from the Baturité range Revista Nordestina de Biologia 22 (1/2): 124-126 scientists have uncovered a new species of prehensile-tailed porcupine according to a new paper in Revista Nordestina de Biologia the Baturite porcupine (Coendou baturitensis) the new species was discovered when scientists noticed significant differences between it and its closest relative the Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis) The name prehensile-tailed refers to these porcupines long mobile tail which they use as a fifth limb to adroitly climb trees The Baturite porcupine “was discovered after a careful review of the medium and large mammals from northeastern Brazil we noted a very different shape of the skull of a porcupine collected at the Baturite Range we examined several specimens from different localities of porcupine We found some characteristics of the skin unique to these animals and had not been found in any other so far,” the lead author The new species is darker with differently colored quills than its near-relative The Baturite porcupine inhabits montane forests in northeastern Brazil and is so far only known from the Brazilian state of Ceará According to the authors many of the species in the high-altitude forests differ from those found in the semiarid Caatinga forests on the plans below It’s very important protect this region,” says Feijó who notes that the new porcupine is likely threatened the scientists need more data before than they can definitively classify it Interestingly this is actually the second new prehensile-tailed porcupine (in the Coendou genus) to be described in Brazil this year. In April, scientists announced the discovery of the hope porcupine (Coendou speratus) the scientists say this new species is in grave danger of extinction as 95 percent of its habitat has been lost and it continues to be hunted by locals Porcupines are large rodents known for their bristling quills there are over 30 porcupine species worldwide Sky islands: exploring East Africa’s last frontier (12/04/2013) The montane rainforests of East Africa are little-known to the global public The Amazon and Congo loom much larger in our minds while the savannas of East Africa remain the iconic ecosystems for the region biodiverse forests—sitting on the tops of mountains rising from the African savanna—are home to some remarkable species A team of international scientists—Michele Menegon and Simon Loader—have made it their mission to document the little-known reptiles and amphibians in these so-called sky islands Scientists discover new cat species roaming Brazil cats are some of the most well-studied animals on Earth but that doesn’t mean these adept carnivores don’t continue to surprise us Scientists have announced today the stunning discovery of a new species of cat Looking at the molecular data of small cats in Brazil researchers found that the tigrina—also known as the oncilla in Central America—is actually two separate species The new species has been dubbed Leopardus guttulus and is found in the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil while the other Leopardus tigrinus is found in the cerrado and Caatinga ecosystems in northeastern Brazil New bat species discovered in Brazil leaves another at risk (11/15/2013) A team of researchers has discovered a new species of bat in Brazil Bokermann’s nectar bat (Lonchophylla bokermanni) the bat populations of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado – the tropical savannah of Brazil’s interior – are in fact distinct from one another Scientists now say the Atlantic Forest’s population represents a newly described species which they have dubbed Peracchi’s nectar bat (Lonchophylla peracchii) Newly discovered beetles construct private homes out of leaf holes and feces (11/12/2013) Scientists have discovered two new species of leaf beetles in southern India that display a novel way of using leaf holes and their fecal pellets to build shelters – a nesting behavior previously not known among leaf beetles Discovered in the forests of the Western Ghats in the states of Karnataka and Kerala the scientists have named these pin-head sized leaf beetles Orthaltica syzygium and Orthaltica terminalia after the plants they feed on: Syzygium species (e.g. the Java plum) and Terminalia species (e.g. Five new, cryptic bats discovered in Senegal (11/11/2013) An international research team led by Daurina Koubinova has discovered five new species of vesper bats during a series of expeditions to Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park because their genetic makeup is different despite physical similarities Adorable baby olinguito photographed in Colombia (picture) (11/01/2013) Researchers returning from an expedition to a cloud forest in Colombia have released photos of the world’s most recently-discovered carnivore DNA tests reveal new dolphin species (photos) scientists have declared a new dolphin species that dwells off the coast of northern Australia The discovery was made after a team of researchers looked at the world’s humpback dolphins (in the genus Sousa) which sport telltale humps just behind their dorsal fins as-yet-unnamed species was previously lumped with other humpback dolphins in the Indo-Pacific region New species of beetle discovered in megacity (10/30/2013) When imagining the discovery of a new species most people conjure thoughts of intrepid explorers at least according to a new study published in Zookeys The study reports the discovery of a new species of water beetle in the heart of the 10th largest megacity in the world: Manila The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] New regions of prominence on the national stage share the cultivation around and deep into the woods This experience takes place where the culture seems unusual Belo Horizonte – Brazilian coffee production is known for its huge volume. The National Company of Supply (Conab) foresees 49 million bags of coffee only this year growers in unusual regions share something: the cultivation with agroforestry techniques In the state where this crop was implanted as soon as it arrived in Brazil, coffee went through the last century to its own devices, growing at the Atlantic Forest, but four years ago the Coffee Growers Association of Serra do Baturité (Afloracafé) was created and founded the association as soon as we went back Our goal is bringing technologies to our region but we struggle with processing and storage,” says Frederico Yan who cultivates in his Sítio Bom Princípio farm and is Afloracafé president Although the solution was modernizing processes with training the decision was respecting ancestral techniques Our cost is very high because we don’t want to put a tractor there and then plant Produce with minimum environmental impact,” Yan explained He believes that the initiative is also an opportunity to develop the region’s economy “Our intention is producing good coffee and get an economic return to encourage other growers to not abandon the crop Most of them are leaving for fruit crops and stripping out the coffee that came back in the 1900s,” he emphasized Many native trees with up to 1.5 meter across and 20 meters high offer the coffee shadow and organic matter nutrition “The inga’s pollen attracts a wasp that predates on the coffee borer beetle (The story continues after the photo gallery) To keep Sítio Águas Finas sustainable, Uchôa invested in agritourism with a lodge and treks for the adventurer ones “But I always say that a 90-point coffee is our focus The 90-point evaluation that Uchôa refers to is made by professional tasters and coffees with a rate over 80 points are considered special most of those who were at least a little bit careful were classified as special,” Yan explained Most properties have 15-25 hectares and want coffee all the producers have their own brand of roasted bean One hundred forty families live there in 27 villages One of the 2,000 Indians is Wilson Nakodah Suruí who had his coffee among the species’ top five at an award given by the ICW His persistence made him the first Indian to reach the shortlist of the award Nakodah started tending the coffee and planting more trees The bag was being sold for BRL 15-20 (USD 4-5) so I stopped planting for a while,” he recalled the so-called “clonal coffee,” he tried planting again “We learned about clonal coffee online,” explained he deforestation was almost zero,” Funai coordination stressed Some crops are consortiated with nut trees The Suruí people produced around 1,300 bags of coffee in 2019 The Suruí people signed a contract with 3 Corações [brand] which funded a African raised bed and tools for securing the quality after the harvest as well as assuring a more profitable price than the market price,” said the coordinator 3 Corações is Brazil’s roasted and ground coffee leading company and the proposal to buy Indian’s beans include creating a brand exclusive for them in the municipality of Alto Alegre dos Parecis He started producing high-quality beans in 2016 and “We plant until the coffee is four years old with just natural biologic products to fight off the borer beetle,” he explained With the organic material he collects in the woods of the estate The fresh impetus for the activity in the state is motivated by the Rondonia Coffee Growing Project which was created by organizations such as the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE) and Embrapa together with the government of the state The initiative takes producers to coffee cuppings training and presents new technologies such as a box for controlled bean fermentation “This work has encouraged many producers that grow high-quality coffee Rondônia is going through a transformation in how they see coffee from a commodity to a special coffee,” Dalazen finished at Brazil’s third highest mountain – Pico da Bandeira Minas Gerais – Willians Valério and his family decided to grow coffee beans but it wasn’t until four years ago that they embraced so-called “syntropic farming.” “I found out that the guy who does this type of farming has one of the best cocoas in the world He’s a Swiss man who lives and farms in Bahia And he puts out three times more than the regular [cocoa farmer],” explains Valério who’s since taken courses with people associated with the man who introduced the system Some plants will bloom quicker and bring the others along We design the system as we go,” the farmer describes whose natural pruning lets in 100% of the light,” explains Valério His nature-driven approach won him the Best Arabica title at the 2019 Coffee of the Year contest Attention to detail is painstaking in growing the fruit – a red and yellow Catuaí hybrid picked one by one when ripe and then washed and hang-dried for 25 days “This year we got 15 bags of coffee and we’re still harvesting There’s plenty of new ground that’ll become productive next year All we grow is agroforest systems,” he ensures The system is complemented by native plants including assa-peixe “These are native plants that become friends Not to mention the ones we bring from elsewhere who’s working on his own course to teach the technique But before the triumph there were moments of desperation some of the property burned off in the fire that hit Caparaó Park it was something I’d never seen in my life We went up and it was worse than we imagined We managed to contain the fire at the river,” he recalls the crop management whereby organic material is kept only on the ground meant the fire kept low where there was no management and the organic material was high We tried in some places and almost got killed Thank God we overcame it and showed that fire-free poison-free farming can be much more beneficial for everyone Syntropic farming!,” says the coffee grower *Thais Sousa travelled by invitation of the International Coffee Week organizers The Gulf country has deposited its instrument of acceptance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies which is aimed at curbing harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing and promoting the sustainable management of global marine resources The Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA) is the news website of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce Its goal is to promote communication between Brazilians and Arabs Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013 Many of these were “cryptic species” that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species Below are some of the most interesting “new species” discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013 The last name of the author of each post is listed in parentheses New tapir discovered in the Amazon (Hance) A decade of research proved what indigenous tribes have long known: a diminutive tapir that inhabits open grasslands and forests in Colombia and Brazil is distinct from the larger Brazilian tapir The species is named Tapirus kabomani after the name for “tapir” in the local Paumari language: “Arabo kabomani.” Described in the Journal of Mammalogy, the Kobomani tapir is the fifth tapir found in the world and the first to be discovered since 1865 It is also the first mammal in the order Perissodactyla (which includes tapirs this is the largest land mammal to be uncovered in decades: in 1992 scientists discovered the saola in Vietnam and Cambodia a rainforest bovine that is about the same size as the new tapir New marsupial discovered in Ecuador (Hance) Researchers working in Ecuador identified a previously unknown species of shrew-opossum according to a study published in the Journal of Mammalogy named after the national park where it was discovered The team from Pacific Lutheran University set up more than 100 live traps over 15 nights on the eastern slopes of Andes In the course of their research they recovered five specimens of the new species each measuring approximately 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) long researchers had considered it to be a subspecies due to its similarities with other populations inhabiting the western slopes of the Andes the field workers noticed a difference in the shape of the animal’s head New mountain porcupine discovered in Brazil (Hance) In Brazil’s Baturite Mountains, scientists uncovered a new species of prehensile-tailed porcupine, according to a paper in Revista Nordestina de Biologia. Dubbed, the Baturite porcupine (Coendou baturitensis) The name prehensile-tailed refers to these porcupine’s long In November, scientists announced the stunning discovery of a new species of cat, long-confused with another. Looking at the molecular data of small cats in Brazil, researchers found that the tigrina—also known as the oncilla in Central America—is actually two separate species The new species is called Leopardus guttulus and lives in the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil New bat species discovered in Brazil leaves another at risk (Millar) While new species discoveries are generally viewed as good news for conservationists, the November announcement of a new bat species in Brazil meant that another species is actually more vulnerable than previously thought the populations of Bokermann’s nectar bat (Lonchophylla bokermanni) in the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado are in fact distinct from one another Scientists say the Atlantic Forest’s population represents a newly described species this new classification leaves the entire Bokermann’s nectar bat species restricted to a 150 square kilometers in the Cerrado and at grave risk from habitat destruction An international research team led by Professor Petr Koube and Darina Koubínová discovered five new species of vesper bats during a series of expeditions to Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park according to a paper published in Frontiers in Zoology New dolphin species in northern Australia (Hance) With the help of DNA tests, scientists in October declared a new dolphin species that dwells off the coast of northern Australia Researchers from James Cook University and National Geographic discovered three new herp species — a cryptic leaf-tail gecko and a frog — during an expedition to northeastern Australia The species are described in three papers published in October in the journal Zootaxa a team led by Conrad Hoskin from James Cook University and photographer Tim Laman of National Geographic and Harvard University explored a remote mountain range on Cape Melville It was the first time scientists had surveyed the forest that grows among boulders on the summit of the range Within days the team had identified the two lizards and frog along with several other species that may prove new to science Three new giant fish from the Amazon (Hance) It’s hard to mistake an arapaima for anything else: these massive air-breathing fish (they have to surface every few minutes) are the megafauna of the Amazon’s rivers and the fact that they have been hunted by indigenous people for millennia scientists still know relatively little about arapaima scientists have lumped all arapaima into one species: Arapaima gigas two studies in Copeia split the arapaimas into at least five total species—and more may be coming In the most recent study, researcher Donald Stewart with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), describes an entirely new species of arapaima based on a specimen held in the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia in Brazil. Dubbed Arapaima leptosoma the new species is more slender than Arapaima gigas and possesses other important physical differences 4 new species of legless lizards in California (Butler) living in marginal habitats that included “a vacant lot in downtown Bakersfield among oil derricks in the lower San Joaquin Valley and at the end of one of the runways at LAX,” according to a statement from UC Berkeley Ground-warbler from the Philippines (Butler) A ground-warbler from the Philippines was the twenty-third species of bird described in 2013. The species, dubbed Robsonius thompsoni was described in the August issue of the journal The Condor It was discovered after researchers from the University of Kansas the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the Philippine National Museum distinguished it from two closely-related ground-warblers In August, Zookeys announced a major discovery: the first new mammalian carnivore described in the Western Hemisphere since the 1970’s. Dubbed the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina) the new mammal is a member of a little-known elusive group of mammals—olingos—that are related to raccoons Peter Pan fairy in Central America (Millar) A new genus of fairyfly has been discovered in Costa Rica The new species is aptly named Tinkerbella nana after the fairy in J.M Barrie’s play Peter Pan is one of the smallest winged insects in the neotropics Found in both temperate and tropical climates the fairyfly is not actually a fly as its name suggests but instead is more closely related to wasps – being classed within the superfamily Chalcidoidea or the “chalcid wasps.” There are over 1,400 species of fairyfly mostly found in the tropical environments of the southern hemisphere New flying mammal in Lao bushmeat market (Kimbrough) Poison dart frog discovered in ‘Lost World’ (Butler) In July scientists described a new species of poison dart frog after discovering it during a study to determine the impact of tourism on biodiversity in a tract of rainforest known as “The Lost World” in Guyana. The scientists named the frog Allobates amissibilis — in Latin “that may be lost” — in recognition of its home which was the set for British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 book a waterfall at the foot of the Iwokrama Mountains in Central Guyana New bird species discovered in Cambodia’s largest city (Butler) A previously unknown species of bird was found hiding in plain sight after scientists photographed what was thought to be more abundant species at a construction site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh Subsequent analysis revealed the species to be distinct Known as the Cambodian tailorbird (Orthotomus chaktomuk) the new bird is one of only two species endemic to Cambodia according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) the group whose researcher Ashish John snapped the first pictures of the bird 15 new species of birds in the Amazon (Hance) this is the largest group of new birds uncovered in the Brazilian in the Amazon in 140 years In a single paper, a team of researchers described 101 new species of weevils from New Guinea more than doubling the known species in the beetle genus Since describing new species is hugely laborious and time-intensive the researchers turned to a new method of species description known as “turbo-taxonomy,” which employs a mix of DNA-sequencing and taxonomic expertise to describe species more rapidly Walking shark species in Indonesia’s Maluku islands (Goldenberg) Scientists from Conservation International announced the discovery of a new species of walking shark near the island of Halmahera uses its fins to “walk” along the sea floor A Zootaxa paper published in August described a new species of shark from coastal areas off the Carolinas in the United States The species is smaller than the closely-related scalloped hammerhead 3 species of carnivorous snails in Thailand (Smith) Scientists from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok and the Natural History Museum, London discovered three new species of carnivorous snails in northern Thailand The new snail species — named Perrottetia aquilonaria phuphamanesis — were collected during surveys throughout Thailand between 2008 and 2012 and are described in the open access journal Zookeys Identified by their genital organs and shell characteristics these are the first snails in their genus Perrottetia to be described in over a century The snails belong to the family Streptaxidae which is a terrestrial carnivorous group of snails known to feed on insect larvae These tiny snails less than 1 centimeter in size are found living within rock crevices endemic to a single or few limestone mountain ranges in north and north-eastern Thailand adopting a “one hill one species” endemism Prehistoric animal named after Johnny Depp due to its ‘scissorhands’ (Hance) Half a billion years after an arthropod with long triple claws roamed the shallow Cambrian seas, scientists have named it after Hollywood movie actor, Johnny Depp: Kooteninchela deppi played Edward Scissorhands—an artificial man with long scissors for hands—in a popular 1990 film In 2002, researchers noticed a distinct-looking mole rat in Zambia. It took several years to confirm their hypothesis that they had uncovered a new species, but an April study published in Zootaxa by Paul Van Daele and colleagues described the world’s newest mole rat: Caroline’s mole rat (Fukomys vandewoestijneae) The new mole rat was found in the Ikelenge pedicle a geographic area that covers portions of Zambia the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola Although little research has been conducted in the Ikelenge pedicle scientists believe it is a hotspot for animals found nowhere else Already scientists have discovered 28 endemic species: one amphibian This unique region is made up of gallery forests along rivers and wetlands (known locally as mushitus) and woodlands dominated by miombo trees 2 new frog genera in India’s Western Ghats (Perinchery) Researchers discovered two new frog genera in the rare and threatened freshwater swamps of the southern Western Ghats of India described in the open-access journal Zootaxa prove once again the importance of the mountain range as a biodiversity hotspot The Western Ghats is home to a stunning variety of flora and fauna ranging from large mammals like the Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) to fascinating amphibians such as the Malabar gliding frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) Tree frogs like these gliding frogs belong to quite a diverse family of amphibians: Rhacophoridae The mostly-arboreal rhacophorids are found in habitats including ground litter Their reproductive modes also vary greatly: some lay eggs in foam nests that develop into tadpoles and metamorphize into frogs while others develop directly from eggs into young frogs Around 60 rhacophorids are found in the Western Ghats But knowledge about amphibian diversity in the mountain range has surged with over 70 new species across all known genera discovered over the past decade Tree-dwelling porcupine in Brazil (Butler) In an April issue of Zootaxa, scientists in Brazil described a new species of tree-dwelling porcupine in the country’s most endangered ecosystems. A team of researchers led by Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes, a biologist at the Federal University of Pernambuco, found the porcupine in a small forest fragment in the state of Pernambuco. They christened the creature Coendou speratus a combination of its local name “coandu-mirim” and the Latin word “speratus” for “hope.” The name choice is appropriate given the porcupine’s high risk of extinction About 98 percent of its forest habitat has been destroyed while its population is as fragmented as the forests it inhabits making the species vulnerable in inbreeding The species is also actively hunted by locals Image courtesy of Antonio Rossano Mendes / Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Beautiful striped ban in South Sudan (Hance) Scientists have discovered a brilliantly-striped bat in South Sudan Working in Bangangai Game Reserve during July of last year biologist DeeAnn Redeer and conservationist Adrian Garsdie with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) came across an unmissable bat which has been dubbed by various media outlets as the “badger bat” and the “panda bat.” and confirmed that it belongs to a species that was discovered over seventy years ago in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1939 it is clear that it doesn’t belong in the genus that it’s in right now,” Reeder explains the ears—literally everything you look at doesn’t fit It’s so unique that we need to create a new genus.” Described by a number of media outlets as “the size of your face” a new tree-dwelling tarantula discovered in Sri Lanka has awed arachnophiliacs and terrified arachnophobes alike. But the new species, named Raja’s tiger spider (Poecilotheria rajaei) is likely Critically Endangered according to the scientist that discovered it in northern Sri Lanka Another ‘penis snake’ (Butler) A new species of caecilian – a worm-like amphibian – has been discovered in the rainforests of French Guiana The new species is called Microcaecilia dermatophaga or “little skin-eating caecilian” in reference to the feeding habits of young caecilians which peel and eat their mother’s skin The mother isn’t injured by this process — she grows an extra layer of fat-rich skin during this phase of development Adult caecilians feed on termites and earthworms and spend most of their time living underground or in leaf litter in tropical regions Little else is known about the new species the so-called “penis snake” — also a type of caecilian — that turned up in an Amazon river tributary last year when engineers were draining a tributary of the Amazon for the construction of a hydroelectric dam Scientists have discovered two new species of mouse lemurs in Madagascar bringing the total number of diminutive primates known to science to 20 according to a paper published in the International Journal of Primatology The lemurs were collected in 2003 and 2007 during field surveys to the eastern part of the island nation. Genetic analysis revealed them to be new species: the Marohita mouse lemur (Microcebus marohita) and the Anosy mouse lemur (Microcebus tanosi) Both species are unusually large for mouse lemurs Microcebus marohita tips the scales at 78 grams (2.8 ounces) making it the largest of known mouse lemurs Microcebus tanosi is now the second largest known mouse lemur reaching 27 cm from snout to tail and weighing about 50 grams It is named after the Anosy region in southeast Madagascar Scientists discover new genus of crustacean (Hance) In recent journeys to Madagascar, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Philippines, and French Polynesia, scientists from the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes and the University of Barcelona have discovered not only five new crustaceous species, but also the existence of a new genus in the family Scientists have discovered two new species of woodlizards from the Peruvian Amazon are little-known reptiles with only 10 described species found in South and Central America both new woodlizards were found in Cordillera Azul National Park Scientists named one of the new species Enyalioides azulae after the Cordillera Azul (Blue Mountains) or Bin Zayed’s woodlizard after Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who helped fund the expedition through his Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZSCF) 8 new frogs in one Sri Lankan sanctuary (Hance) Two surveys in the mountainous forests of Sri Lanka’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary have uncovered eight new species of frogs according to a paper in the Journal of Threatened Taxa While every year over a hundred new amphibians are discovered eight new discoveries in a single park is especially notable Sri Lanka is an amphibian-lovers paradise with well over 100 described species Researchers have discovered a new species of Vietnamese salamander that looks like it was birthed from an abyssal volcano Found tucked away in Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science the scientists described the species in Current Herpetology the new crocodile newt (in the genus Tylototriton) was determined to be a new species when it showed morphological and genetic differences from near relatives the researchers say these are typical colors for crocodile newts The scientists named the new species Ziegler’s crocodile newt (Tylototriton ziegleri) after Thomas Ziegler of Cologne Zoo who works with reptiles and amphibians in Vietnam with males measuring 5.4 to 6.8 (2 to 2.6 inches) centimeters and females measuring 7.1 centimeters (2.7 inches) While genetic testing proved that it was a new species 2 mini salamanders discovered in Colombia (Hance) Biologists have discovered two new species of salamander in Tamá National Natural Park in Colombia While the discovery should be cause for celebration the news was dampened by the fact that both species are already infected with the deadly fungal disease known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) which has wiped out amphibian populations worldwide Both of the new salamanders belong to the genus Bolitoglossa which are web-footed salamanders found in the tropical Americas Discovered on the eastern flank of the Andean mountains the researchers named one of the new species the Tama salamander (Bolitoglossa tamaense) after Tama National Natural Park and the other Leandra’s salamander (Bolitoglossa leandrae) after a local girl A unique whistling call has led scientists to discover a new owl on the Indonesian island of Lombok occurring separately but within a few days of each other both noticed something different about the calls coming from owls on Lombok The owl on Lombok was long-thought to be a population of the Moluccan scops owl (Otus magicus) due to similarities in plumage but the unusual call pushed scientists to investigate further owls depend on their calls to identify their own kind allowing eavesdropping scientists to do the same Jodi Rowley is no stranger to discovering new amphibians—she’s helped describe over 10 in her short career thus far—but she was shocked to discover a new species of flying frog less than 100 kilometers from a major, bustling Southeast Asian metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately, the new frog, dubbed Helen’s tree frog (Rhacophorus helenae) according to the description published in the Journal of Herpetology the new species is described as a giant flying frog but instead use webs between their hands and feet to glide from one tree to another Researchers believe Helen’s tree frog went unnoticed for so long German and Russian biologists have discovered a stunning new species of lizard in Vietnam. The species, dubbed Calotes bachae a group of lizards commonly known as “forest dragons.” It was described after DNA research led by Timo Hartmann revealed it was genetically distinct from another blue lizard species found in Myanmar and Thailand it is what scientists call a cryptic species — one that has been hiding in plain sight Sci-News.com presents some of the best species officially described in 2013 a flying squirrel and giant viruses are among the top 20 1. Hemiscyllium halmahera, a ‘walking’ shark from Indonesia: Bamboo shark Hemiscyllium halmahera (© Mark Erdmann) Hemiscyllium halmahera belongs to the shark family Hemiscylliidae these sharks ‘walk’ by wriggling their bodies and pushing with their pectoral and pelvic fins 2. Tapirus kabomani, a new species of tapir from the forests and open savannas of Brazil and Colombia: and a male Tapirus kabomani in the southern Amazonas State Tapirus kabomani is the smallest living tapir 3. Baturite porcupine (Coendou baturitensis), a new species of prehensile-tailed porcupine from Brazil: The Baturite porcupine is known only from the Baturité Range in the Brazilian state of Ceará Its scientific name is Coendou baturitensis 4. Leopardus guttulus, a new species of oncilla from Brazil: are housecat-sized leopards native to montane and tropical rainforests of Costa Rica Scientists had thought that there was a single species of oncilla a DNA study has shown that oncilla populations in northeastern versus southern Brazil are completely separate with no evidence of interbreeding between them 5. Carolina Hammerhead (Sphyrna gilberti), a species of shark from waters off the South Carolina coast: grey to brown hammerhead shark belonging to the family Sphyrnidae The estimated adult length is about 3 – 4 m 6. Sousa sp. nov., a new species of humpback dolphin from Australian waters: A newly identified species of humpback dolphin Humpback dolphins – named for a peculiar hump just below the dorsal fin – belong to the dolphin genus Sousa These animals measure from 5 to 8 feet in length and range from dark gray to pink or white in color They are found throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans to the coasts of Australia 7. Speleonectes tulumensis, the first known venomous crustacean: Speleonectes tulumensis is a type of crustacean known as a remipede aquatic and cave-dwelling crustaceans first described in 1981 with most segments equipped with swimming legs and bear a certain resemblance to terrestrial centipedes They occur in underwater caves in Central America Speleonectes tulumensis is found in caves in Quintana Roo (Mexico) and Belize The neurotoxin of this remipede is very similar to neurotoxins in spider venom 8. Cape Melville Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius eximius), a new species of leaf-tailed gecko from Australia: The Cape Melville Leaf-tailed Gecko with regenerated tail impressive lizards that are highly camouflaged against rocks and tree trunks The Cape Melville Leaf-tailed Gecko is known only from the vicinity of the type locality in the uplands of the Melville Range It measures about 12 cm in length and weigh around 20 g 9. Zospeum tholussum, a cave-dwelling snail with semi-transparent shell from Croatia: Zospeum tholussum is a tiny and fragile snail with a beautifully shaped dome-like semi-transparent shell Biologists found only one living specimen of Zospeum tholussum in an unnamed large chamber of the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system 10. Laotian giant flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus laoensis), a species of flying squirrel from Laos: ventral view (adapted from Daosavanh Sanamxay et al) The Laotian giant flying squirrel weighs 1.8 kg and measures about 1.1 m in total length Biologists incidentally found the only known specimen of this squirrel at a bush meat market in Central Lao PDR Read Part 2 here >>>>>