Originally collected 28 years ago in Ecuador, new species Poa laegaardiana has been just described, only to find out its prospects for surviving in its type location seem bleak nowadays. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
When roaming in the Cordillera de los Andes of Ecuador, near the village of Facundo Vela, little did Smithsonian scientist and author, Dr. Paul M. Peterson, know that a small grass specimen will not only turn out to be an intriguing new species, but will also make a big statement on the importance of conservation.
Scientific drawing showing what makes new species P. laegaardiana distinct from its congeners
Almost three decades after its original collection the new species P. laegaardiana has finally emerged from its herbarium collection, but the story took an unexpected twist.
It took the authors a single Google Earth search to find out that what used to be the natural habitat of the newly found densely tufted bunchgrass, is now occupied predominantly by small farms.
Heavy agricultural use of the terrain, poses a good possibility for P. laegaardiana to have already been extirpated from this location. With the species currently known only from this area, chances are that this newly described species, might in fact turn out to be already extinct.
“Further studies are needed to search the area and browse collections for specimens from different locations,” explains Dr. Peterson. “But, in fact, it may well be that with our study we are documenting a possible extinction of a species, happening in the space of just 30 years. The story of P. laegaardiana serves to show how human-induced habitat loss can indeed be a major threat to the survival of life on Earth.”
The new species was named after renowned Danish botanist Simon Laegaard, who has made extensive collections in South America, Greenland, Ecuador, and Bolivia (accompanied by the authors) contributing to the documentation of the flora to make informed conservation and management plans.
Google Earth image comparison between the area of collection in 2011 and today. With the area having been plowed, chances of the grass still existing there are small, however it may still be found along the margins of the fields. CREDIT Left: @2018DigitalGlobe; Right: @2018Google @2018CNES/Airbus
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Original Source:
Peterson PM, Soreng RJ (2018) Poa laegaardiana, a new species from Ecuador (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae, Poinae). PhytoKeys 100: 141-147. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.100.25387
So here we are, 10 years from that very first issue of ours published on a very special date – the 4th of July – and the result of a seemingly ordinary breakfast conversation between two respected entomologists, Prof Lyubomir Penev and Dr Terry Erwin, during the Entomological Society of America meeting in San Diego, USA, seven months earlier.
Then and there, under the California sun, an idea about a brand new taxonomic journal meant to revolutionise the scholarly publishing in zoology – in terms of both openness and technological innovation, was born. The rest, like they say, is history.
Ten years in, we stand as the most prolific open-access journal in zoology with a total of 4,103 published articles, 45 newly described animal families, 650 genera and 8977 species, authored by a total of 5,720 researchers coming from 131 different countries. We also take pride in having set an excellent example for the rest of the academic titles in Pensoft’s already extensive portfolio of open access journals.
Find more about our achievements and milestones in our special Editorial, authored by Editor-in-Chief Dr Terry Erwin, founder Prof Lyubomir Penev and Managing editor Prof Pavel Stoev as part of our anniversarial 770th journal issue.
In the present blog post, we’ll take the opportunity to look back on ZooKeys’ top appearances on ‘the big scene’, because we believe it’s nothing but our shared fondness and homage to the kingdom of animals which has brought us here. Most importantly, it’s also the key to getting to know, save and protect our planet’s priceless biodiversity.
Here are some cool displays of ZooKeys-inspired zoo-affection to remember:
The Hollywood-worthy beauty from the photos turned the heads of professional taxonomists in such a way that, with the help of citizen scientists, the team of Dr Shaun Winterton, California Department of Food & Agriculture tracked down the insect all the way to Sabah, Malaysia, to subsequently describe it as a species new to science in 2012.
Beyond all our furriest dreams, in a world where everybody thought humans have found every single animal they’d like to add on their ‘To-pet’ wishlists, the smaller and, to be honest, cuter sibling of the tree-dwelling olingos had remained undercover up until 2013, when Prof. Kristofer M. Helgen of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and his team described the species Bassaricyon neblina, better known as the Olinguito.
This is a baby Olinguito, a new carnivorous mammal discovered in Colombia this year. pic.twitter.com/45oJNfJVkM
Surprise, surprise: as a result, there’s now a special World Olinguito Day (look up #WorldOlinguitoDay on Twitter), which the world we’ll be celebrating for the fifth time around next month, on 15th of August.
A bit less cuddly is the next spectacular species, which is also a first for science.
Photo courtesy: Somsak Panha
While centipedes can be found at various habitats, ranging from rainforests to deserts and pitch-black caves, Scolopendra cataracta still manages to impress with its unique taste for… water, as well as its giant size of up to 20 cm in length.
In fact, the species, described by the team of Dr Warut Siriwut, Chulalongkorn University, is the very first known amphibious centipede.
Moreover, it swims “powerfully like an eel,” George Beccaloni, who spotted the striking arthropod during his honeymoon in Thailand in 2001, told National Geographic.
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“Nah, they’re just big teddy bears,” smiles tarantula expert Dr Chris Hamilton, when the Sky News’ presenter asks him whether his latest discovery is in any way dangerous, after seeing her interviewee drop the black spider on camera, during their LIVE Skype chat.
Video source: Newsy: https://www.newsy.com/
The reason why the “laid back” tarantula, described as Aphonopelma johnnycashi got all that attention, however, was the undeniable and all too curious similarities between the arachnid and its famous namesake, the singer-songwriter Johnny Cash.
The Johnny Cash tarantula happened to be discovered in California, precisely near Folsom Prison – the place from Cash’s famous song “Folsom Prison Blues”. Further, the all-black males of the species are reminiscent of the singer’s nickname – ‘The Man in Black’.
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At one hand, rupturing one own’s body apart in what could be best described as ‘an explosion’, so that a toxic liquid is shot into the enemy when confronted, might sound as a vicious act of violence.
Photo courtesy: Alexey Kopchinskiy
However, in social insects like the ants, and, more specifically, in a species of the so-called ‘exploding ants’, aptly named Colobopsis explodens, this is merely the way the minor worker caste of infertile females contributes to its colony when its survival is at stake.
Did you see the video? No wonder it got everyone fascinated (including kids such as this young charming lady here!) enough to have the hashtag #ExplodingAnts become a thing on Twitter.
To protect threatened with extinction species, we first need to learn about their existence. We’ve been hearing this a lot.
Photo courtesy: Vazrick Nazari
However, it’s easy to think of the fluffy olinguito if you happen to be someone responsible for the conservation of the montane rainforest of the Colombian and Ecuadorian Andes, for example.
But how do you draw the attention of the public and policy makers to a tiny and rarely seen species of moth living in a limited and highly populated and disturbed patch of land shared between the states of California, USA, and Baja California, Mexico?
Metrics available from Altmetric. The numbers account for publications from across online sources (i.e. news outlets, social media, blogs etc.) which cite the DOI link of the article. Check out detailed data in real time.
Simply name it after the US President-to-be, is what entomologist Dr. Vazrick Nazari must’ve thought while deciding on the name of his lepidopteran discovery, going by the name of Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.
“It inhabits endangered dune habitats – very fragile – and should be protected, the kind of motivation I needed to name it after Trump,” the scientist tells BBC Radio 5.
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As a final for our special anniversarial blog post, we’ve kept a few record-breakers. Who doesn’t love to be in first place, after all?
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Fitting about 10 times within the eye of a needle, the 0.86-millimetre Angustopila dominikae, known from China, became the world’s smallest land snail species when Dr Barna Páll-Gergely, Shinshu University, published it in ZooKeyson 28th September, 2015.
Photo courtesy: Dr. Barna Páll-Gergely and Nikolett Szpisjak
Yet, its fame wasn’t meant to last.
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It took only about a month for Acmella nana to steal the spotlight thanks to its even tiniest measures of 0.70 mm. The Malaysian species was described in ZooKeys by Prof Dr Menno Schilthuizen, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and his team in addition to other 47 species, including endemic snails known from single localities, on 2nd November, 2015.
Photo courtesy: Menno Schilthuizen
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As if themed “The Year of the Smallest”, it was also at the end of 2015 when the smallest known free-living insect, called Scydosella musawasensis, was published with ZooKeys.
Photo courtesy: Alexey Polilov
To describe the 0.325-millimetre species, discoverer Dr. Alexey Polilov, Lomonosov Moscow State University, had to leave behind the preserved specimens and collect new material from the Chicaque National Park, Colombia, and, then, use a specialised software and digital micrographs to provide the exact measures.
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Fortunately, the world-record setters didn’t abandon ZooKeys with the conclusion of 2015.
In early 2016, we published the deepest-dwelling centipede, Geophilus hadesi, discovered in Croatia by the team of our Managing editor, Prof Pavel Stoev.
Photo courtesy: J. Bedek
Living at depths of 1,100 metres below the ground, the multi-legged creature surely lives up to its name inspired by the Greek god of the Underworld, Hades.
The species also comes as a nice complement to another cave-dweller of the same genus – Geophilus persephones, which carries the name of the mythological god’s wife, Persephone.
Did we overlook your own most beloved ZooKeys-published species? We’ll be happy for you to let us know about it in the Comments section below, Twitter (@ZooKeys_Journal) or Facebook (@ZooKeysJournal).
Lead author Marc Milne in the Stygian River Cave and a male specimen of the newly described Islandiana lewisi
Spiders are ubiquitous within our forests, fields, and backyards. Although you may be used to seeing the beautiful yellow and black spiders of the genus Argiope in your garden, large ground-scurrying wolf spiders in your yard, or spindly cellar spiders in your basement, this new sheet-web-building spider is probably one you haven’t seen before. The reason is that it’s known from a single cave in the world, Stygeon River Cave, in southern Indiana.
Sheet weavers, also known as dwarf spiders or money spiders, are minute creatures growing no larger than a few centimetres in length, which makes them particularly elusive. Their peculiar webs are flat and sheet-like, hence their common English name.
Female of the new species Islandiana lewisi
The new spider, Islandiana lewisi, is an homage. Milne was shown the spider by a fellow scientist, Dr. Julian Lewis, who noticed the critter on one of his many cave expeditions. In appreciation for his help, Milne and Wells named the spider after Lewis.
This is the fifteenth species in its genus (Islandiana) and the fifth known to live exclusively in caves. It has been over 30 years since the last species has been added to this group.
At about 2 mm in size, Islandiana lewisi is thought to feed on even smaller arthropods, such as springtails living in the debris on the cave floor. It is unknown when it reproduces or if it exists anywhere else. The spider is likely harmless to humans.
The collectors of the spider, Milne and Lewis, described the hostile conditions within the cave, which the new species calls home: “because the cave floods from time to time, the insides were wet, muddy, slippery, and dangerous to walk on without the proper equipment.”
Milne and Lewis found the spider in small, horizontal webs between large, mud-caked boulders in the largest room in the cave. It was collected in October 2016 with the permission of the landowner.
Milne hypothesized that he had collected something special, stating, “I didn’t know what the spider was at first, I just thought it was odd that so many were living within this dark cave with no other spider species around.”
After returning to the lab and inspecting the spider under a microscope, Milne initially misidentified the species. However, when he re-examined it months later, he realized that the species was indeed new to science.
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Original source:
Milne MA, Wells E (2018) A new species of spider (Araneae, Linyphiidae, Islandiana) from a southern Indiana cave. Subterranean Biology 26: 19-26. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.26.25605
A myriad of species and genera new to science, including economically important wasps drawing immediate attention because of their amusing names and remarkable physical characters, in addition to work set to lay the foundations for future taxonomic and conservation research, together comprise the latest 64th issue of Journal of Hymenoptera Research (JHR).
The species Qrocodiledundee outbackense
Two genera (Qrocodiledundee and Tobleronius) named after the action comedy Crocodile Dundee and the chocolate brand Toblerone are only a couple of the 14 new genera from the monograph of the microgastrine wasps of the world’s tropical regions, authored by Dr Jose Fernandez-Triana and Caroline Boudreault of the Canadian National Collection of insects in Ottawa. In their article, the team also describes a total of 29 new species, where five of them carry the names of institutions holding some of the most outstanding wasp collections.
Another curiously named species of microgastrine wasp described in the new JHR issue, is called Eadya daenerys in reference to Daenerys Targaryen, a fictional character known from the best-selling book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, and the blockbuster TV show Game of Thrones. Discovered by University of Central Florida‘s Ryan Ridenbaugh, Erin Barbeau and Dr Barbara Sharanowski as a result of a collaboration between biocontrol researchers and taxonomists, the new species might not be in control of three dragons, nor a ruler or protector of whole nations. However, by being a potential biocontrol agent against a particular group of leaf beetle pests, it could spare the lives of many eucalyptus plantations around the world.
The species Tobleronius orientalis
Furthermore, a wasp named Dolichogenidea xenomorph, which parasitises other eucalyptus pests, is also named after a character from a sought-after franchise. The scriptwriters of the horror sci-fi movie series Alien are thought to have been thinking of parasitic wasps when they came up with the character Xenomorph, remind authors Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, Dr Steven Cooper and Dr Andrew Austin. Additionally, the team from University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum point out that the species name translates to ‘strange form’ in Greek, which perfectly suits the characteristic remarkably long ovipositor of the new wasp.
Tomanovic, University of Belgrade, studies ways to extract DNA from dry parasitoid wasps from the natural history archives decades after their preservation. In their work, they make it clear that such projects are of great importance for future taxonomic and conservation research, as well as agriculture.
Boeve; J, Dominguez D, Smith D (2018) Sawflies from northern Ecuador and a checklist for the country (Hymenoptera: Argidae, Orussidae, Pergidae, Tenthredinidae, Xiphydriidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.24408
Ridenbaugh RD, Barbeau E, Sharanowski BJ (2018) Description of four new species of Eadya (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), parasitoids of the Eucalyptus Tortoise Beetle (Paropsis charybdis) and other Eucalyptus defoliating leaf beetles. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 141-175. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.24282
Fagan-Jeffries EP, Cooper SJB, Austin AD (2018) Three new species of Dolichogenidea Viereck (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Australia with exceptionally long ovipositors. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 177-190. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.25219
Boeve; J, Dominguez D, Smith D (2018) Sawflies from northern Ecuador and a checklist for the country (Hymenoptera: Argidae, Orussidae, Pergidae, Tenthredinidae, Xiphydriidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.24408
Mitrovic M, Tomanovic Z (2018) New internal primers targeting short fragments of the mitochondrial COI region for archival specimens from the subfamily Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 191-210. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.25399
Five species are also named after institutions holding some of the largest wasp collections
A total of 17 new genera and 29 new species of parasitoid wasps were identified following a study into the material deposited at major natural history collections around the globe in an attempt to further uncover the megadiverse fauna of the group of microgastrine wasps.
The novel taxa known to inhabit the tropics, including the Afrotropical, Australasian, Neotropical and the Oriental region, are published by Dr Jose Fernandez-Triana and Caroline Boudreault of the Canadian National Collection of insects in Ottawa in a monograph in the open access Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
Curiously, amongst the newly described wasps, there are several newly described genera and species, which received particularly amusing names.
Reported from the Australasian region, the genus Qrocodiledundee is not only a nod to the famous Australian action comedy ‘Crocodile Dundee’, which also happens to be a favourite of the lead author’s, but also refers to Jose’s own nickname. In the past, Jose himself used to track down and catch crocodiles for scientific study, and was even bitten by one, much like the fictional character played by Paul Hogan. Further, the so far only member known in the genus carries the name Qrocodiledundee outbackense, where the species name (outbackense) alludes to the Outback – the vast and remote interior of Australia.
Another favourite of the first author, the chocolate brand ‘Toblerone’ was in its turn sewn into the genus name Tobleronius. According to the scientists, a segment in the midsection of the bodies of those wasps resembles the triangle pieces comprising the chocolate bars, “if one has enough imagination and love for chocolate!”
Five of the newly discovered species are named in tribute to five major natural history institutions, which are greatly appreciated by the authors due to their outstanding insect collections. These are the species Billmasonius cienci, Carlmuesebecki smithsonian, Gilbertnixonius biem, Jenopappius magyarmuzeum and Ypsilonigaster naturalis referring to the Canadian National Collection of insects in Ottawa (CNC), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, the Natural History Museum in London (formerly known as the British Museum, abbreviated as ‘BM’), the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Magyar Természet-Tudományi Múzeum) and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, respectively.
The rest of the new species and genera were given more conventional names, inspired by the wasps’ distinctive characters, type localities, or were given the names of prominent scientists, as well as beloved friends and family.
Despite of the scale of the present contribution, it is highly likely that there are many more microgastrine wasps still awaiting discovery.
“Although an updated and more comprehensive phylogeny of Microgastrinae is probably years ahead, we hope the present paper contributes toward that goal by describing a significant number of new taxa and making them available for future studies,” conclude the authors.
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Original source:
Fernandez-Triana J, Boudreault C (2018) Seventeen new genera of microgastrine parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from tropical areas of the world. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 64: 25-140. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.64.25453
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum schweinfurthii) occurring in dense forests.
Ferns and their allied species, which together comprise the pteridophytes, are vascular non-flowering plants that reproduce via spores. Many of their species are admired for their aesthetics.
However, despite being excellent bioindicators that allow for scientists and decision-makers to monitor the state of ecosystems in the face of climate change and global biodiversity crisis, these species are too often overlooked due to their relatively small size and lack of vivid colours.
Spike moss (Selaginella versicolor) with a preference for very humid and shaded forests.
To bridge the existing gaps in the knowledge about the diversity of ferns and their allied species, while also seeking to identify the ways these plants select their habitats and react to the changes occurring there later on, a research team from Togo and France launched an ambitious biodiversity project in 2013. As for the setting of their long-term study, they chose Togo – an amazingly species-rich country in Western Africa, whose flora expectedly turned out to be hugely understudied.
Having concluded their fern project in 2017, scientists Komla Elikplim Abotsi and Kouami Kokou from the Laboratory of Forestry Research, University of Lomé, Togo, who teamed up with Jean-Yves Dubuisson and Germinal Rouhan, both affiliated with the Institute of Systematics Evolution and Biodiversity (UMR 7205), France, have their first findings published in a taxonomic paper in the open access Biodiversity Data Journal.
In this first-of-a-kind checklist of Togolese ferns, the researchers record as many as 73 species previously not known to inhabit the country, including 12 species introduced for horticultural purposes. As a result of their 4-year study, the pteridophyte diversity of Togo – a country barely taking up 56,600 km² – now counts a total of 134 species.
Still, the authors believe that there are even more species waiting to be discovered on both national and global level.
“Additional investigations in the difficult to access areas of the far north of the country, and Togo Mountains are still needed to fill possible biodiversity data gaps and enable decision-makers to make the right decisions,” say the researchers.
The triangular staghorn species Platycerium stemaria living on a coffee tree branch.
In addition to their taxonomic paper, the authors are also set to publish an illustrated guide to the pteridophytes of Togo, in order to familiarise amateur botanists with this fascinating biodiversity.
Original source: Abotsi KE, Kokou K, Dubuisson J-Y, Rouhan G (2018) A first checklist of the Pteridophytes of Togo (West Africa). Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24137. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e24137
Pensoft’s flagship botanical title PhytoKeys, celebrates its 100th issue and we couldn’t resist to look back on all the exciting plant species that made international media titles and touched audience hearts around the world.
With amazing 4 new species (find them in our press release) making it to the top 10 new species chart by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science’s International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE), PhytoKeys surely has a lot to offer when it comes to communicating plant science to the world.
So let’s go straight to facts with our celebratory selection of 5 famous species (among many others).
The Twitter-sourced Heuchera alba
While hunting for the Pennsylvania state-endangered golden corydalis on steep 350-foot cliffs for a new episode of his YouTube video series, “Plants are Cool, Too!” in the heat of summer 2017, Bucknell University Professor Chris Martine and team stumbled across some interesting specimens of the enigmatic coral-bell genus Heuchera. Posting an image of this find on Twitter, little did they know that one casual Tweet of a bumblebee on what he thought was Heuchera americana would not only stir a heated discussion among fellow botanists, but also lead to the unexpected-for-this-region record of the rare and globally imperiled Appalachian endemic Heuchera alba.
Schuette S, Folk RA, Cantley JT, Martine CT (2018) The hidden Heuchera: How science Twitter uncovered a globally imperiled species in Pennsylvania, USA. PhytoKeys 96: 87-97. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.96.23667
Telipogon diabolicus: orchid or demon?
A lone and unique population of about 30 reddish to dark violet-maroon orchids grows on the small patch of land between the borders of two Colombian departments. However, its extremely small habitat is far from the only striking thing about the new species. A closer look at its flowers’ heart reveals what appears to be a devil’s head. The new orchid was named Telipogon diabolicus after its demonic pattern.
Kolanowska M, Szlachetko DL, Trejo RM (2016) Telipogon diabolicus (Orchidaceae, Oncidiinae), a new species from southern Colombia. PhytoKeys 65: 113-124. doi: http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.65.8674
Solanum ossicruentum: the bush tomato with bleeding fruit
A class of 150 US 7th graders has helped select a name for a newly discovered plant, which amazes with its fruits that appear to be bleeding once they are cut open. Based on this, the plant will now be known as Solanum ossicruentum, best translated to Australian as blood bone tomato, with “ossi” meaning “bone” and “cruentum” meaning “bloody”.
Luckily for Solanum ossicruentum, attention and protection are not too much of an issue. Find out why.
Martine CT, Cantley JT, Frawley ES, Butler AR, Jordon-Thaden IE (2016) New functionally dioecious bush tomato from northwestern Australia, Solanum ossicruentum, may utilize “trample burr” dispersal. PhytoKeys 63: 19-29. doi: http://doi.org.10.3897/phytokeys.63.7743
Sirdavidia solannona: the rare plant with a famous name
A new genus and species of flowering plant from the custard apple family, Annonaceae, has been discovered in the jungles of Gabon by French and Gabonese botanists. With its unusual flower structure characterised by red petals contrasting with its bright yellow loosely arranged stamens, the flowers of this newly discovered small tree did not quite fit any of the previously described genera. The extraordinary genus was named Sirdavidia, after Sir David Attenborough to honour his influence on the life and careers of the scientists who discovered it.
Couvreur TLP, Niangadouma R, Sonké B, Sauquet H (2015) Sirdavidia, an extraordinary new genus of Annonaceae from Gabon. PhytoKeys 46: 1-19. doi: http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.46.8937
Polyceratocarpus askhambryan-iringae: a tree with a good cause
A University of York conservationist who put out a call for schools to name a new species of tropical tree from Tanzania. Following competitive fundraising totalling nearly £4000, Askham Bryan College, UK pipped the Iringa International School, Tanzania to the post. Kindly agreeing to share the name with the the African school in second place, the winning college has now baptised the new species Polyceratocarpus askhambryan-iringae.
Marshall AR, Couvreur TLP, Summers AL, Deere NJ, Luke WRQ, Ndangalasi HJ, Sparrow S, Johnson DM (2016) A new species in the tree genus Polyceratocarpus (Annonaceae) from the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. PhytoKeys 63: 63-76. doi: http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.63.6262
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Read more in the journal’s progress in our press release or in the 100th issue Editorial:
Kress WJ, Knapp S, Stoev P, Penev L (2018) PhytoKeys at 100: progress in sustainability, innovation, and speed to enhance publication in plant systematics. PhytoKeys 100: 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.100.27591
Fictional characters originally ‘described’ by famous English children’s writer Enid Blyton have given their names to six new species of minute goblin spiders discovered in the diminishing forests of Sri Lanka.
The goblins Bom, Snooky and Tumpy and the brownies Chippy, Snippy and Tiggy made their way from the pages of: “The Goblins Looking-Glass” (1947), “Billy’s Little Boats” (1971) and “The Firework Goblins” (1971) to the scientific literature in a quest to shed light on the remarkable biodiversity of the island country of Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean.
As a result of their own adventure, which included sifting through the leaf litter of the local forests, scientists Prof. Suresh P. Benjamin and Ms. Sasanka Ranasinghe of the National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka, described a total of nine goblin spider species in six genera as new to science. Two of these genera are reported for the very first time from outside Australia.
With a total of 45 species in 13 genera, the goblin spider fauna in Sri Lanka – a country taking up merely 65,610 km2 – is already remarkably abundant. Moreover, apart from their diversity, these spiders amaze with their extreme endemism. While some of the six-eyed goblins can only be found at a few sites, other species can be seen nowhere outside a single forest patch.
“Being short-range endemics with very restricted distributions, these species may prove to be very important when it comes to monitoring the effects of climate change and other threats for the forest habitats in Sri Lanka,” explain the researchers.
In European folklore, goblins and brownies are known as closely related small and often mischievous fairy-like creatures, which live in human homes and even do chores while the family is asleep, since they avoid being seen. In exchange, they expect from their ‘hosts’ to leave food for them.
Similarly, at size of a few millimetres, goblin spiders are extremely tough to notice on the forest floors they call home. Further, taking into consideration the anthropogenic factors affecting their habitat, the arachnids also turn out to be heavily dependent on humans.
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Original source:
Ranasinghe UGSL, Benjamin SP (2018) Taxonomic descriptions of nine new species of the goblin spider genera Cavisternum, Grymeus, Ischnothyreus, Opopaea, Pelicinus and Silhouettella (Araneae, Oonopidae) from Sri Lanka. Evolutionary Systematics 2: 65-80. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.2.25200
While 2018 marks the centenary of the death of the last captive Carolina parakeet – North America’s only native parrot, a team of researchers have shed new light on the previously known geographical range of the species, which was officially declared extinct in 1920.
The new study provides unprecedented information on the birds range providing a window into the past ecology of a lost species.
“Making these data freely available to other researchers will hopefully help unlock the mysteries surrounding the extinction and ecology of this iconic species. Parrots are the most at-risk group of birds and anything we can learn about past extinctions may be useful going forward,” says the study’s lead author, Kevin Burgio.
The observational recordings included in the study have been gleaned from a wide variety of sources, including the correspondence of well-known historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and the explorers Lewis and Clark.
The study team referenced recorded sightings spanning nearly 400 years. The oldest recorded sighting dates back to 1564, and was found in a description of the current state of Florida written by Rene Laudonniere in 1602.
Alongside the written accounts, the researchers included location data from museum specimens. These include 25 bird skins from the Natural History Museum’s Tring site, whose skin collection is the second largest of its kind in the world, with almost 750,000 specimens representing about 95 per cent of the world’s bird species. Thereby, the study proves what invaluable resources museum collections can be.
“The unique combination of historical research and museum specimens is the only way we can learn about the range of this now-extinct species. Museums are archives of the natural world and research collections like that of the Natural History Museum are incredibly important in helping to increase our understanding of biodiversity conservation and extinction,” says Alex Bond.
“By digitising museum collections, we can unlock the potential of millions of specimens, helping us to answer some of today’s big questions in biodiversity science and conservation.”
It is hoped that this research will be the beginning of a wider reaching work that will explore further into the ecology of this long lost species.
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Original source:
Burgio KR, Carlson CJ, Bond AL (2018) Georeferenced sighting and specimen occurrence data of the extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) from 1564 – 1944. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e25280. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e25280
Sibon bevridgelyi is arguably the prettiest of the lot. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
The existence of five delightfully weird snail-sucking snakes slithering through the forest floors of Ecuador was announced by a group of scientists in a study in the open access journal Zookeys.
Believe or not, there is an entire group of snakes for which snails are number one on their menu. This is why their jaws are modified in such a way that they can suck the viscous slimy body of a snail right out of its shell.
Dipsas bobridgelyi trying to suck a snail out of its shell. Photo by Matthijs Hollanders.
Luckily for us, these snakes are harmless to humans. However, humans are not harmless to them. Four out of the five newly discovered species are already facing the possibility of becoming extinct, as the forest remnants they call home are currently being destroyed.
In a bid to take care after the unfortunate reptiles, the scientists auctioned the naming rights for the new species at a recent event in New York City. The money are to purchase and save a previously unprotected 72 ha (178 acre) plot of land where some of these species live.
To do so, Fundación Jocotoco is to add the purchased plot to the Buenaventura reserve, in order to expand the only protected area where two of the new snakes are found, and prevent these endangered snake species from going extinct.
Dipsas bobridgelyi. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
Three of the five species were discovered during a series of expeditions to three rainforests in Ecuador between 2013 and 2017, conducted by Alejandro Arteaga, an Ecuadorian–Venezuelan PhD student at the American Museum of Natural History and scientific director of Tropical Herping, who partnered with Dr. Alex Pyron, The George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History, USA.
“We had to let people know that these cool snakes exist,” Alejandro said, “and that these species might soon stop to exist, and we need people’s help to protect the snake’s habitat.”
In order to confirm these five snakes as new species, the team of researchers, particularly Drs. Konrad Mebert, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Nicolás Peñafiel, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Gabriela Aguiar, Tropical Herping, and Timothy Colston, The George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History, USA, counted scales and gathered measurements from more than 200 museum specimens, and extracted DNA from nearly 100 snakes.
PhD student Alejandro Arteaga measured snake specimens at various museums, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Having made the highest bid at the auction, Rainforest Trust (RT) and Bob Ridgely got to name three of the five new snakes.
Thus, the species Dipsas georgejetti now honors George Jett, who supported the inception of Fundación Jocotoco’s reserves in Ecuador; while Dipsas bobridgelyi is a tribute to Dr. Robert “Bob” S. Ridgely, a leading ornithologist and distinguished conservationist who helped the establishment of the Buenaventura reserve. Bob, who was at the auction, chose the name Sibon bevridgelyi (Bev Ridgely’s Snail-Eater) to honor his father.
Dipsas georgejetti is found in only in dry forests in the coast of Ecuador. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
The remaining two snail-eating species, Dipsas oswaldobaezi and D. klebbai, were named after Dr. Oswaldo Báez and Casey Klebba, respectively, in recognition for their passion for Ecuador’s biodiversity and conservation.
Dipsas klebbai is the only one among the new species currently not threatened with extinction. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
“Several companies let you name a star after a loved one,” Alejandro says, “but, generally, such names have no formal validity. Naming an entire species after someone you love or admire is different. With few exceptions, this is the name that both the general public and the whole scientific community will use. So, why not let people choose the name of a species in exchange for a donation that protects its habitat?”
Dipsas oswaldobaezi photographed at Reserva la Ceiba. Photo by Jose Vieira.
The act of naming species is essential in raising awareness about the existence of a species and its risk of extinction, but it also provides an opportunity to recognize and honor the work of the people and institutions fighting to protect the species.
“Naming species is at the core of biology,” says Dr. Juan M. Guayasamin, co-author of the study and a professor at Universidad San Francisco in Quito. “Not a single study is really complete if it is not attached to the name of the species, and most species that share the planet with us are not described.”
“Everybody knows elephants and orangutans,” says Dr. Martin Schaefer of Fundación Jocotoco, “but some reptiles and amphibians are even more threatened. Yet, we still lack even the basic information to protect them better. This is why the work by scientists is so important; it provides the necessary information to guide our conservation decisions.”
“Through photography or by joining a scientific expedition, the general public can learn more about hidden biodiversity and how threatened it is,” says Lucas Bustamante of Tropical Herping. “This is a model to obtain support for research and conservation while recruiting more environmental ambassadors.”
Watch the video below to follow entomologist and science communicator Phil Torres as he joins Alejandro Arteaga for one of his expeditions to document what it takes to find a new snake.
Academic paper:
Arteaga A, Salazar-Valenzuela D, Mebert K, Peñafiel N, Aguiar G, Sánchez-Nivicela JC, Pyron RA, Colston TJ, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Yánez-Muñoz MH, Venegas PJ, Guayasamin JM, Torres-Carvajal O (2018) Systematics of South American snail eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru. ZooKeys 766: 79–147. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.766.24523
The goblins Bom, Snooky and Tumpy and the brownies Chippy, Snippy and Tiggy made their way from the pages of: “The Goblins Looking-Glass” (1947), “Billy’s Little Boats” (1971) and “The Firework Goblins” (1971) to the scientific literature in a quest to shed light on the remarkable biodiversity of the island country of Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean.
since they avoid being seen. In exchange, they expect from their ‘hosts’ to leave food for them.
Original source:
“Making these data freely available to other researchers will hopefully help unlock the mysteries surrounding the extinction and ecology of this iconic species. Parrots are the most at-risk group of birds and anything we can learn about past extinctions may be useful going forward,” says the study’s lead author, Kevin Burgio.
It is hoped that this research will be the beginning of a wider reaching work that will explore further into the ecology of this long lost species.
