Pea-sized Seahorse, Bacteria That Live In Hairspray, Caffeine-free Coffee Among Top 10 New Species Of 2008
ScienceDaily (May 23, 2009) — The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – have announced the top 10 new species described in 2008.
On the list are a pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray. The top 10 new species also include the very tiny (a snake just a slither longer than 4 inches or 104 millimeters), the very long (an insect from Malaysia with an overall length of 22.3 inches or 56.7 centimeters) the very old (a fossilized specimen of the oldest known live-bearing vertebrate) and the very twisted (a snail whose shell twists around four axes). Rounding out this year’s list are a palm that flowers itself to death, a ghost slug from Wales and a deep blue damselfish.