Green Options

Phallus drewesii, named after Dr. Robert Drewes of the California Academy of Sciences, is a 2 inch long phallus-shaped mushroom that grows on wood, smells like rotting meat and curves awkwardly downward.

Upon discovering that the new species would be named after him, Drewes remarked: “It is a wonderful honour and great fun to have this phallus-shaped fungus named after me. I have been immortalized in the scientific record.”

A publication from the Botanical Insitute of India reported that over 100 new plant species were discovered in India. One hundred and thirty seven are new to science, and 30 were discovered in India for the first time. “The Indian flora is mainly concentrated in three major centres of diversity namely Himalayas, the Western Ghats and Andaman and Nicobar islands. The discoveries reflect the potential of the country’s plant heritage which is yet to be explored,”  said BSI director M Sanjappa.

On 22 May the International Institute for Species Research (IISR) of Arizona State University (ASU) released its list of 18,516 new species discovered in 2007. The top ten selected from these is fascinating, but what does it all really mean?

species from the animalia kingdom

The Top Ten List of New Species

The Top 10 New Species List is chosen by a twelve person panel of international taxon experts chaired by Dr. Janine Caira of the University of Connecticut. The species in the list is selected from the thousands of species that were fully described in the calendar year. Nominations from the public, IISE staff and committee members are judged by the committee which has complete freedom in making its choices and developing its own criteria. The object though is to cover a breadth of species attributes and importance.

A tree that used to have a No Parking Sign nailed to its trunk has been discovered to be a new species.

Fourteen new trees have been discovered by botanists from Wales and England. The former No Parking sign tree lives in Devon between two close villages, Lynmouth and Lynton.

World Species Survey details gloomy outlook for many animal species.In early October of 2008, the results of a global species  survey, conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were released.  The numbers are startling:

• At least a quarter of mammal species are headed toward extinction in the near future.
• Nearly 80 percent of the primate species in southern and southeastern Asia are immediately threatened.
• At least 22 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction.
• Perhaps 40 percent of North American freshwater fish are threatened.
• In Europe, 45 percent of the most common bird species are rapidly declining, and so are the most common bird species in North America.

But perhaps these figures are a bit too abstract. Here’s a more precise way to look at the present state of bio-diversity on Earth.

Australian scientists have discovered 274 fish, ancient corals, molluscs, crustaceans and sponges in uncharted depths of the Southern Ocean. According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

The astounding discoveries of creatures never thought to have existed were found in waters up to 3,000 metres deep, among scores of extinct volcanoes whose great mountains and canyons provide vital, thriving habitats.

Image: Wikimedia Commons