Imagine a spider about the size of a standard-sized CD! Researchers have discovered a rare super-sized spider.
Once thought to be extinct, the first Nephila komaci spider was first found in an old museum collection in South Africa in 2000. A few years later, another specimen was found at a museum in Austria. No other specimens were found until two females and one male were found in the Tembe Elephant Park in Africa. The discovery is the first new Nephila species since 1879.
By Michael Ricciardi •
October 14, 2009
According to a 2008 study (Jelks et al), nearly 40% of freshwater species in North America are either at risk of disappearing or have already vanished. Representing some 761 distinct species, 230 are deemed “vulnerable”, 190 are threatened, 280 are endangered, and 61 are extinct (or extinct in the wild). These numbers represent a 90+% increase over a 1989 assessment of freshwater species. And these trends are consistent with assessments in Europe.
Good news for the world’s rarest lemur! A scientific survey has revealed that the Greater bamboo lemur, Prolemur simus, exists in more locations than previously recorded. Less than 100 Greater Bamboo Lemur were known to exist in the wild. But a scientific expedition into the rainforests of Madagascar has revealed the rare primate exists in twice as many locations as once thought.
By Andrew Williams •
March 10, 2009
Portuguese environmentalists have condemned the killing of the country’s last remaining nesting male Iberian Imperial Eagle.
The bird, also known as the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti), is one of the three rarest birds of prey on the planet, with only around 400 surviving, and is classified as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
