I Like My Frogs… Small

A teeny new species of frog was discovered inside a Bornean (from Borneo) pitcher plant. So not only did the discovering scientist find something novel and undescribed, he found it petite. Nothing piques the public’s interest like micro-sized animals. Unfortunately this frog, who grows to the mere pittance of a half inch in length,is not currently the smallest frog species known to us. That distinction belongs to the Cuban Eleutherodactylus iberia, which can comfortably sit on a dime.

With big discoveries this small, just imagine what we could be missing…

Read more here:

• Micro Frog Found in Search for World’s Lost Amphibians (treehugger.com)

Blecccchhh – New Spider Species Discovered – and It’s Big

I should like spiders, as a self-respecting biologist, I should. But, there are so many legs and crunchy body parts… *shudder* But we tend to have an understanding, you and I.  You pretend there aren’t hundreds to thousands  or so of you per sq meter (this better be pertaining to the good ole outdoors!), and I will pretend I have never heard that fact carelessly tossed around often and somehow involved with the question some smart-ass kid always needs to ask: “How many spiders do we swallow in  our sleep?”

So, now that I’ve managed to scare away the faint of heart, time to mention a new species of spider recently discovered in the Middle East. According to the Wired.com article:

“Scientists have unearthed a completely new species of spider hiding in sand dunes on the Israel-Jordan border.

With a legspan that stretches 5.5 inches, the spider, called Cerbalus aravensis, is the biggest of its type in the Middle East. “It is rare to find a new species of spider — at least around this part of the world — which is so big,” said biologist Uri Shanas of the University of Haifa-Oranim in Israel, who discovered the arachnid.

Most of Cerbalus aravensis’s habits remain a mystery, but the researchers say it is nocturnal and most active during the blazing summer heat. The spider lives in an underground den, hidden by a door that swings upwards to welcome unsuspecting prey like lizards and insects. To make the camouflage door, the spider patches together bits of sand.

The researchers believe the spider uses a “sit-and-wait” hunting strategy, biding its time till prey approach, Shanas said.

Unfortunately, the spider’s habitat is under immediate threat, he said. The Israeli government recently approved mining operations in the region, which could wipe out the creature.”

One sharp commenter did note however, that the feature says the spider is both nocturnal AND active during the blazing summer heat. I sense a spell of fact checking coming on…

Strawberry Crab Found

Ho Ping-ho, a professor with the National Taiwan Ocean University has discovered a new species of crab, currently dubbed the “strawberry crab” due to it’s pink coloration and white spots. Ping-ho discovered two specimens of the crab last summer in Kenting National Park. They were both in poor shape however – the local area was suffering from pollution due to a cargo ship that had run aground – and died shortly after their discovery.

I haven’t been able to find significant information on Kenting National Park, but it does have a short wikipedia entry.

It apparently is a beautiful location, the photo below of Kenting at night was taken by photographer Pauz Chen. He has hundreds more stunning photos at the fascinating website TrekEarth: Learning about the world through photography, under the username pauzmantoll. View more of his work here.

Secret World of the Giant Manta Ray

The associated article can be accessed here, with many more photos.

These photos apparently are a result of film footage taken for a BBC Documentary on Manta Rays: Andrea: Queen of the Mantas

The Andrea in question is biologist Andrea Marshall. Apparently, until recently, it was thought there was a single species of manta ray. She noticed discrepancies in the markings and behaviors of some individuals and was able to describe a new species of manta, Manta alfredi.

And Whatever You Do, Don’t Look Him Straight In The Eyes!

So, this animal certainly falls in the category of animals strange enough that you believe they’re a product of tall tales and photoshop. Although, in some sense, I suspect some photos of this animal could have some “enhancement” in order to make them a bit creepier. At least, it helps me sleep more soundly at night…

So the focus of my ramble? The satanic leaf-tailed gecko:

So, as you can probably tell, this is yet another example of an organism who really knows what it means to master the art of camouflage. Also, I didn’t find much on the origins of it’s common name (it’s scientific name is Uroplatus phantasticus, and it’s also at times commonly called the eyelash or fantastic leaf-tailed gecko), but my guess it’s it has a whole lot to do with this:

Some of the most striking pictures of this little freak of nature can be found on Nick Garbutt’s photography site, specifically his photo album from Madagascar.

So yes, this strange lump of leaves hails from Madagascar, a place that I’ve wanted to visit since I was about 11. Madagascar sits off the southeast coast of Africa and hosts some of the most intriguing species of organisms in the world. It is often referred to as the eight continent (or the 7th, little did I know that there are several models concerning how the continents are defined and so it’s yet another supposedly steadfast fact I am now uncertain about). According to a press release on the KEW Garden’s website:

“Madagascar is home to more than 10,000 plant species and 90% of Madagascar’s plants occur nowhere else in the world.”

Island ecology is always interesting because the isolation of an island can allow organisms to evolve independently of those occurring on more connected bodies of land (see this great web article for a more in-depth discussion about evolution on Madagascar).  But Madagascar seems to have a stranger assortment of animals than most, including this little guy, the streaked tenrec:

While  new species are still being discovered on a regular basis, they are fast threatened by activities of people living on the island along with the increase of tourism.

I was going to suggest that you visit the Madagascar Wildlife Conservation website, but their home page misspells Madagascar as “Madagaskar”; and unless that is an alternate spelling, the jury is out! They do however host what seems to be an interesting peer-reviewed journal.  You might also check out the website for Madagascar Biodiversity and Conservation, and wildmadagascar.org