Splendid Species
Did you know there are more than 8.7 million species on Earth? Millions of insects, plants, animals and bacteria have been identified so far, and even more species are being discovered each year! The Mini Page takes a look at some of the newer species discovered during recent years.
Rice’s whale
It can sometimes take years of research for scientists to officially describe a new species, which was the case for what’s now known as Rice’s whale. This species was formerly thought to be part of another species, Bryde’s (Broo-duhz) whale.
Observations made in the 1990s motivated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to collect samples and study them.
In a scientific article published in 2021,
Dr. Patricia
Rosel and her colleagues shared information on the first structural examination of a skull from this whale species, which distinguished it from Bryde’s whales.
Rice’s whales have protected status under the Endangered Species Act as well as the Marine Mammal Protection Act because there are fewer than 100 of them remaining.
Rainbow-colored fish
The rose-veiled fairy wrasse was identified off the coast of the
Maldives
(MALdeevz). It was given its name because of its vibrant color.
Similar to the case of Rice’s whale, the rose-veiled fairy wrasse was originally thought to be a known species. However, upon closer examination, it was found to be a separate species.
Biologist Ahmed Najeeb co-authored the paper that introduced the rose-veiled fairy wrasse. Doing so made him the first Maldivian to describe a new species.
Tarantula
Not all discoveries are made by scientists. In fact, a new tarantula was discovered by a Youtuber! Jocho Sippawat first noticed unusual brown tarantulas while visiting a jungle in Tak in northwest Thailand.
This particular spider lives inside stalks of bamboo. Taksinus bambus, aka bambootula, is the first species known to live on just one species of bamboo.
Bambootulas crawl through the holes in bamboo that are made by other insects and animals.
Queen’s hedgehog
In Surrey, England, a new type of fungus called the Queen’s hedgehog was discovered in 2022 in an ancient woodland. This white, lumpy fungus has a slightly sweet odor.
Bolivian waterlily
Also in 2022, a new species of waterlily was officially identified.
It is called the Bolivian waterlily, and its leaves can grow up to
10 feet wide!
Guinness
World Records awarded the new waterlily three titles: world’s largest waterlily species, world’s largest waterlily leaf and world’s largest undivided leaf.
This species of waterlily is native to Bolivian wetlands, where it has been located in five areas, but it can also be found in conservatories and botanical gardens.
Beetles pollinate these waterlilies. The flowers are covered in prickles and turn from white to pink.