A bright pink millipede that smells like almonds and an electric ray that produces industrial-strength suction are among a select group of newly discovered species deemed strange enough, deadly enough or fascinating enough to earn a spot on the International Institute for Species Exploration’s annual top-10 list.
Each year, the Arizona State University-based institute releases its Top 10 New Species list, highlighting some of the most interesting examples of the thousands of new flora and fauna described in the preceding calendar year. This year’s list includes such lethal animals as the Central Ranges Taipan (Oxyuranus temporalis), now counted among the most venomous snakes known to man, and a box jellyfish (Malo kingi) named after its victim Robert King, an American tourist who died after he was stung.
It also includes the aforementioned shocking pink dragon millipede (Desmoxytes purpurosea) of Thailand, whose gaudy colouration is likely used to warn predators of its extreme toxicity. (According to this one blog account, the millipede smells of almonds a a result of the hydrogen cyanide it produces for self-defence.)
According to Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist and director of the IISE, the institute’s annual top-10 list is a “fun-filled” way to draw attention to the importance of biodiversity and the field of taxonomy.
“Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth’s species is or the steady rate at which taxonomists are exploring that diversity,” said Wheeler in a recent release. “In 2006, for example, an average of nearly 50 species per day were discovered and named.”
“We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted. Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life and is in our own self-interest as we face the challenges of living on a rapidly changing planet.”
Photos: Top, Pink dragon millipede; Bottom, electric ray. (Courtesy International Institute for Species Exploration)
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