A cartwheeling spider, a bird-like dinosaur¹ and a fish that wriggles² around on the sea floor to create a circular nesting site are among the species identified by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry³ (ESF) as the Top 10 New Species for 2015. Two animals -- a frog that gives birth to tadpoles⁴ and a wasp⁵ that uses dead ants to protect its nest -- are unusual because of their parenting practices. Also on the list are an animal that might surpass the new species distinction to be an entirely⁶ new phylum, a 9-inch walking stick and a photogenic sea slug. Rounding out the top 10 are a coral plant described as endangered almost as soon as it was discovered and a red-and-green plant used during Christmas celebrations in Mexico.

 

The list is compiled annually⁷ by ESF's International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE). The institute's international committee of taxonomists selected the Top 10 from among the approximately 18,000 new species named during the previous year. ESF released this year's list May 21 to recognize the birthday, May 23, of Carolus Linnaeus, an 18th century Swedish botanist⁸ who is considered the father of modern taxonomy. The annual list, established in 2008, calls attention to discoveries that are made even as species are going extinct faster than they are being identified.

 

"The last vast unexplored frontier on Earth is the biosphere⁹. We have only begun to explore the astonishing origin, history, and diversity of life," said Dr. Quentin Wheeler, ESF president and founding director of the IISE. Scientists believe 10 million species await discovery, five times the number that are already known to science.

 

"An inventory¹⁰ of plants and animals begun in the 18th century continues apace with the discovery of about 18,000 additional species each year. The nearly 2 million species named to date represent a small fraction of an estimated 12 million. Among the remaining 10 million are irreplaceable clues to our own origins, a detailed¹¹ blueprint¹² of how the biosphere self-organized, and precious clues to better, more efficient, and more sustainable ways to meet human needs while conserving¹³ wild living things. It is time to mount a mission to planet Earth to distinguish, describe, name and classify its life-forms before it is too late. The Top 10 is a reminder¹⁴ of the wonders awaiting us," Wheeler said.

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