The inhabitants of Barbados are mad as hell at Blair Hedges (above) and they want the world to know it. Recently mentioned here was the announcement of the finding of the world’s tiniest snake. However, long gone are the days of something that is ethnoknown and then calmly being “discovered” by scientists. Associated Press writer Danica Coto gets to the bottom of the story: A small snake has sparked a big debate in Barbados. Residents of the wealthy Caribbean nation have been heating up blogs and clogging radio airwaves to vent their anger at a U.S. scientist, who earlier this [...]
New Pitviper & Two New Lizards Discovered
Ta Kou lizard (Cyrtodactylus takouensis). Two species of lizard and one species of pit viper [in the Vietnamese release = rattle-snake] were recently discovered on mountains in the provinces of Binh Thuan, Dong Nai and Kien Giang, Vietnam. The two new species of lizard belong to the Gekkonidae family. The first species, called Ta Kou lizard (Cyrtodactylus takouensis sp. nov. Ngô & Bauer, 2008), is 171.4mm long. Its back has 5 lines in light chocolate and five lines in yellow. Its tail has 3 lines. This lizard was found in a cave in the Ta Kou Nature Reserve in Binh [...]
World’s Tiniest Lizard
I mentioned here on Sunday night the discovery of the world’s smallest snake. The discoverer is Blair Hedges, Ph. D., of Penn State. Boing boing’s David Pescovitz points out that: “Evolutionary biologist Blair Hedges has great luck with tiny herps. In 2001, he co-discovered the world’s smallest lizard on an island off the coast of the Dominican Republic.” Sphaerodactylus ariasae Hedges and Richard Thomas, a biologist at the University of Puerto Rico, discovered small groups of the new lizard species living in a sink hole and a cave in a partially destroyed forest on the remote island of Beata, which [...]
Earth’s Smallest Snake Discovered on Barbados
Images of the snake show it is small enough to curl up on a US quarter. I was thrilled when I turned over that rock and found it. After finding the first one, we turned hundreds of other stones to find another one. Biologist Blair Hedges The world’s smallest snake, averaging merely 4 inches (10 cm) and as thin as a spaghetti noodle, has been discovered on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The snake, found beneath a rock in a tiny fragment of threatened forest, is thought to be at the very limit of how small a snake can evolve [...]
New Dolphin Discovered?
The Australian media is in a whirlwind because allegedly the “first pictures of what has been dubbed the world’s ugliest dolphin were shown on Australian television on Thursday. The snub fin dolphin with its distinctive bulbous head was first identified three years ago off Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coast.” But, of course, photos had been published before of this dolphin. The Queensland government published one in its official 2007 bulletin on the species, an extract of which is shown below: Australian snubfin dolphin Common name: Australian snubfin dolphin Scientific name: Orcaella heinsohni Legislative name: Orcaella brevirostris Conservation status: The Australian [...]
Newly Discovered Kipunji Extinct Soon?
Found only three years ago in its tiny forest home in Tanzania, a monkey species may soon be extinct. The kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji and also known as the Highland Mangabey) was discovered in 2005 in the Southern Highlands and Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. In 2006, genetic analyses revealed the species represented an entire new genus of primate — the first since 1923. “The kipunji is hanging on by the thinnest of threads,” said Tim Davenport, Tanzania country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). “We must do all we can to safeguard this extremely rare and little understood species while [...]
Journey To The Bottom Of Lake Baikal
Today, July 29, 2008, Russian scientists will attempt to reach the bottom of the world’s deepest freshwater abyss in a bid to find unknown life forms as well as claim a new record. In the realm of cryptozoology, the so-called “Lake Baikal Monster” is described by some as being a sturgeon-like cryptid, while others have likened it to a giant pinniped or large marine mammal. “We want to study, observe Lake Baikal” in order to “preserve it,” said expedition leader Artur Chilingarov, a pro-Kremlin member of parliament who led a team of scientists that planted a Russian flag at the [...]
Steller’s Sea Ape
Steller’s Sea Ape, as drawn by Harry Trumbore, from The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates (2006: 64-65). A good overview of the expedition leading to the remarkable sighting of what has become known as Steller’s Sea Ape can be found in the November 17, 2005, article in the California Literary Review. The essay is by Peter Bridges, former U.S. ambassador to Somalia, and is about the animal discoveries made by naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. Bridges writes that: In January 1738, Steller set out from St. Petersburg on a five-thousand mile journey across European Russia and Siberia to [...]
Stratton Thrush: A New Hybrid Bird?
Bicknell’s thrush, Catharus bicknelli. Drawing by Liza. Veery, Catharus fuscescens. Drawing by Whatbird. The Vermont Center Of Ecostudies (VCE) files a new report, which could have implications for other studies of hybrids in high-elevation bird populations: The recent discovery atop Stratton Mountain (Vermont) of an apparent hybrid of a Bicknell’s thrush and veery, two closely related species in the genus Catharus, has generated some buzz in birding circles. The bird was discovered by field biologists with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) in the course of their long-term research on high-elevation bird populations. The first clue to this individual’s possible [...]
Beautiful New Manta Video
The smaller manta. The larger manta, the new species. It truly is a tale of Beauty and the Beast. Dr. Andrea Marshall is shown on a beautiful new video, swimming with the recently discovered manta and discussing her discovery. The scenes remind me of the swimming ballet of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Dr. Marshall (pictured above & below) can be viewed on the video by clicking here. Quite compelling. Dr. Andrea Marshall is also pictured above. The photo accompanies her notice that she supports her work by conducting trips and tours related to manta research. In one planned [...]
Follow CryptoZooNews
Not Found
The resource could not be found.