Rhopalurus laticauda The Scorpion Files today has alerted me that there is a recently discovered species from the genus Rhopalurus, newly described on 28 May 2008, from northeastern Colombia, from a holotype collected by C. A. Roncallo on 18 December 2006: Rhopalurus caribensis Teruel & Roncallo, 2008. It is closely related to Rhopalurus laticauda (pictured twice above, here at Cryptomundo). The Scorpion Files notes that the new species has probably been confused with Rhopalurus laticauda in the past. For further reading and the new images of Rhopalurus caribensis, see the full (free) text of the scientific paper: Teruel R, Roncallo [...]
Monster Quest II
It is Tuesday, May 27, 2008, and the History Channel, on behalf of “Monster Quest II,” is here in Portland, Maine, with a film producer and crew today to digitally film interviews with me about cryptozoology, in the context of a five hour tour of the International Cryptozoology Museum. Their snippets of the interviews, b-roll, and various background commentary on artifacts at the ICM will be used as web-linked support for Season Two of “Monster Quest,” which premieres tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Here are two trailers about the new season. Enjoy: MonsterQuest : Mutant Canines Airs on Wednesday May [...]
Top 10 New Species of Old and Recent Discoveries
The above is a new species with the common name of the “shocking pink dragon millipede” and the scientific Latin name of Desmoxytes purpurosea. It was first found on 28 August 2006, and first described in Zootaxa 1563: 31–36, 2007. It’s May. The end of May 2008. But apparently there is one more “top ten list” for 2007 that needs to be published. The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) has announced their list of the top ten new species described in 2007, which includes at least a couple extinct animals, as well. The media appears to be confusing this [...]
First Panda Lady Has Died
Joined by her husband, Jack (left), and brother-in-law Quentin Young is Adelaide “Su-Lin” Young. Photo courtesy of her family. Forget about the fictional “Indiana Jones,” or even the real “Zoology Jones,” for a minute. Recall, please, that women were part of the early exploration adventures too! Ruth Harkness is often remembered as the first woman to have found the giant panda. But why was that first cub named Su-Lin? Here is the rest of the story. After Ruth Harkness’ husband William died as he set out to find the first live giant pandas, she turned to a man only identified [...]
New Jellyfish Species Discovered In Aquarium
An encounter between a large jellyfish and a human diver off the coast of New Zealand makes for an interesting souvenir. But one woman with a gift for discoveries only had to go as far as her neighborhood aquarium to find a new species of jellyfish. Marine scientists in north Queensland have discovered a new species of jellyfish, right under their noses. It looks like snot, it’s the size of a grain of rice, and it’s taking the marine science world by storm. Dr. Lisa Gershwin says the tiny creature, which has yet to be named, was found in a [...]
Two New Phrynopus Frogs Discovered
Photos above of an earlier new species (Phrynopus adenopleurus) discovered in the genus. Frogs of the genus Phrynopus were believed to inhabit the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, between 1000 and 4400 meters above sea level. However, the genus proved to be polyphyletic and recent molecular data indicate that it is restricted only to central Peru. Currently 19 species are recognized, many of them described during the last 15 years. The genus now appears to be one of the most speciose (e.g., rich in number of species) groups of frogs in the humid paramo and cloud forest habitats [...]
Dynamic Discoverer of Ants Dies
Roy Snelling (1934-2008). Cryptozoologically, insects are not really in the realm of animals that Bernard Heuvelmans, myself and others strictly defined as of interest to the field, but nevertheless, we must admire those toiling to make the new discoveries of all those little animals out there that remain to be described. One such giant in that arena of insects is to be celebrated in his passing. For many of us, our first intrigue may have been with the tiny crawling and flying things found around our backyards, and for some, such as this explorer of the kingdom of ants, the [...]
Celebrity Naming of Cryptids
His name is Bond, Jason Bond. Names are important, and Eastern Carolina University professor of biology Jason Bond has decided to name a new spider he discovered after his favorite musician. You may have already heard the story. It made me wonder after whom various Cryptomundians would name cryptids found to be new species? Heuvelmans? Sanderson? Meldrum? And tied to what cryptids? Bond’s newly discovered trapdoor spider has officially been name Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. Above is a male specimen of Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi living in Santa Rosa Co., Florida. (Credit: American Museum of Natural History) “There are rather strict rules about how [...]
As Elusive As Bigfoot
Photo by Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal Allan Mueller of The Nature Conservancy trolls through Bayou DeView in east Arkansas, where there were several ivory-billed woodpeckers sighted in 2004. The continuing search has been fruitless — and expensive — with development projects delayed. “We’ve got to get a picture,” he says. The Commercial Appeal of Memphis has an update on the search for the ivory-billed woodpecker. One thing is for sure, skepticism is on the increase because the hunt is costing millions of dollars. Elusive woodpecker hatches controversy Millions have been spent on the hunt, but there’s still no definitive proof [...]
Exclusive: New Parasitic Plant’s Scientific Name
On May 2nd, I ran the story here about George Yatskievych, the scientist with the Missouri Botanical Garden who has rediscovered and identified a rare parasitic plant (above). A single specimen of the plant was found in Mexico in 1985. The plant wasn’t seen again until St. Louis botanist George Yatskievych and a colleague found it in a pine oak forest in Mexico’s mountains. George Yatskievych studying the parasite in Mexico. Photo by J. L. Contreras J./ courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden. However, a riddle for me was why I could not find the new scientific (Latin) name attached to any [...]
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