A team of Filipino and American scientists have rediscovered a highly distinctive mammal — a greater dwarf cloud rat — that was last seen 112 years ago. Furthermore, it has never before been discovered in its natural habitat and was thought by some to be extinct. The greater dwarf cloud rat (Carpomys melanurus) has dense, soft reddish-brown fur, a black mask around large dark eyes, small rounded ears, a broad and blunt snout, and a long tail covered with dark hair. An adult weighs about 185 grams. “This beautiful little animal was seen by biologists only once previously — by [...]
New Gecko Discovered
Photograph of the new species, Hemidactylus aaronbaueri, Ashok Captain. A new species of a rock-dwelling lizard has been discovered by the Bombay Natural History Society from Junnar taluka in Pune district, India. The species belongs to genus Hemidactylus. This distinctive gecko species is mostly found on the rock cliffs in the north western ghats, an official release from BNHS stated. This new species was first photographed by Pune herpetologist Ashok Captain, who forwarded the same to Varad Giri, a scientist with the Bombay Natural History Society at Mumbai. Giri worked on the photographs and subsequently Captain, Giri and fellow researcher [...]
New River Dolphin Species
A rare river dolphin has been officially classified as a new species. The Bolivian river dolphin has been acknowledged as a separate species to the more widely-known Amazon River dolphin. The formal announcement was made at a conservation workshop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. The Bolivian dolphin (Inia boliviensis) was immediately adopted by the Bolivian government as a symbol of the country’s conservation efforts. The Bolivian species is smaller and a lighter grey in color than the other species and has more teeth. It lives only in the Bolivian Amazon and is isolated from the other Amazon [...]
Giant Colossal Squid Thawed
Scientists stand in a thawing bath as they inspect the eye of the colossal squid at Te Papa Museum in Wellington on April 30, 2008. The 26 feet (8 meters) long colossal squid weighs 1,089 pounds (about 495 kg) and is the largest and best preserved adult colossal squid to be caught. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) This same colossal squid was previously discussed at Cryptomundo, here and here. It was taken in February 2007. It was originally thought to measure 39 feet long but estimated to weigh only 990 pounds. Fishermen on the vessel San Aspiring, owned by the Sanford seafood company, [...]
Brazil: Dwarf Woodpecker, Legless Lizard, and 12 Other New Species Found
Researchers discovered a legless lizard and a tiny woodpecker along with 12 other suspected new species in Brazil’s Cerrado, one of the world’s 34 biodiversity conservation hotspots. An example of Picumnus but not the new species. The Cerrado’s wooded grassland once covered an area half the size of Europe, but is now being converted to cropland and ranchland at twice the rate of the neighboring Amazon rainforest, resulting in the loss of native vegetation and unique species. An expedition comprising scientists from Conservation International (CI) and Brazilian universities found 14 species believed new to science – eight fish, three reptiles, [...]
Addax to Zebras: Mungall’s Exotic Animal Field Guide
Life works in strange ways. So does death. Good things can come from appreciating the moments that issue from both. Cryptozoologist Scott Norman’s and then my crypto-supportive mother’s separate sudden deaths within a forty-day span gave me pause recently to slow down a bit. Between the two events, I kept writing at a busy pace and conducted my “Pinkie” expedition to Florida. I also traveled to various locations to give cryptozoology talks, but I additionally wanted to take some quiet time for myself to visit animal parks and zoos. I’ve always found such gems in the midst of human habitats [...]
Another Giraffid/Okapid Cryptid?
French cryptozoologist Michel Raynal is pointing to the “okapi” (?) of Tassili found in the book and bibliography of Bernard Heuvelmans, in his book On the Track of the Unknown Animals (Paris, Plon, 1955), referred to in the cave engravings as representing the okapi in Tassili. The starting point of this assertion is an article of Robert Perret, who publishes a photograph of one of these engravings. This document is available: PERRET, Robert 1936 archaeological and ethnographic Research in Tassili of Ajjers (the Sahara central). Rupestral engravings of the Djaret Wadi, population and ruins of Iherir. Bulletin of the Company [...]
Three New Articerodes Discovered
New insects are literally found daily, by the hundreds every year. Cryptozoology, as I have noted, generally deals with the discovery of larger animals, mostly vertebrates, with the now-and-then large invertebrate, such as the giant squid (verified) and giant octopus (still an active cryptid). But, it appears the entomologists deserve their due sometimes. They need recognition as much as the next discoverers for find new species, and can generate publicity, especially if the new species are beautiful, unique, or strange to observe. It’s always been that way. To wit, some news out of the rainforests of Thailand calls our attention [...]
Are Borneo Pygmy Elephants Javan?
Borneo’s pygmy elephants may be descendants of an extinct Javan elephant race, saved by chance by an 18th century ruler, according to a new study just released. The study suggests that a small number of opposite-sex elephants can produce a thriving progeny of thousands if left undisturbed on an island, giving fresh hope to conservationists trying to protect nearly extinct species of large mammals. “If proven, this fascinating story would demonstrate that very small populations of large mammals can be saved from the brink of extinction (simply by) moving a few individuals, from a seemingly doomed population, to a different [...]
Elephantopotamus Discovered
At least one species of proboscidean, a prehistoric relative of the elephant, lived in an aquatic environment, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The extinct water-lover, which belonged to the genus Moeritherium and lived around 37 million years ago, appears to have munched on freshwater plants and spent most of its days in swamps or river systems, according to Alexander Liu, an earth sciences expert at the University of Oxford and the lead author of the study. The research team based its findings on a group of fossilized teeth found in [...]
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