New Species

Caution About “New Species” News

Everytime a news items appears about a "new species," of course, it seems it might be another exciting moment for cryptozoology. The new species could be one that is ethnoknown, a part of the traditions and encounters of the local peoples who may have assisted in finding it. But some media reports might not be talking about the discovery of a brand "new species." Sometimes reporters are only disseminating the fact that a "new" animal, perhaps never seen locally, is making a new appearance. Often, if the location has a bit of exotic mystic about it, people naturally think this [...]

Little People Confirmed As New Species

While people can debate the reality of giant hairy Johor Hominids, huge hirsute Canadian Sasquatch, or little furry Hawaiian Menehunes, there’s no denying the continuing and expanding picture of the reality of the tiny, three-feet tall human-like beings of Indonesia. We have their bones. In a new, just-published July 2006 paper in the Journal of Human Evolution, scientists have confirmed that the so-called "Hobbits" of Flores, Indonesia, are a separate species. (Please read here for other Cryptomundo revelations about these real-life little hominids and their contemporary sightings.) Yesterday, USA Today’s Dan Vergano summarized the results: Now a study accepted for [...]

Roundup of Amazing Finds

Some remarkable (yes, I do use that word) discoveries have flooded ye ole email in-boxes at Cryptomundo lately. The incoming announcements have been arriving so fast and furiously, I thought I would do a holiday weekend overview of several, to play catch up. First, let’s begin with the smallest. Bernard Heuvelmans once defined cryptozoology as dealing with any animal that was big enough to be have an impact on humans. Most people have correctly viewed this as meaning the cryptid must be "ethnoknown," and has to be, generally, in the range of the size of a domestic cat or larger. [...]

Three New Lemurs

Three New Lemurs Named in Madagascar Conservation International June 21, 2006 To recognize an internationally renowned primatologist and champion of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity, scientists who discovered three new species of mouse lemur on the island nation have named one in honor of Russell A. Mittermeier, the president of Conservation International. Mittermeier, the longtime chair of the IUCN Primate Special Group, is an expert on Madagascar and its lemurs, the distinctive primates found nowhere else on Earth. He is the lead author of “Lemurs of Madagascar,” a comprehensive field guide on the country’s flagship species. His efforts inspired researcher Mireya Mayor [...]

New Roach and Palm

Nothing overtly cryptozoological about these tidbits, but I thought I would pass along new evidence that the nature world, in general, is full of surprises, beyond brown sharks. Here’s a couple items about two new species – one a roach and the other a palm tree. In Practical Fishkeeping, the essence of the news is captured in the headline "New Species of Roach Found": A new species of roach has been described from western Greece. Bogutskaya and Iliadou described the new species as Rutilus panosi in a paper in Zoosystematica Rossica, after finding it in the Acheloos River drainage in [...]

Brown Shark Discovered

David Pescovitz over at Boing Boing has the latest on a new shark find. The new brown shark species ( Mustelus hacat) was "discovered in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Postgraduate student Juan Carlos Perez noticed the 5-foot long, dark gray-brown animals in 2003 while on a fishing boat studying sharks, but only recently confirmed via genetic testing that they represent a new species," noted Pescovitz.

Reality Check: Behind The Lost World Hype

Do you know where the Foja Mountains are? Most people don’t. And are there really "hundreds of new species" discovered? Bruce Beehler of the U.S. organization Conservation International and Indonesian Institute of Sciences reportedly told the BBC: "It’s a beautiful, untouched, unpopulated forest. We found dozens, if not hundreds, of new species." The attention to the new "Lost World" in Indonesia is all over the media, as mentioned earlier here on Cryptomundo. But what’s the reality behind the headlines? Photographs of two rare but not "new" species – the long-beaked echidna and the golden-mantled tree kangeroo; Conservation International. Not to [...]

Lost Worlds in New Guinea and Madagascar

The discovery of a "Lost World" in New Guinea is the breaking story of the day. I guess you just never can tell what you’re find if you look on the upper slopes of the Foja Mountains, in the easternmost and least explored province of western New Guinea, humm? Due to a technical breakdown here last night when Cryptomundo went offline, I wasn’t able to post on this exciting development. In the meantime, I see this morning, the internet is screaming about the "hundreds of species" found. One of the best items on the findings is at Boing Boing; they [...]