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What’s in a name?
The top 10 newfound and new named coinage of the former twelvemonth have been announced , and this year ’s list spotlight species with bizarre name , unique diets and more .
For the preceding decade the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry ( ESF ) has put together an annual lean celebrating the new species . A " run " tomato plant and a " Game of Thrones " ant made the list this class , along with a wanderer identify for a magical lid from " Harry Potter " and a devilish orchidaceous plant , among others .
Selected from approximately 18,000 new species named last yr , here are the top 10 newfound species from 2016 . [ Read the full floor about this class ’s top 10 unexampled species tilt ]
Bush Tomato
A group of 150 seventh - ground level life-time skill students in Pennsylvania help give a fresh species of bush tomato its blinking name . When reduce , the young tomato seem to " bleed " before maturing to be dry and bone - comparable . The new species was therefore diagnose Solanum ossicruentum , combining the Latin " ossi " for bony and " cruentum " for bloody . Though known to phytologist for 50 twelvemonth , the bleeding love apple has only of late been declared a new mintage .
Ant
The spiny back ofPheidole drogonreminded scientists of the fierce Drogon , a black-market dragon from the " Game of Thrones " Bible series by George R. R. Martin , which has also been adapted into a television series on HBO . While the new ant species is far small than its fantastical namesake , the worm ’s flying lizard - comparable vertebral column likely act as an anchor for the specie ' with child musculus , according to investigator .
Spider
Another raw specie from the tilt has a witching namesake . Eriovixia gryffindoriis a midget spider with a body form reminiscent of the ensorcelled Sorting Hat from J.K. Rowling ’s " Harry Potter " Christian Bible and adapt films . Named for the hat ’s first possessor , Godric Gryffindor , the wanderer ’s appearance is not only hat - like , but also facilitate camouflage the arachnid in the dry , brownish leaf where it lives . investigator compose that the wanderer ’s name is " an ode … for magic lost , and found , in an effort to force attention to the fascinating , but oft overlooked world of invertebrates , and their private life . "
Orchid
mephistophelian indeed : The new orchid speciesTelipogon diabolicushas a distinct generative complex body part that resembles a heller ’s head . Though only recently happen upon , the orchidaceous plant is already weigh critically endangered because its little habitat in southern Colombia is jeopardize by reconstruction of a road .
Rat
The newly discovered Sulawesi root rat , Gracilimus radix , is a slender gnawer with gray - brown pelt , rounded ears and a sparsely haired after part . It may have a characterless coming into court , but the new rat species has a very distinctive diet : it ’s an omnivore . get laid to feed on roots ( the name is deduct from the Latin word for " root " ) as well as animal matter , Gracilimus radix is unequaled among its strictly carnivorous relatives . recover on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia , the root blackleg is one of seven Modern species of rodents discovered there since 2012 .
Katydid
This young insect ’s females are pretty in pinkish . While reckon for tarantulas and Snake in Borneo , researchers discovered a new katydid metal money . Eulophophyllum kirki uses color to blend in with foliage . While male are a uniform green color , the female katydid are a superb subtlety of pink .
Stingray
Brazil ’s Tocantins River has a newly crowned " king " in the Potamotrygon rex , a new species of fresh water stingray . The stingray has a outstanding polka - dot pattern of yellow and orange spot , and is about 43 inches ( 109 centimeters ) long . count up to 44 quid ( 20 kilogram ) , the stingray ’s pregnant size and distinct appearance make it the title of P. rex — Latin for " king . "
Millipede
Siphonorhinid millipedes can have as many as 750 ramification . Though the unexampled species Illacme tobini falls shortsighted of this record , at 414 legs , the animals continue to add organic structure segments — and legs — throughout their lives . Beyond its noted womb-to-tomb growth , the new millepede species also secretes a vindication chemical of an unidentified nature . measure about 1 in tenacious ( 20 millimeters ) and thread - like , I. tobini was discovered in Sequoia National Park in California , live in tiny cracks beneath the stain .
Centipede
Another many - legged new specie made this year ’s top 10 lean . Scolopendra cataracta is a new centipede with 20 brace of leg along its 8 - column inch - long ( 20 centimeters ) physical structure . S. cataracta , Latin for " waterfall , " is the first species of centipede keep to be able to plunge into water . The unexampled centipede runs under urine just as it does on dry land , concord to investigator .
Marine worm
This insect may live in the ocean , but it front like fried pastry dough found at subject parks . Xenoturbella churrowas discovered about 5,600 feet ( 1,722 meters ) below the control surface of the Gulf of California . Its uniform orangish - pink colour and four rich grooves reminded investigator of churros , a character of fried dough pastry . The 4 - column inch - retentive ( 10 cm ) nautical worm is part of a mathematical group of crude worm - corresponding beast known to be the earliest branch in the family tree diagram of bilaterally symmetrical animals , which includes insect and humans .
