Species celebrated

A new human ancestor, a ruby-red seadragon and a damselfly with a suggestive name are among the “top 10” new species discovered last year, according to a panel of scientists. The International Institute for Species Exploration at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which selects 10 species from a list of about 18,000 discovered each year, announced its latest list on 24 May.

This year&’s finalists include a new addition to the human evolutionary tree, and a hominin called Homo naledi, discovered in a South African cave. The fossils contain the remains of at least 15 different individuals, making it the biggest collection of remains from a single hominin species discovered in Africa to date. Another primate on the list was a female ape nicknamed “Laia” (Pliobates cataloniae) that lived 11.6 million years ago in modern-day Spain.

A number of arthropods made this year&’s list and included a new type of isopod (a crustacean that lives in water or on land) called Iuiuniscus iuiuensis, discovered in a South American cave, that builds tiny shelters out of mud; and a tiny beetle discovered in Peru (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington), named after a children&’s book character, “Paddington Bear”. These are joined by a new type of damselfly discovered in Africa last year (Umma gumma), named for both a British slang term for sex and the title of a 1969 Pink Floyd album.

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(TANYA LEWIS/THE SCIENTIST)

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