Scientists Announce Top 10 New Species In Last Year

As a taxonomist I get excited when subjects dealing with taxonomy make headlines. So I present for your consideration the top 10 new species of 2007 as determined by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists.

1. an ornate sleeper ray
2. a 75-million-year-old giant duck-billed dinosaur
3. a shocking pink millipede
4. a rare, off-the-shelf frog
5. one of the most venomous snakes in the world
6. a fruit bat
7. a mushroom
8. a jellyfish
9. a rhinoceros beetle
10. the "Michelin Man" plant

You can read more about each species here.

Check out pictures here.

In addition to the list the taxonomists also issued a SOS -- State of Observed Species report card on human knowledge of Earth's species. In it, they report that 16,969 species new to science were discovered and described in 2006. No mention of how many species they think went extinct. I wonder how many species go extinct before we even discover them?