A glow-in-the-dark cockroach, Earth's smallest known living vertebrate and a species of Old World monkey that is new to science but long known to locals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, were three of the most-praised new species discovered in 2012.
Each year, a global committee of taxonomists selects the top 10 newly discovered species. The results of the latest survey were published Thursday.
The Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University has issued the list for the sixth year running, with its team of international taxonomists choosing among 140 nominated species in order to come up with this year's winners. To be considered, species must have been described in compliance with the appropriate code of nomenclature, whether botanical, zoological or microbiological, and have been officially named during 2012.
If Carl Linnaeus, the man credited for conceiving of the modern system of binomial nomenclature in the 18th century, were alive today he'd probably be pleased to know that scientists use his system to name about 18,000 newly identified species annually. What's more, the announcement of the latest top 10 coincidentally fell on Linnaeus' birthday - May 23.
Antonio Valdecasas, a research biologist in Spain and selection committee chairman, said in a statement that determining the final list was difficult and that it required finding a balance between certain criteria and special insights revealed by the selection committee members.
"We look for organisms with unexpected features or size and those found in rare or difficult-to-reach habitats. We also look for organisms that are especially significant to humans - those that play a certain role in human habitat or that are considered a close relative," Valdecasas added.
Quentin Wheeler, founding director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at ASU, said he didn't know "whether to be more astounded by the species discovered each year, or the depths of our ignorance about biodiversity of which we are a part."
"At the same time we search the heavens for other earthlike planets, we should make it a high priority to explore the biodiversity on the most earthlike planet of them all: Earth," Wheeler said. "With more than eight out of every 10 living species awaiting discovery, I am shocked by our ignorance of our very own planet and in awe at the diversity, beauty and complexity of the biosphere and its inhabitants."
A quick read of year's top 10 is listed below. More comprehensive descriptions can be found here.
1.) A diminutive violet barely 1 cenitmeter tall
2.) A large, carnivorous deep-sea sponge
3.) A new species of Old World monkey in Africa
4.) A snail-eating snake
5.) A mysterious new kind of fungus
6.) The world's smallest living vertebrate, an ultra-small frog
7.) A glossy green Malagasy shrubbery already on the verge of extinction
8.) A luminescent cockroach
9.) An insect researched and documented entirely by social media
10.) An ancient insect that mimicked flowering plants
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