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Old October 12th, 2009 #1
Alex Linder
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Default New Species Discovered

'Veggie' spider shuns meat diet
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

The mainly vegetarian spider was caught on camera

A spider that dines almost exclusively on plants has been described by scientists.

It is the first-known predominantly vegetarian spider; all of the other known 40,000 spider species are thought to be mainly carnivorous.

Bagheera kiplingi, which is found in Central America and Mexico, bucks the meat-eating trend by feasting on acacia plants.

The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

The herbivorous spider was filmed on high-definition camera.

Running the gauntlet

The jumping arachnid, which is 5-6mm long, has developed a taste for the tips of the acacia plants - known as Beltian bodies - which are packed full of protein.

This is the only spider we know that deliberately only goes after plants.
Professor Robert Curry

But to reach this leafy fare, the spider has to evade the attention of ants, which live in the hollow spines of the tree.

The ants and acacia trees have co-evolved to form a mutually beneficial relationship: the aggressive ants protect the trees from predators, swarming to attack any invaders; and in return for acting as bodyguards, the ants get to gorge on the acacias' Beltian bodies themselves.

But the crafty Bagheera kiplingi has found a way to exploit this symbiotic relationship.
Bagheera kiplingi spider and ant (R. Curry)
The spiders have to dodge ants to get to the leaf tips

One of the study's authors, Professor Robert Curry, from Villanova University, Pennsylvania, told BBC News: "The spiders basically dodge the ants.

"The spiders live on the plants - but way out on the tips of the old leaves, where the ants don't spend a lot of time, because there isn't any food on those leaves."

But when they get hungry, the spiders head to the newer leaves, and get ready to run the ant gauntlet.

Professor Curry said: "And they wait for an opening - they watch the ants move around, and they watch to see that there are not any ants in the local area that they are going after.

"And then they zip in and grab one of these Beltian bodies and then clip it off, hold it in their mouths and run away.

"And then they retreat to one of the undefended parts of the plant to eat it."

Like other species of jumping spider, Bagheera kiplingi has keen eyesight, is especially fast and agile and is thought to have good cognitive skills, which allows it to "hunt" down this plant food.

Fierce competition

The spider's herbivorous diet was first discovered in Costa Rica in 2001 by Eric Olsen from Brandeis University, and was then independently observed again in 2007 by Christopher Meehan, at that time an undergraduate student at Villanova University.

Competition in the tropics is pretty fierce so there are always advantages to do what someone else isn't already doing
Professor Curry

The team then collaborated to describe the spider for the first time in this Current Biology paper.

Professor Curry said he was extremely surprised when he found out about its unusual behaviour.

He said: "This is the only spider we know that deliberately only goes after plants."

While some spiders will occasionally supplement their diet with a little nectar or pollen, Bagheera kiplingi's diet is almost completely vegetarian - although occasionally topped up with a little ant larvae at times.

Professor Curry said there were numerous reasons why this spider might have turned away from meaty meals.

He said: "Competition in the tropics is pretty fierce so there are always advantages to doing what someone else isn't already doing.

"They are jumping spiders, so they don't build a web to catch food, so they have to catch their prey through pursuit. And the Beltian bodies are not moving - they are stuck - so it is a very predictable food supply."

Acacias also produce leaves throughout the year - even through the dry season - which would make them attractive.

And Professor Curry added: "Because the plants are protected by ants, they have none of their own chemical defences that other plants do."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8302535.stm
 
Old November 24th, 2009 #2
Alex Linder
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Thousands of strange creatures found deep in ocean

The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.

A report released Sunday recorded 17,650 species living below 656 feet, the point where sunlight ceases. The findings were the latest update on a 10-year census of marine life.

"Parts of the deep sea that we assumed were homogenous are actually quite complex," said Robert S. Carney, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University and a lead researcher on the deep seas.

Thousands of marine species eke out an existence in the ocean's pitch-black depths by feeding on the snowlike decaying matter that cascades down—even sunken whale bones. Oil and methane also are an energy source for the bottom-dwellers, the report said.

The researchers have found about 5,600 new species on top of the 230,000 known. They hope to add several thousand more by October 2010, when the census will be done.

The scientists say they could announce that a million or more species remain unknown. On land, biologists have catalogued about 1.5 million plants and animals.

They say they've found 5,722 species living in the extreme ocean depths, waters deeper than 3,280 feet.

"The deep sea was considered a desert until not so long ago; it's quite amazing to have documented close to 20,000 forms of life in a zone that was thought to be barren," said Jesse Ausubel with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a sponsor of the census. "The deep sea is the least explored environment on earth."

More than 40 new species of coral were documented on deep-sea mountains, along with cities of brittlestars and anemone gardens. Nearly 500 new species ranging from single-celled creatures to large squid were charted in the abyssal plains and basins.

Also of importance were the 170 new species that get their energy from chemicals spewing from ocean-bottom vents and seeps. Among them was a family of "yeti crabs," which have silky, hairlike filaments on the legs.

In the mid-Atlantic, researchers found 40 new species and 1,000 in all, said Odd Aksel Bergstad, an oceanographer with the University of Bergen in Norway who was reached by telephone in the Azores islands.

"It was a surprise to me to find such rich communities in the middle of the ocean," he said. "There were not even good maps for the area. Our understanding of the biodiversity there was very weak."

More than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries are working to catalog the oceans' species.

Researching the abyss has been costly and difficult because it involved deep-towed cameras, sonar and remotely operated vehicles that cost $50,000 a day to operate, Carney said.

Once the census is complete, the plan is to publish three books: a popular survey of sea life, a second book with chapters for each working group and a third focusing on biodiversity.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
 
Old November 24th, 2009 #3
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I love to watch the shows about deep ocean species. It's amazing how these organisms can survive in the dark sulphur heavy deep. In February I'll be starting a 20 gallon marine aquarium. I think it would be fun to be able to sustain a living salt water ecosystem in my house.
 
Old January 4th, 2010 #4
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New fox subspecies uncovered in California

January 03, 2010

Heavily-populated California may be one of the last places one would expect to find a new mammal, but the Sacramento Bee reports that genetic evidence has revealed a new subspecies of red fox.

"The fact that the evidence is pointing toward it as a native species – and a native species that we didn't know about – is kind of an amazing development," Armand Gonzales, a wildlife program manager at the California Department of Fish and Game, told the Sacramento Bee. "That doesn't happen very often."

The subspecies, now named the Sacramento Valley red fox, was long thought to be an alien species, introduced from the East Coast. But genetic testing by Ben Sacks, an assistant professor of biology at both the University of California, Davis, and California State University, Sacramento, shows that not only are the foxes unique, but they are Californian through-and-through. Davis research will be published in Conservation Genetics.

Davis says he believes the Sacramento Valley red fox are most closely related to the endangered Sierra Nevadan fox. Next he plans to study whether or not the newly-uncovered subspecies is threatened.

The Sacramento Valley red fox is outwardly identical to the red fox.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0103-hance_fox.html
 
Old January 4th, 2010 #5
Igor Alexander
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
'Veggie' spider shuns meat diet
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
So now we've got vegan spiders and tomatoes that eat meat. Time to rethink my worldview.
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Old January 4th, 2010 #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Igor Alexander View Post
So now we've got vegan spiders and tomatoes that eat meat. Time to rethink my worldview.
Wow! I wonder if we could get UFC interested in a match. It's smack down time!

Mike
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Old January 8th, 2010 #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Igor Alexander View Post
So now we've got vegan spiders and tomatoes that eat meat. Time to rethink my worldview.

i would like to know more about this meat eating tomato
 
Old October 4th, 2010 #8
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Census of Marine Life reveals extent of ocean mystery

04 October 2010

The first global picture of life in the oceans is released today, with the completion of the decade-long Census of Marine Life.

But despite its 2700 scientists spending over 9000 days at sea, the Census has only scratched the surface of the ocean's biodiversity.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...n-mystery.html
 
Old October 5th, 2010 #9
Kind Lampshade Maker
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Just found this photo gallery:

http://bazonline.ch/wissen/natur/Tau...story/30866249



Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_O View Post
I love to watch the shows about deep ocean species...
Have you ever contemplated taking up deep sea diving, Sir?


These admirable creatures only come out for feeding and mating. Sort of reminds me of some above water species:

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Last edited by Kind Lampshade Maker; October 5th, 2010 at 05:01 AM.
 
Old October 5th, 2010 #10
Vijay Coomar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Bowmont View Post
i would like to know more about this meat eating tomato
I would prefer a tomato that eats shitskins.
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Old October 8th, 2010 #11
alex revision
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Default 200 New Species Discovered in Papua New Guinea

200 New Species Discovered in Papua New Guinea

A biological survey of New Britain island and the Nakanai Mountains yielded the discoveries of 200 new species. Conservation International scientist Stephen Richards said, “As we flew in to land the helicopter in a montane meadow, zooming into this spectacular landscape, it was an incredible realization, knowing that no scientist has ever been there before.”

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/200...#ixzz11lPz8XSA
 
Old October 20th, 2010 #12
Kind Lampshade Maker
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Default A sub-species of Gibbon discovered in SE Asia

Graphic source:

http://www.badische-zeitung.de/panor...-35730130.html

...(Nomascus annamensis) live in treetops in difficult to access mountain regions between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia...


Quote:
...(Nomascus annamensis) leben in Baumwipfeln des schwer zugänglichen Berglandes zwischen Vietnam, Laos und Kambodscha...
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Old October 28th, 2010 #13
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Default Supplementing post #9

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/me...wurms-1.995810

12 photos, here:

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/ce...eer-1.983234-8

2 unstorable pics:

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/ce...er-1.983234-12

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/ce...eer-1.983234-6
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Last edited by Kind Lampshade Maker; October 28th, 2010 at 05:24 AM.
 
Old November 13th, 2010 #14
Alex Linder
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Scientists discover unknown lizard species at lunch buffet
SCIENTISTS

November 10, 2010|By Brian Walker, CNN

It may be an old menu standby to Vietnamese diners, but it's turned into a smorgasbord of discovery for scientists.

Researchers have identified a previously undocumented species of all-female lizard in the Mekong River delta that can reproduce itself by cloning, and the story of how it was discovered is almost as exotic as the animal itself.

Leiolepis ngovantrii is a small lizard found only in southern Vietnam. A Vietnamese reptile scientist who came across tanks full of the remarkably similar looking reptiles at small diners in rural villages in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province became intrigued when he noticed that all of the lizards appeared to be female.


Newly documented by the scientific community, the lizard species is served in Vietnamese diners.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-10/l...s?_s=PM:LIVING
 
Old November 13th, 2010 #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
Scientists discover unknown lizard species at lunch buffet
SCIENTISTS

November 10, 2010|By Brian Walker, CNN

It may be an old menu standby to Vietnamese diners, but it's turned into a smorgasbord of discovery for scientists.

Researchers have identified a previously undocumented species of all-female lizard in the Mekong River delta that can reproduce itself by cloning, and the story of how it was discovered is almost as exotic as the animal itself.

Leiolepis ngovantrii is a small lizard found only in southern Vietnam. A Vietnamese reptile scientist who came across tanks full of the remarkably similar looking reptiles at small diners in rural villages in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province became intrigued when he noticed that all of the lizards appeared to be female.


Newly documented by the scientific community, the lizard species is served in Vietnamese diners.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-10/l...s?_s=PM:LIVING
What a surprise: the gooks are eating it.
 
Old November 20th, 2010 #16
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New bat species confirmed in Ecuador, may already be extinct

Although the first specimen was collected over 30 years ago, scientists have only now confirmed that a tiny brown bat is indeed a unique species. Named Myotis diminutus for its incredibly small size, the new bat was discovered in the Chocó biodiversity hotspot, amid the moist forests of western Ecuador.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1116-hance_tinybat.html
 
Old January 20th, 2011 #18
Leonard Rouse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alex revision View Post
New Species Literally Crawls out From Under Rock in Tennessee

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...ock-tennessee/
 
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