Apparently new species of life are showing up in the Philippine Archipelago. According to Terrence Gosliner, “The Philippines is one of the hottest of the hotspots for diverse and threatened life on Earth,” Terrence Gosliner is the dean of science and research collections at the California Academy of Sciences and leader of the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition. “Despite this designation, however, the biodiversity here is still relatively unknown, and we found new species during nearly every dive and hike as we surveyed the country’s reefs, rain forests, and the ocean floor.”
Among the suspected new species are dozens of types of insects and spiders, deep-sea corals, sea pens, sea urchins and more than 50 kinds of sea slugs. Scientists say they came across a new kind of cicada that makes a distinctive “laughing” call, a starfish that eats only sunken driftwood, and a deep-sea swell shark that sucks water into its stomach to bulk up and scare off predators.
Read the full story here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110624130023.htm
Enjoy the pictures of some of the discoveries:
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