Named Bathydevius caudactylus, the new species is bioluminescent and represents the third independent origin of bioluminescence among sea slugs.

The post New Species of Bioluminescent Sea Slug Discovered appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

The mystery mollusc has been identified

Arrival of hyenas, jackals, marsh crocodiles, and palm civets raise species count to 94

Researchers and the public can now have immediate access to data underlying discovery of new species of life on Earth, under a new streamlined system linking taxonomic research with open data publication.

The partnership paves the way for unlocking and preserving a wealth of 'small data' backing up research conclusions, which often become lost within a few years of an article's publication in an academic journal.

In the first example of the new collaboration in action, the Biodiversity Data Journal carries a peer-reviewed description of a new species of spider discovered during a field course in Borneo just one month ago. At the same time, the data showing location of the spider's occurrence in nature are automatically harvested by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and richer data such as images and the species description are exported to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).

This contrasts with an average 'shelf life' of twenty-one years between field discovery of a new species and its formal description and naming, according to a recent study in Current Biology.

A group of scientists and students discovered the new species of spider during a field course in Borneo, supervised by Jeremy Miller and Menno Schilthuizen from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The species was described and submitted online from the field to the Biodiversity Data Journal through a satellite internet connection, along with the underlying data . The manuscript was peer-reviewed and published within two weeks of submission. On the day of publication, GBIF and EOL have harvested and included the data in their respective platforms.

The new workflow established between GBIF, EOL and Pensoft Publishers' Biodiversity Data Journal, with the support of the Swiss NGO Plazi, automatically exports treatment and occurrence data into a Darwin Core Archive, a standard format used by GBIF and other networks to share data from many different sources. This means GBIF can extract these data on the day of the article's publication, making them immediately available to science and the public through its portal and web services, further enriching the biodiversity data already freely accessible through the GBIF network. Similarly, the information and multimedia resources become accessible via EOL's species pages.

One of the main purposes of the partnership is to ensure that such data remain accessible for future use in research. A recent study published in Current Biology found that 80 % of scientific data are lost in less than 10 years following their creation.

Donald Hobern, GBIF's Executive Secretary, commented: "A great volume of extremely important information about the world's species is effectively inaccessible, scattered across thousands of small datasets carefully curated by taxonomic researchers. I find it very exciting that this new workflow will help preserve these 'small data' and make them immediately available for re-use through our networks."

"Re-use of data published on paper or in PDF format is a huge challenge in all branches of science", said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, managing director of Pensoft and founder of the Biodiversity Data Journal. "This problem has been tackled firstly by our partners from Plazi who created a workflow to extract data from legacy literature and submit it to GBIF. The workflow currently launched by GBIF, EOL and the Biodiversity Data Journal radically shortens the way from publication of data to their sharing and re-use and makes the whole process cost efficient", added Prof. Penev.

The elaboration of the workflow from BDJ and Plazi to GBIF through Darwin Core Archive was supported by the EU-funded project EU BON (Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network, grant No 308454). The basic concept has been initially discussed and outlined in the course of the pro-iBiosphere project (Coordination and policy development in preparation for a European Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management System, addressing Acquisition, Curation, Synthesis, Interoperability and Dissemination, grant No 312848).

Original source:

Miller J, Schilthuizen M, Burmester J, van der Graaf L, Merckx V, Jocqué M, Kessler P, Fayle T, Breeschoten T, Broeren R, Bouman R, Chua W, Feijen F, Fermont T, Groen K, Groen M, Kil N, de Laat H, Moerland M, Moncoquet C, Panjang E, Philip A, Roca-Eriksen R, Rooduijn B, van Santen M, Swakman V, Evans M, Evans L, Love K, Joscelyne S, Tober A, Wilson H, Ambu L, Goossens B (2014) Dispatch from the field: ecology of micro web-building spiders with description of a new species. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1076. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1076

Shimmering carapaces and rattling claws make colourful freshwater crabs attractive to pet keepers. To answer the demand, fishermen are busy collecting and trading with the crustaceans, often not knowing what exactly they have handed over to their client.

read more

Osedax worms, or the ‘bone eating’ worms are little soft sacks resembling snotty little flowers. The “bone devourer” is not quite accurate as the worms…

The post Introducing a New Species: My Namesake, a New Bone-Eating Worm first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Called the Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish, the cryptic species lives deep in the ocean off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia

A new genus and species of ankylosaur has been identified from an articulated and partial skeleton found in 1986 in southern China.

The post Paleontologists Discover New Species of Ankylosaurid Dinosaur appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Marine biologists at Queensland Museum Kurilpa have described a new species of hermit crab, Strigopagurus fragarchela (common name is the strawberry-clawed hermit), from the continental shelf off south‑east Queensland, Australia.

The post New Species of Hermit Crab Discovered in Australia appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

In Finland, a new species of mosquito has been discovered bringing the count to 44. The previous findings closest to Finland, but further south, have

A team of researchers from the Zoological Survey of India recorded the forest-dwelling frog from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary

A Smithsonian Institution biologist, working with the Natural History Unit of the British Broadcasting Corp., has discovered a new species of giant rat on a film-making expedition to a remote rainforest in New Guinea.

The post New species of giant rat discovered in crater of volcano in Papua New Guinea appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A diminutive bat with cinnamon-brown coloring collected in 1979 in Ecuador by mammalogist Don Wilson of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History represents a new species a recent paper in the journal “Mammalian Biology” has revealed.

The post New species of bat named from central coastal Ecuador appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using modern genetic analysis, combined with traditional morphology, scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Ocean Science Foundation have discovered seven […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover seven new species of blenny fish appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The words “box jelly” may bring to mind something sweet and tasty, but the banded box jelly of Bonaire is a highly venomous jellyfish with […]

The post “Ohboya!” It’s the Bonaire banded box jellyfish, a new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A team of scientists led by the Smithsonian Institution has discovered a fossilized dinosaur skull and neck vertebrae that not only reveal a new species, but also an evolutionary link between two groups of dinosaurs.

The post Scientists discover new species of dinosaur bridging a gap in the dinosaur family tree appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

DNA analysis has established that creatures captured during a voyage to the mid-Atlantic are members of the Torquaratoridae; a recently discovered family of acorn worms.

The post Strange deep sea creatures confirmed as three new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Molynocoelia erwini, is a new species of fruit fly from Ecuador recently described by USDA entomologist Allen Norrbom, who works in the Systematic Entomology Laboratory […]

The post “Molynocoelia erwini,” a new species of fruit fly from Ecuador appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The discovery of two new extinct camel species by scientists from the University of Florida and the Smithsonian is casting new light on the history of the tropics, a region containing more than half the world's biodiversity and some of its most important ecosystems.

The post Two new species of extinct camels discovered in Panama Canal excavations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists conducting deep-sea research in the Galapagos have described a new species of catshark. The new shark is approximately a foot long and has a chocolate-brown coloration with pale, irregularly distributed spots on its body. The spotted patterns appear to be unique to each individual.

The post New species of deep-sea catshark described from the Galapagos appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A specimen recently pulled from deep in the southwest Atlantic may represent a new species of squid, say scientist who have studied the animal’s unusual morphology. But then again, it may not…

The post As they grow some squid change dramatically, making scientists cautious about naming new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Finding a fossil is the first step, recognizing it for what it truly is, is the real challenge. While closely studying three fossil skeletons from […]

The post One Scary Chicken—New species of large, feathered dinosaur discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

WHAT A new species of stick catfish from South America, so called because the thin, elongated bodies of these fish mimic sticks. About 5 inches […]

The post New species of armored catfish from Colombia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you love new animal species and have an Internet connection, chances are you have already seen the beautiful new golden bat species, Myotis midastactus. […]

The post Bolivia’s golden bat: one of six new species found by the Smithsonian’s bat detective appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Bright orange with a distinctive call the Panamanian poison dart frog Andinobates geminisae lives in only a small area of the Caribbean Coast of Panama. […]

The post In modern amphibian “ark,” new species added with due diligence appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new water frog from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in central Peru has been described and named in the open access journal ZooKeys. Telmatobius […]

The post New species of bright-yellow water frog discovered in Peru appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Three new species of dragon-esque woodlizards have been discovered in the Andean cloud forests of Peru and Ecuador. The new species differ from their closest […]

The post 3 new species of dwarf dragons discovered in Ecuador & Peru appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists and colleagues have discovered a new genus and species of river dolphin that has long been extinct. They made the discovery after carefully […]

The post Fossil Specimen Reveals a New Species of Ancient River Dolphin appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping […]

The post New Species of Extinct River Dolphin Discovered in Smithsonian Collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Living in deep reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, the banded basslet, a small and colorful species with a wide range of distribution, has long been […]

The post Fishy Caribbean ‘juveniles’ recognized as new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Covered in sharp spines, when harassed the porcupine fish inflates like a balloon. Think of a small soccer ball bristling all over with nails. Most predators […]

The post Indestructible jaws from ancient, extinct porcupine fish reveal new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Flitting swiftly through the darkness above the tropical forest canopy in Central and South America, a group of cute little bats with dog-like faces have […]

The post More sky puppies! Scientists discover two new species of dog-faced bat appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's new genetics lab use animal DNA to diagnose new diseases, discover new species help in conservation efforts and solve mysteries.

The post Scientists at a new National Zoo laboratory use DNA to diagnose illnesses and discover new species of animals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) captures a new species of deep-reef fish, the Godzilla goby, using the Curasub submersible. The lead scientist on […]

The post Capturing a new species with a submersible appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent botanical exploration efforts in the rugged Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) have increased the known flora of the archipelago by an impressive 20 percent. Field research and collecting in conjunction with the Vascular Flora of the Marquesas Islands and Flore de la Polynesie française projects have yielded 62 new species of ferns and flowering plants bringing the total native species to 360, of which 18 are newly described and illustrated in a special issue of PhytoKeys.

The post Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia yield 18 new species of rare ferns and flowering plants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invertebrate Zoology Scientists studying pollinators of the yellow poppy (Meconopsis integrifolia) in the highlands of southern China have discovered a striking new species of flower fly […]

The post New species of poppy pollinating fly discovered in China appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nausea, vomiting and weakness are but a few of the symptoms one might anticipate after eating leaves from the Taiwanese shrub Erycibe henryi. This wild […]

The post Meet the (flea) beetles! New species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping scientists piece together the evolutionary history of whales and dolphins, including the origins of the endangered South Asian river dolphin.

read more

Scientists today announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America. The cranial remains were in an excellent state of preservation and belonged to a new species of pterosaur from the Early Jurassic. The researchers have named this new species 'Allkauren koi' from the native Tehuelche word 'all' for 'brain', and 'karuen' for 'ancient'.

read more

An extinct reptile related to crocodiles that lived 212 million years ago in present day New Mexico has been named as a new species, Vivaron haydeni, in a paper published this week by Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences researchers.

read more

The surprising find shows just how much there is to learn about the biodiversity of southern Oregon's mountainous region.

Closest living relative of Arktocara yakataga can only be found in rivers in South Asia.

A genus of Queensland marsupial lion that, in its heyday, would have had other animals "shaking in their boots", is reclassified to be entirely new.

New species of spider orchids have been discovered near Busselton by the WA Herbarium. They add to the already spectacular array of wildflowers which thrive in the biodiversity hot spot of the South West.

The fossils of a giant new species of sea creature are discovered on South Australia's Kangaroo Island and with its formidable legs with spines used for crushing and shredding food, scientists are comparing it to Tyrannosaurus rex.

These flying reptiles patrolled the African skies some 100 million years ago

Perhaps the fictional Hogwarts founder would have appreciated the honor

Five species of songbird and five subspecies have been discovered by scientists for the first time in mountainous areas of Indonesia

As with many biodiversity hotspots, new discoveries are being made all the time.

From brilliant pink lady katydids to devil-faced orchids, this year's list of new-to-science wonders proves Mother Nature is full of surprises.