Pea-Sized Frog Discovered on Pitcher Plants in Borneo
The smallest frog in the Old World (Asia, Africa and Europe) and one of the tiniest frogs in the world was discovered living inside and around pitcher plants in the heath forests of Borneo. The pea-sized amphibian is a species of microhylid. The species includes miniature frogs under 15 millimeters.
The mini frogs (Microhyla nepenthicola) were found on the edge of a road leading to the summit of the Gunung Serapi mountain, which lies within Kubah National Park. The new species was named after the plant on which it depends to live, the Nepenthes ampullaria, one of many species of pitcher plants in Borneo. The frogs deposit their eggs on the sides of the pitcher, and tadpoles grow in the liquid inside the plant.
Adult males of the new species range between 10.6 and 12.8 mm – about the size of a pea. The tiny frogs were found by tracking their call. Once found they were then made to jump onto a piece of white cloth to be examined closer. The singing starts at dusk, with males gathering within and around the pitcher plants. This "amphibian symphony" goes on from sundown until peaking in the early hours of the evening.
The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) started to become extinct in Europe about 24,000 years ago. The large cave dwelling bears weighed (PDF file) about 400 to 500 kilograms. An international team of scientists have analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 cave bear fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear. The scientists say the results show that the decline of the cave bear started 50,000 years ago, and was caused more by human expansion than by climate change. Humans and cave bears both used caves as habitats and it is highly unlikely they could have lived together peacefully.
Aurora Grandal-D'Anglade, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University Institute of Geology of the University of Coruna, says, "The decline in the genetic diversity of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) began around 50,000 years ago, much earlier than previously suggested, at a time when no major climate change was taking place, but which does coincide with the start of human expansion."
According to the research study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, radiocarbon dating of the fossil remains shows that the cave bear ceased to be abundant in Central Europe around 35,000 years ago. The scientists attribute this decline to "increasing human expansion and the resulting competition between humans and bears for land and shelter."
The scientists think the present day brown bear did not suffer the same fate and has survived until today because they did not depend as heavily on caves for habitat. The researchers think this is why brown bears did not follow the same extinction pattern as the cave bears.
"Brown bears rely on less specific shelters for hibernation. In fact, their fossil remains are not very numerous in cave deposits", the Galician researcher says.
Images: RockCreek(top)/Grandal-D'Anglade et al. (bottom)
The Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven is a sculptural installation in London Fieldworks. London Fieldworks have developed a sculptural habitat that will contribute to the lifecycle of birds, providing spaces for shelter, nesting or feeding. The sculptures were designed reflect the forms of the surrounding architecture. The structure contains over 250 homes of different shapes and sizes for birds to choose from.
National Geographic says the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) could be the world's weirdest creature. The nearly blind animal has no problem finding earth worms to eat thanks to its weird nose. The mole's star-nose is an ultra-sensitive detection device. The mole's nose contains nasal tentacles, which contain touch receptors called Eimer's organs. The star-nosed mole reportedly takes only about 25 milliseconds to decide whether an object is edible. Take a look:
Two liger cubs were born at a private zoo in Taiwan Monday. The cubs were triplets, but one of the cubs did not survive. The Christian Science Monitorreports that the zoo keeper could be fined around $1,500 for the illegal crossbreeding of two species of protected animals - an African lion and a Bengal tigress. Take a look:
Study: Orangutans Couch Potatoes of the Animal Kingdom
A study by Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has found that orangutans are the couch potatoes of the animal kingdom. Pontzer's research suggests that orangutans use less energy than even sedentary humans.
Pontzer and his team spent two weeks studying daily energy expenditure of orangutans in the Great Ape Trust, a 230-acre campus in Des Moines, Iowa. The study revealed an extremely low rate of energy use not previously observed in primates, but consistent with slow growth and low rate of reproduction in orangutans. Louis and his team have determined that orangutans living in a large indoor/outdoor habitat used less energy, relative to body mass, than nearly any eutherian mammal ever measured, including sedentary humans. All this despite activity levels similar to orangutans in the wild.
"It's like finding a sloth in your family tree," says Pontzer, "It's remarkably low energy use."
Pontzer suggests the orangutans low rate of energy use may be an evolutionary response to severe food shortages in the orangutan's native Southeast Asian rainforests. Orangutans like to eat fruit, which is sometimes scarce in the Borneo and Sumatra rainforests. The study suggests that orangutans have adapted over time by becoming consummate low-energy specialists, decreasing their daily energy needs to avoid starvation in times when food is scarce.
A pygmy hippo calf named Kambiri made her public debut at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney on Thursday. Kambiri was born on June 26th. The Taronga Zoo reports that she is very healthy and is "putting on about 300 grams a day."
The pig-shaped animals are much smaller than Nile hippos, but they can still grow to be up to five long and weigh 350 to 550 pounds as adults. A pgymy hippo fact sheet can be found here. Take a look:
Kemp's Ridley Turtle Hatchlings Released Into Gulf of Mexico
Thousands of endangered baby sea turtles are being released into the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas coast. The Kemp's ridley turtle hatchlings are being released from the Padre Island National Seashore. The Houston Chroniclesays scientists say the "risks of holding turtles in captivity at a critical stage in their life cycles could be worse than the dangers of oil more than 400 miles away." The Chronicle says the decision is controversial because there is the possibility a hurricane could push oil towards the Texas coast where the turtle hatchlings are being released.
Here is a video of the turtle hatchlings being released. Sea Turtle, Inc. also has information about the hatchling releases here. Take a look:
Archaeologists in East Timor have unearthed the bones of the biggest rat that ever lived. The rat bones of 13 spieces - 11 new to science - were found in caves. The largest rat had a a body weight around 6 kg (over 13 pounds). The giant rats jaw was about as large as the skull of common rat. The image above compares the upper toothrows of Timor's enormous extinct giant rat (left), with the skull of a common black rat (right).
Carbon dating shows that the biggest rat that ever lived survived until around 1000 to 2000 years ago, along with most of the other Timorese rodents found during the excavation. Only one of the smaller species found is known to survive on Timor today.
"People have lived on the island of Timor for over 40,000 years and hunted and ate rats throughout this period, yet extinctions did not occur until quite recently," CSIRO's Dr Ken Aplin says. "We think this shows people used to live sustainably on Timor until around 1000 to 2000 years ago. This means extinctions aren't inevitable when people arrive on an island. Large scale clearing of forest for agriculture probably caused the extinctions, and this may have only been possible following the introduction of metal tools."
Timor has very few native mammals. Bats and rodents make up the majority of species. Most of Timor today is arid, transformed from the lush rainforests of the past.
"Although less than 15 per cent of Timor's original forest cover remains, parts of the island are still heavily forested, so who knows what might be out there?" Dr Aplin says.
'Quaternary murid rodents of Timor' by Ken Aplin of CSIRO and Kris Helgen of the Smithsonian Institution was published this week in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
The image belows shows the skull of a common black rat compared with one of Timor's extinct giant rats. The rat skull shown here is not even the biggest of the extinct rats, which was about 25% bigger than the skull shown below.
Tiny fly brains can process visual movements in only fractions of a second. Flies can process a vast amount of information about motion and movement in their environment in real time. This is a feat that no computer, and certainly none the size of a fly's brain, can match. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are attempting to decode the underlying mechanisms of the fly's rapid motion vision.
Dierk Reiff from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried says one sixth of a cubic millimetre of fly rain matter contains more than 100,000 nerve cells - each of which has multiple connections to its neighbouring cells. Neurobiologists in Martinsried have managed to single out the reaction of a certain cell to any particular movement stimulus.
"We had to find some way of observing the activity of these tiny nerve cells without electrodes", Dierk Reiff explains one of the challenges that faced the scientists. The scientists used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and some of the most up-to-date genetic methods available. They succeeded in introducing the indicator molecule TN-XXL into individual nerve cells. By altering its fluorescent properties, TN-XXL indicates the activity of nerve cells.
To examine how the brains of fruit flies process motion, the neurobiologists presented the insects with moving stripe patterns on a light-diode screen. The nerve cells in the flies' brains react to these LED light impulses by becoming active, thus causing the luminance of the indicator molecules to change.
The scientists observed the activity of cells known as L2-cells, which receive information from the photoreceptors of the eye. The photoreceptors react when the light intensity increases or decreases. The reaction of the L2-cells is similar in that part of the cell where the information from the photoreceptor is picked up. However, the neurobiologists discovered that the L2-cell transforms these data and in particular, that it relays information only about the reduction in light intensity to the following nerve cells. The latter then calculate the direction of motion and pass this information on to the flight control system.
Now that the first step has been taken, the scientists intend to examine - cell by cell - the motion detection circuitry in the fly brain to explain how it computes motion information at the cellular level.
Saber-Toothed Cats Likely Pinned Prey With Exceptionally Strong Forelimbs
Saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis) are best known for their huge canines, but a new study found the predators also had exceptionally strong forelimbs for pinning prey. Smilodon fatalis roamed North and South America until 10,000 years ago, preying on large mammals such as bison, camels, mastodons and mammoths. A new study, reported in the journal PLoS ONE, found clues from bones and teeth that suggest Smilodon relied on their forelimbs as well as their fangs to catch and kill their prey. If a 500 pound saber-toothed cat were alive today and in pursuit of you, it might first pin you to the ground with its powerful forearms, before biting into you with its enormous canines.
Study author Julie Meachen-Samuels, a paleontologist at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC., says the size and shape of sabertooth canines made them more vulnerable to fracture than cats living today. She thinks Saber-toothed cats may have used their muscular arms to immobilize prey and protect their teeth from fracture.
To estimate how strong sabertooth forelimbs were relative to other cats, the researchers used x-rays to measure the cross-sectional dimensions of the upper arm and leg bones of fossils recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. They also measured the limb bones of 28 cat species living today, as well as the extinct American lion, the largest conical-toothed cat that ever lived.
The researchers used the cross-sectional measurements to estimate bone strength and rigidity for each species. When they plotted rigidity against length for the 30 species in their study, species with longer limbs generally had stronger bones. But the data for the saber-toothed cat fell well outside the normal range -- while their leg bones scaled to size, their arm bones were exceptionally thick for their length. Sabertooth arm bones were not only larger in diameter than other cats, they also had thicker cortical bone, the dense outer layer that makes bones strong and stiff. Prominent muscle attachment scars on sabertooth limb bones also suggest the cat was powerfully built.
These X-ray images show cross-sectional dimensions of the upper arm bone of a jaguar (A and B) compared to a saber-toothed cat (C and D).
A North Carolina man called 911 to report a sighting of a bigfoot-like creature. The man said the the beast looked like a "giant ape with a man's face." The man also said the beast mad a "whistling sound." The man said the beast was nine or ten foot tall with real long arms.
In another report here the man said the beast had beautiful hair. He claims he "rough-talked" Bigfoot and ran him off with a big stick. This is one of the more unusual bigfoot claims. It is a good thing they had a police sketch artist make a drawing of the alleged beast. Take a look:
A website named Daily Dead Birds is tracking the number of birds, turtles and mammals killed by the BP oil spill. The website's data comes from consolidated Unified Area Command fish and wildlife collection reports. You can see the latest report used by the website here (PDF file).
The site's updates can also be obtained on Twitter by following @bpdeadbirds.
Researchers Find Female Jumping Spiders Battle to the Death
A new study of the jumping spider Phidippus clarus has found that fighting for female jumping spiders of this species is an extremely serious matter. It is not quite as serious for males. In battles between males, the bigger, heavier spider usually wins. Males also perform an elaborate dance before doing battle to size up the competition. "They push each other back and forth like sumo wrestlers," said lead author Damian Elias of the University of California at Berkeley.
Co-author Carlos Botero of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC says the displaying often helps the male spiders "resolve things without injuring themselves."
Female spiders are all business when they battle and the battle is not over until one of the spiders is dead or seriously injured. The researchers found that what matters for Phidippus females in fighting is how badly they want to win. Females go straight for the kill. Damin Elias says, "At the drop of a hat they start bashing and biting each other." Botero adds that the feuds often end in death. "They don't give up, even when their opponent is beating them to a pulp. They keep going until one of them is dead, or severely injured."
The researchers set up a series of fights between resident and intruder females. They found that the female spiders closer to maturation fought harder. The researchers theorized that this is because spiders close to reproduction have to first shed their skin, which leaves them vulnerable to predators. Elias says, "They're very vulnerable to predators at that time. If they're really close to molting and they don't have a nest at that moment, they're unlikely to survive."
Photo of a female of the Jumping Spider, Phidippus clarus by Damian Elias
This video from the US Coast Guard shows how an oil covered pelican is cleaned. This short clip shows a pelican being cleaned at the Theodore Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. This is just a two-minute video. The actual cleaning process takes one hour per pelican. Warm water and diluted Dawn dishwashing liquid is used. Even the pelican's bill is thoroughly cleaned inside and out during the cleaning process. It is a two person job. Take a look:
National Geographic has an episode about the Roo Whisperers down under. The episode was part of Nat Geo's Expedition Week. The couple rescue baby kangaroos that are in distress. A baby kangaroo abandoned by its mother is rescued in this clip. Take a look:
A highway in Greece was closed for hours because it was covered in frogs. Millions of frogs were found hopping on the Egnatia highway highway near the town of Langadas [Google Maps]. The Thessaloniki traffic police chief speculates that the frogs left a nearby lake in search of food. Take a look:
First Sea Turtle From Oil Spill Rescued and Cleaned
An oiled baby Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is being cared for at Audubon Aquarium's Aquatics Center in New Orleans. The oil was rescued from oily waters in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on May 18th. The turtle is the first rescued sea turtle reported to be affected by the oil and was discovered about 33 nautical miles offshore. The turtle was transported by a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries vessel to the United States Fish and Wildlife Services headquarters in Venice, LA. The turtle was then taken to the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program in New Orleans, coordinated by Audubon Aquarium of the Americas under the direction of Michele Kelley.
The baby Kemp's Ridley was examined by Audubon Nature Institute veterinarians and oil and blood samples were taken. The turtle then received a "spa treatment" at the wash station with Dawn soap and a toothbrush.
The Audubon Aquarium says the he Kemp's Ridley is the number one most critically endangered sea turtle. They live in sheltered areas along the coast and are considered the smallest sea turtles, usually weighing between 80 and 100 pounds when fully matured.
You can see more photos of the rescued turtle here.
White-Nose Syndrome Has Killed One Million Bats Since 2006
A mysterious disease called white-nose syndrome is killing bats. Bats help control the insect population. Without them there is the potential for considerably more insects in our lives. The disease has been observed since as early as 2006, but a brief AP story in the New York Times mentions that over one million bats have died from white-nose syndrome in the U.S. since 2006. The article says the disease has now been seen in the U.S. as far west as Missouri and as far south as Virgina.
A FAQ about the disease from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says in some hibernacula, 90 to 100 percent of the bats are dying. Affected bats typically have a white fungus on their muzzles and other parts of their bodies. They may have low body fat. Diseased bats exhibit uncharacteristic behavior like flying around during the day and during cold winter weather.
This video from March, 2008 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes white-nose syndrome and shows same bats out in the daylight in March. Bats usually hibernate during this time of day, especially in winter. In the clip, Susi von Oettingen talks about white-nose syndrome in bats and investigates a hibernaculum in an abandoned mine in Chester, Massachusetts and the area around it. Take a look:
You can read more about white-nose syndrome here on
Bat Conservation International.
University of Victoria Campus Home to Thousands of Rabbits
The Montreal Gazettereports that there is a series bunny problem at the University of Victoria. There are estimated to be 1,500 to 2,000 feral rabbits living happily on the campus grounds. University officials claim the rabbits have inflicted $100,000 worth of damage over the last three years. Some students think the university is secretly plotting to kill the bunnies.
Leaders of the protect-the-bunnies movement claim the university is secretly killing rabbits at night and that there are "poison boxes" on the grounds. Bunny supporters claim that officials have only paid lip-service to trap and sterilize programs as they always regarded a massive slaughter as the final solution.
"The University of Victoria has been for years conducting a misinformation campaign in order to justify their killing of abandoned domestic rabbits on campus," said animal rights activist Roslyn Cassells.
"Betrayal is the order of the day at the University of Victoria, where a large-scale nighttime shooting of over 1,000 abandoned pet rabbits is imminent," Cassells said in a recent e-mail to the media.
Here is a short video of some of the rabbits that live on the campus.
Oil Spill: Dead Sea Turtles Washing Up Along Gulf Coast
Dead sea turtles are starting to wash up along the Gulf Coast. Moby Solangi from the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies says they have not found oil directly on the sea turtles. He says they will have to peform necropsies on the turtles to determine cause of death. Moby Solangi says they found six dead sea turtles Saturday and ten more Sunday. Take a look:
It is sad to sea dead turtles washing up on shore. Unfortunately, it could be a sight that repeats itself in the coming days. A significant loss of wildlife is expected with this massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The exact amount of oil that has been released by the underwater oil well is unclear, but it could be worse than the Exxon Valdez. The Oil Drum has an interesting explanation here about how the oil industry tries to remove oil from rock deep in the Gulf of Mexico.
The AP reports that a German village is attracting tourists after becoming home to a stork with blue plumage. The blue plumage is most likely not natural. Experts think it could have bathed in blue paint or colored water. Treehugger has more theories here. You can see a large photo of the blue stork here on Bild.de. Unfortunately, if the stork somehow took a bath in blue paint it could end up being harmful for the stork. Take a look:
Pygmy slow loris twins were born at Moody Gardens on March 22nd. Pygmy slow loris breeding is difficult and rare. This is one of just five pygmy slow loris births in captivity in North America over the past year. The baby boy and girl were born between mother Luyen and father Icarus. The parents are ten and 14 years of age and have been at Moody Gardens since 2004.
"This is such an exciting event," said Paula Kolvig, assistant curator at Moody Gardens. "We have been keeping a very close eye on these babies, and we are very pleased to see steady growth so far. Luyen has been a very attentive and good mother to the twins. The babies stay attached to their mom for the majority of the day, taking plenty of opportunities to nurse."
A fact sheet about the Pygmy Slow Loris says they are found in Vietnam, Laos, and parts of Cambodia. Adults weight 1 pound or less. Visitors will be able to see both the parents and the twins in the Rainforest Pyramid once the $25 million enhancement project is completed in May 2011. Take a look:
The South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston has added an albino alligator. The Aquarium says the albino alligator is very sensitive to sunlight. They also say albino alligators only have about a 24-hour survival rate in the wild. Albino alligators cannot blend it with their surroundings, which makes hunting very difficult. The rare alligator is said to be one of just fifty in the world. Take a look:
CBS News reports that a penguin in Antarctica has been spotted without any white coloring on its body. Scientists say the all-black penguin's mutation is extremely rare - a one in a zillion mutation. You can see some photos of the rare penguin here. The penguin is accepted by the other penguins and does have a mate. Take a look:
Richard Ellis: Killer Whale Attack at SeaWorld Was Intentional
Dawn Brancheau, an experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, was fatally injured by a 12,000 bull Orca named Tilikum today. Tilikum is also linked to two other deaths.
Richard Ellis, an author, artist and marine conservationist with the American Museum of Natural History, believes the killer whale's actions at SeaWorld Orlando were intentional. He says killer whales are intelligent creatures that don't do things accidentally. He says this was not an "insane, uncontrollable act." He doesn't think Tilikum was trying to eat the trainer but he does think the whale decided to do this. Ellis also thinks the popularity of killer whales in capitvity is going to increase, not decrease, because of this story. Take a look:
Vampire Squid Can Turn Itself Inside Out When Startled
The vampire squid can turn itself "inside out" when it feels threatened by predators. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute released this video. The video was taken by a deep diving robotic submarine. The Monterey Bay Aquarium warns that the vampire squid are threatened by global warming and pollution. Take a look:
Video: Octopus Uses Coconut Shell as Portable Home
Here is a video of an octopus using a coconut shell for protection. The discovery by Julian Finn, a marine biologist at the Museum Victoria in Australia, of a clever veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) using a coconut shell as a mobile home is being cited as the first reported instance of an invertebrate acquiring tools. Take a look:
This video by Brian Wysor shows an octopus cleverly camouflaging itself amongst seaweed at Wild Cane Bay in Bocas del Toro. During part of the video the octopus even mimics the movement of the seeweed in the water. Take a look:
A recently discovered Cretaceous mammal called maotherium is a chipmunk-sized nocturnal mammal that lived 123 million years ago. The chipmunk-sized creature had terrestrial habits and scampered around on the ground. Maotherium weighed about 2 ounces and was 15 cm (5 inches) in length. Scientists say the tiny creature is revealing more about how mammal's complex ear bones evolved.
Photo: Mark A. Klingler/Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Elephant Birth Filmed at Elephant Safari Park in Bali
This video from contains graphic footage of an elepant birth at the Elephant Safari Park in Taro, Bali. The founder of the Elephant Safari Park Nigel Mason explains what is going on. After birth the mother tries to get the baby elephant on her feet quickly because there are predators in the wild. Take a look:
The Cincinnati Enquirerrreports that a Cincinnati Zoo cheetah named Sarah ran 100 meters in just 6.13 seconds.
Sarah covered 100 meters in 6.13 seconds at the zoo's Regional Cheetah Breeding Facility, also known as the Mast Farm, in Clermont County. It was her second run of the day. In her first try, she ran 100 meters in 6.16 seconds. The record had been 6.19 seconds.
Usain Bolt recently set the world record for humans in 100-meter dash at 9.58 seconds. He would be well behind Sarah in a race. The Cheetah's running speed translates to 36 miles per hour according to the AP. The Enquirer says the Cheetah sprints are an attempt to draw attention to the plight of the fastest land animals. There are estimated to be fewer than 10,000 cheetahs left in the world.
A video captures baby turtles leaving the nest and heading off to begin their lives at sea. The turtles are endangered loggerhead sea turtles and the nests are located off the Florida coast. They appear to be crawling along the bottom of the ocean and not swimming yet.
Wiredreports that researchers have discovered that the toucan's enormous bill helps the bird regulate its body temperature. The toucan can use its bill to regulate its temperature by as much as 18 Fahrenheit degrees in a few minutes.
Scientists have been intrigued by the oversize toucan bill for centuries. In 1780, French naturalist Georges-Louis Buffon called it a "grossly monstrous" appendage, and Darwin puzzled over its potential role in sexual selection in The Descent of Man. Toucans have the biggest beak-to-body ratio of any bird on the planet, but no one has figured out why the animal evolved a bill one-third the length of its body.
Now, using infrared thermography, a type of temperature-sensing video originally developed by the U.S. military, scientists have tracked the pattern of heat distribution across the toucan's body under changing outside temperatures. When the bird got too hot, it released heat by sending blood to its highly vascular but uninsulated beak. In cooler weather, the toucan constricted blood vessels in its beak to conserve heat and stay warm.
"I am not aware of another example of this sort in birds," wrote developmental biologist Arhat Abzhanov of Harvard University, who was not involved in the research. "This is a fascinating study that shows how bird beaks, in addition to their already multiple important functions, can perform rather unexpected roles, such as helping to control heat exchange."
The infrared thermography video below (no audio) from Wired shows a toucan lowering its body temperature by radiating heat from its beak as it falls asleep.
Reuters reports that a new monkey has been discovered in the Brazilian Amazon. The monkey was discovered in a remote part of the Amazon rain forest. It is related to saddleback tamarin monkeys.
The newly found monkey was first spotted by scientists in 2007 in the Brazilian state of Amazonas and is related to the saddleback tamarin monkeys, known for their distinctively marked backs, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said.
The small monkey, which is mostly gray and brown and weighs 213 grams (0.47 pound), has been named the Mura's saddleback tamarin after the Mura Indian tribe of the Purus and Madeira river basins where the new sub-species was found.
It is 240 millimeters (9.4 inches) tall with a 320 millimeter (12.6 inch) tail.
"This newly described monkey shows that even today there are major wildlife discoveries to be made," Fabio Rohe, the lead author of a study confirming the new discovery, said in a statement released by the WCS.
The newly discovered monkey is yet another reason why the Amazon rain forest needs to be protected. The BBC has some photos here of saddleback tamarin monkeys, the monkey species the newly discovered monkey is said to be related to.
Researchers Trying to Learn More About Platypus Evolution
National Geographic researchers are trying to collect DNA samples from the platypus to determine whether there are separate subspecies of the duck-billed mammals. The male platypus has a spur on its hind foot that can deliver painful venom so they have to be handled carefully.
Jose Luis Ortiz strapped a video camera to his pet eagle. The video gives you an idea of what it is like to soar like an eagle. Nature also has a video here, where a video camera was strapped to a Peregrine falcon.
This cute bird that likes to have its head scratched does have some Furby characteristics ike BuzzFeed and other blogs are suggesting. The bird in the video is likely a Malaysian Eagle Owl. The one in this video does not appear to be afraid of people.
Mother monkeys in Thailand are apparently teaching their infants how to clean their teeth by flossing with human hair. The monkeys must have read about the health benefits of flossing. Take a look:
Bonnie, an orangutan at the National Zoo, has learned how to whistle. She is the first orangutan ever to be documented making the sound. You can read more about Bonnie here.
KFMB meteorologist Shawn Styles reports on a rare find off the Gulf of Mexico, as a photographer named Sandra Critelli who was able to capture the migration of thousands of rare cow-nosed rays. These are some amazing photos. Take a look:
This was the video of the rescue of a koala named "Sam." A firefighter found Sam moving gingerly on her scorched paws. Sam is now recovering at a wildlife shelter with other rescued animals.
Sadly, this koala was one of the lucky ones. Millions of animals are reported to have been killed in Austrlia's worst-ever wildfires.
Treehugger reports that conservationists in Australia have turned to sheepdogs to help them protect a colony fairy penguins.
A colony of fairy penguins on Warrnambool's Middle Island off the south coast of Australia has dwindled dramatically due to attacks by foxes and wild dogs. However, their numbers are rising again thanks to their new bodyguards - two Maremmas, an Italian breed of sheepdog that bonds with the flock or herd of animals it is protecting.
The idea began as an experiment but the sheepdogs have proven to be successful. Middle Island Maremma Project manager Ian Fitzgibbons says, "We've had our best penguin count since we began in 2006 with over 80 birds counted in one night and I think we have about 26 chicks on the island too." You can see a photo of the sheepdogs used to protect the little penguins here.
There are many dolphins in this video. It's quite a view. How fantastic it would have been to have been on the boat surrounding by all those dolphins. (hat tip Buzzfeed)
Over a thousand new species have been discovered over the last decade in the Greater Mekong region. Some of the more bizarre creatures include a dinner-plate sized spider and a hot pink dragon millipede. The says the millipede can produce cyanide to protect itself from predators.
At least 1,068 new species were identified in the Greater Mekong from 1997 to 2007 along with several thousand tiny invertebrates, the Times reports.
Annamite striped rabbits, or Nesolagus timminsi, with black and brown fur, were discovered in Vietnam and Laos in 2000 and are only the second species of striped rabbit to be identified.
Among the most bizarre to be discovered was a hot-pink, spiny dragon millipede, Desmoxytes purpurosea.
The millipedes have glands that produce cyanide to protect them from predators.
Another amazing discovery is the Laotian Rock Rat thought to have died out 11 million years ago. The Telegraph has eleven pictures of the new species here. You can also find more information at Discover Magazine, BBC, WWF, Sky News and TheStar.com.
Lonesome George, the last surviving of the Pinta Island subspecies of giant Galapagos tortoise, has come up short on producing any offspring. Lonesome George was paired with two females and a number of eggs were laid but none of them contained embryos. Lonesome George is just 90-years-old so if he is not infertile then he might have more chances at fertilizing a viable egg. A Telegrapharticle gives hope that the infertile eggs could have been the result of a diet or captivity issue.
Hundreds of Magellanic Penguins Released Back Into the Sea
Magellanic penguins rehabilitated with the help of the International Fund for Animal Welfare are released back into the sea in the CNN video below. The IFAW has been covering the story in its animal rescue blog here. The post here discusses 399 seats booked on a flight for the penguins. This was the largest ever release of penguins in South America. The story began when many juvenile magellanic penguins washed up on the Brazilian coast. It is good that there was happy ending for many of these penguins.
Below is a video of a crab hitching a ride of a jellyfish. The iReport entry says the video was shot 30 miles southwest of Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico. (via Twang of the Voice and Boing Boing)
Here's a video showing flatworm's penis fencing. Flatworms have both male and female sex organs and they fight to determine who gets to be the male and who gets to be the female. The winner of the fight is the flatworm that is able to pierce the other flatworm with one of its penises. You can read a little more about it here on PBS.org.
During penis fencing, each flatworm tries to pierce the skin of the other using one of its penises. The first to succeed becomes the de facto male, delivering its sperm into the other, the de facto female. For the flatworms, this contest is serious business. Mating is a fight because the worm that assumes the female role then must expend considerable energy caring for the developing eggs.
A ten-year-old African Spurred Tortoise named Arava was given a set of wheels for her two paralyzed hind legs. Zookeepers at Jerusalem's Bibilical Zoo allow the tortoise to use the wheels for a few hours each day. The skateboard wheels help Arava move around her habitat normally and she has even started to mate. Reuters does say she has also received some extra unwanted attention from rival males. Fox News also has a story about Arava.
Reuters 
