A marine census has documented 7,500 species in the Antarctic and 5,500 in the Arctic. Several hundred species are even new to science.

“The textbooks have said there is less diversity at the poles than the tropics, but we found astonishing richness of marine life in the Antarctic and Arctic oceans,” says a researcher from the Australian Antarctic Division. “We are rewriting the textbooks.”

Researchers were surprised to discover dozens of species common to both polar seas. Even they are separated by nearly 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers), they are the same on the top and bottom of the planet. Now, how’d that happen?

The new discoveries were primarily simpler life – invertebrates. “Researchers found sea spider species as big as a human hand, and tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans in the Arctic basin that live at a depth of 9,850 feet (3,000 meters).” (more…)

There is a point beyond which you cannot trample with the mightily patient Mother earth. She has taken everything that has been thrown at her and has tried to balance the planet and keep it up and running by making tiny adjustments and giving us gentle jolts once in a while. But when the planet that you call home is heading towards a chaotic order, then she has to step in at some point to wipe out the infestation and set the record straight.

Image courtesy of Roberto Rizzato

With the way man has been destroying delicate balance of natural ecosystems and causing a steep rise in the global temperatures, global warming seems to be the cause that will one day bring about a catastrophic end to much of human race, much like nature put dinosaurs in their place millions of years ago. And when you have Nobel Laureates and the best minds in the world talking about how bad the situation is, then it is hard to dismiss it away.

This is why GP has compiled a list with what we believe to be the 15 most deadly effects of global warming. (more…)

Here today, gone tomorrow and back again today. That’s the story with the Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin.

Scientists have found more than 1,000 new species in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region over the past 10 years. A spider as big as a dinner plate, a rat thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were also found.

A Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin

The species were found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern China. The official number is 1,068 and just some quickies: the huntsman spider has a leg span of 30cm; the dragon millipede produces cyanide (I wonder who found this out and how?).

Scientists also found species in rafters at restaurants.

Lots of biodiversity in the region said the head of the World Wildlife Fund. The species included:

1. 519 plants,
2. 279 fish,
3. 88 frogs,
4. 88 spiders,
5. 46 lizards,
6. 22 snakes,
7. 15 mammals,
8. 4 birds,
9. 4 turtles,
10. two salamanders and a toad

and a partridge in a pear tree.

Discoveries took place on average of two a week for 10 years. And, all was right with Charles Darwin lovers.

Source: Cri

Every time we talk about why each threatened species got so close to disappearing forever, the inevitable answer seems to be human activity (be it habitat destruction or excessive hunting).

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys are one of the rarest primates on Earth. Though only 200 of them exist, new hope emerged as another group of angry-looking monkeys has been found in wild in Vietnam by a group of scientists. While moving through the dense forests, they uncovered a rare treasure – 20 Tonkin monkeys that had three young among them, indicating a vibrant clan and active breeding.

Their initial reaction to human contact was panic and danger which shows that hunting is still prevalent in these lands as the snub-nosed monkeys recognize people as a threat. That means that the whole clan should be protected because there is a long and hard road to recovery before we they get out of the “Red Zone”. Meanwhile locals, the Vietnamese government and the conversational organizations are working hard to make sure that we do not lose them.

Source: DailyMail