FIELD NATURAL HISTORY

BIO 120

Instructor: Karl Kleiner, PhD

Lecture: Monday and Wednesday, 3:00 in Campbell

232

Lab: Wednesday -120.103 8:00 AM – 10:45 AM in ESC

108 120.104 11:00 AM - 1:45 PM in ESC

108

On the 3 x 5 index card

• First Name, Last Name (Preferred to be called by)• Major• Hometown, State• Hobbies, what you do in your spare time.• What do you want to be if you grow up?

Prof. Kleiner’s Educational Background

B.S. Biology - Antioch College

M.F.S. - Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Ph.D. Entomology – Penn. State University

How many known species are there in the world?

Are there any new species left to discover?

2004

Scientists announced in the journal Nature this May (2007) that they had discovered 700 new species of organisms — including carnivorous sponges and giant sea spiders — some 2,300 ft. to 19,700 ft. (700 m to 6,000 m) down in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica.

Scientists also reported the identification of 24 new species in an isolated area of Suriname, where the exploration for bauxite, which is used to make aluminum, led to the discovery of 12 dung beetles, an ant species, six species of fish and five new frogs, including one with fluorescent purple markings.

Other fauna finds include a legless amphibian near Goa, India; • 11 new species of plants and animals in central Vietnam's tropical

"green" corridor; • a new monkey in Uganda; • a sucker-footed bat in Madagascar; • a clouded leopard in Sumatra and Borneo, • and a sea cucumber off the coast of Taiwan, nicknamed "Little

Strawberry."

New Species Declared: Clouded Leopard On Borneo And SumatraScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2007) — Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia.

• New Species Declared: Clouded Leopard On Borneo And Sumatra

• ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2007) — Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia.  Bornean clouded leopard Neofelis diardi Kalimantan (Indonesian

Borneo), Indonesia. Bornean clouded leopard (neofelis diardi) Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia. (Credit: Image courtesy of World Wildlife Fund)

Deep-sea sea cucumbers (left) and stalked feather stars (right). Not new, but usually found at much greater ocean depths (800 meters

vs. 200 meters)

February 27, 2007 A potentially new species of shrimplike crustacean in

the genus Epimeria was found near Elephant Island in Antarctica.

"Lost World" Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species

February 6, 2007• “It really was like crossing some

sort of time warp into a place that people hadn't been to," said Bruce Beehler…”

• “…the conservationists found a trove of animals never before documented, from a new species of the honeyeater bird to more than 20 new species of frogs.”

• "We were like kids in a candy store," said Beehler, a bird expert with Conservation International in Washington, D.C. "Everywhere we looked we saw amazing things we had never seen before."

During a December 2005 expedition in Indonesia's Foja Mountains, a researcher cradles a golden-mantled tree kangaroo, the first such tree kangaroo ever spotted in Indonesia.

“The new finds include more than 1,200 varieties of decapods—ten-legged creatures such as lobsters and crabs—and at least 4,000 types of mollusks, expedition leader

Phillipe Bouchet announced…”

Philippe Bouchet, of the French National Museum of Natural History, holds a new species of lobster called "enoplometopus" during a press conference Monday at the Philippines National Museum in Manila.

“This is the first photograph ever taken of what scientists are calling New Guinea's "lost" bird of paradise.The bird—known as Berlepsch’s six-wired bird of paradise—had been collected only once in the wild since its discovery more than a century ago. Its precise home range was unknown until now.”

Within minutes of landing, the scientists encountered a bizarre, orange-faced honeyeater bird. It proved to be a new bird species, the first discovered in New

Guinea since 1939.

In late 2005 scientists on the island of New Guinea took this first ever photo of the golden-fronted bowerbird, a bird known to exist since the

1890s but whose precise home was unknown until the 1980s.

“Perhaps the most exciting discovery was a tiny frog less than 14 millimeters (0.6 inch) long. The animal that was detected only when it produced a soft call

from among the leaves on the steepest part of the forest floor.”

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2007) — Smithsonian scientists have discovered a biodiversity bounty in the Eastern Pacific--approximately 50 percent of the organisms found in some groups are new to science. The research team spent 11 days in the Eastern Pacific, a unique, understudied region off the coast of Panama.

• Although they expected to find new species, Collin was surprised by the sheer number of novel marine organisms. "It's hard to imagine, while snorkeling around a tropical island that's only a three-hour flight from the United States, that half the animals you see are unknown to science," Collin said.

This marine snail, Tylodina fungina, was collected in a dredge sample with its host sponge. This species feeds exclusively on a single species of sponge that matches its yellow color exactly. Despite being featured in field guides, very little is known about its biology. (Credit: Antonia Baeza, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)

Extreme New Species Discovered by Sea-Life Survey

The blind, white, crablike creature dubbed the "yeti crab" was just one of many new sea creatures discovered this year by the international Census of Marine Life ocean survey. The census is now in its sixth year and seeks to record all life, living and extinct, in the oceans by 2010.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 3, 2008) — An online auction for naming rights to a new owl butterfly species discovered from Mexico's Sonoran Desert brought a winning bid of $40,800, with proceeds benefiting continued research on Mexican butterflies.

The species' new common name is the Minerva owl butterfly and its scientific name is Opsiphanes blythekitzmillerae, named in honor of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio on behalf of her five grandchildren.

This male Opsiphanes butterfly was photographed Sept. 2, 2000, in Sonora, Mexico. (Credit: Priscilla

Brodkin)

Microcebus lehilahytsara – Discovered August 2005.Named for U.S. lemur expert Steve Goodman ("lehilahytsara" is Malagasy for "good man"). •The new primate species brings

the total number of known lemur species to 49—all of which occur naturally only on Madagascar or the nearby Comoros islands.

•Lemurs are the closest living analogs to our ancient primate ancestors who lived about 55 million years ago

•One-third of lemure species are extinct.

•Remaining species are under threat from hunting and habitat destruction.

New Genus Of Self-destructive Palm Found In MadagascarScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2008) — A gigantic palm that flowers itself to death and exists as part of an entirely unique genus has been discovered in Madagascar. The mystery palm has a huge trunk which towers over 18m high and fan leaves which are 5m in diameter -- among the largest known in flowering plants. This is the most massive palm ever to be found in Madagascar.

"I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the images posted on the web," he says. "The palm appeared superficially like the Talipot palm of Sri Lanka, but that had never been recorded for Madagascar. Clearly this was going to be an extremely exciting discovery and I just couldn't wait to examine specimens in detail.”

The leaves of Tahina spectabilis. (Credit: John Dransfield)

New Sucker-footed Bat Discovered In MadagascarScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2007) — Scientists have discovered a new species of bat that has large flat adhesive organs, or suckers, attached to its thumbs and hind feet. This is a remarkable find because the new bat belongs to a Family of bats endemic to Madagascar--and one that was previously considered to include only one rare species.

Bats are the last group of land mammals on Madagascar that have not been intensively studied, Goodman said. "Until a decade ago, these animals remained largely understudied. On the basis of recent surveys and taxonomic research, about one-third of the island's bat species were unknown to scientists until a few years ago, and the majority of these are new to science."

New species of sucker-footed bat (M. schliemanni) with open wings: Ventral view of the holotype of Myzopoda schliemanni obtained in the Parc National d'Ankarafantsika in the western portion of Madagascar. (Photo by Steven M. Goodman, Courtesy of The Field Museum)

• Science 20 May 2005:Vol. 308. no. 5725, pp. 1161 - 1164The Highland Mangabey Lophocebus kipunji: A New Species of African Monkey

• Trevor Jones,1* Carolyn L. Ehardt,2 Thomas M. Butynski,3 Tim R. B. Davenport,4 Noah E. Mpunga,4 Sophy J. Machaga,4 Daniela W. De Luca4 A distinct species of mangabey was independently found at two sites 370 kilometers apart in southern Tanzania (Mount Rungwe and Livingstone in the Southern Highlands and Ndundulu in the Udzungwa Mountains). This new species is described here and given the name "highland mangabey" Lophocebus kipunji sp. nov. We place this monkey in Lophocebus, because it possesses noncontrasting black eyelids and is arboreal. L. kipunji is distinguished from other mangabeys by the color of its pelage; long, upright crest; off-white tail and ventrum; and loud call. This find has implications for primate evolution, African biogeography, and forest conservation.

Photo: ZUMA Press

Callicebus cupreus -“ Caquetá titi monkey”

Discovered – 2008Where - Southern Caquetá, Colombia Discovering a new mammal is a relatively rare occurrence; discovering a new monkey is rarer still. In 2010, a team of scientists ventured into the Amazon jungle in southern Colombia and documented, for the first time, the Caqueta **** monkey, an adorable, tiny primate notable for being one of the few monogamous monkeys and for purring like a cat. Primatologist Thomas Defler led his team to the Colombia's Caqueta province, which was too dangerous (because of gang activity) to visit just a few years ago. Sadly, just as we're discovering the Caqueta cupreus monkey, we're considering listing it as an endangered species. It's estimated that there are fewer than 250 living in the wild.

Lepidoblepharis buschwaldii Scaly-eyed geckoDiscovered - Where – Ecuador

The scaly-eyed gecko is easily the smallest newly discovered species on our list and can comfortably perch atop a pencil eraser. This tiny gecko was found in the rain forests of Ecuador in a habitat that is quickly being destroyed by logging and farming. The mountainous hillside where these creatures live is known to be packed with undiscovered species, but wildlife is being threatened by encroaching development and climate change.

Photo: Dr. Paul Hamilton/Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International

Photo credit: Lee Grismer 

Leiolepis ngovantrii: Discovered – VietnamWhen - 2010

A new all-female lizard species discovered in restaurants in Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.  Ngo Van Tri, a herpetologist with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, found an establishment selling live individuals of an unfamiliar variety and called in for reinforcement from some of his American colleagues.  With the help of local children in collecting specimens from the wild, the trio of scientists were able to physically distinguish this lizard from other species by rows of enlarged scales on its legs and bony plates under its toes.  Later, DNA analysis confirmed their finding of a genetically distinct species. No males exist at all— and apparently, they don’t need to!  These reptiles are able to clone themselves, their embryos growing and developing without ever having been fertilized by a male.  It’s a form of asexual reproduction known as “parthogenesis”, and is exhibited in approximately one percent of the world’s lizard species.  Girls just wanna have fun?

They say that, due to the lack of genetic diversity resulting from the parthogenesis, naturally-occurring hybrid species like Leiolepis ngovantrii are inherently at a higher risk for extinction.  Though this new lizard doesn’t seem to be rare now, their genetic challenges could pose a problem for its population.  One of the researchers says the Vietnamese have been eating this lizard for a very long time, but one must wonder how that might also affect the population.

Photo via The Nature Conservancy

Discovered – remotest parts of the Peruvian AmazonWhen – 2010

New Amazonian Armored Catfish Species Among the 69 species of freshwater fish discovered in South America this year, was one wood-eating armored catfish.  The Nature Conservancy’s Paulo Petrey made the find at the confluence of the Purus and Curanja Rivers.  The fish has specialized spoon-shaped teeth that enable it to eat wood submerged in the water.  Local indigenous peoples do eat the fish, but because of the fish’s mouth structure, it cannot be caught on a traditional fishing line.  Instead, the fish are either netted or shot.  As human expansion and infrastructure development begin to consume this region, threats will emerge to this species’ existence, especially from increased sedimentation.

They call the fish Ishgunmahuan — which in their language basically means “large armored catfish.” In Spanish, it’s “carachama gigante.”

Photo credit: Ngwe Lwin

Myanmar Snub-Nosed MonkeyRhinopithecus strykeriDiscovered -When - 2010A new species of snub-nosed monkey, which is so snub-nosed that even rainfall sends it into a sneezing frenzy, was discovered in Myanmar this year.  Scientists were alerted to the monkey by hunters, and the first and only observed individual of this new species was killed by local hunters and eaten shortly after researchers examined it.  They are the first and only snub-nosed monkey found in Myanmar.Because of their respiratory issues caused by their nasal structures (or lack thereof), these colobine monkeys spend rainy days with their heads tucked under their knees.  The rain helps to make them an easy target for hunters.  Poaching and deforestation has likely pushed this primate to the brink of extinction and, based on interviews with hunters, scientists estimate only around 300 remain.  Scientists with Flora & Fauna International believe this species to be ‘critically endangered’ by IUCN standards.  Researchers have found them in the wild, but have only been able to get photographs of the dead one presented to them by hunters.

(Image: FFI/BANCA/PRCF)

The images (2012) were taken using camera traps, triggered by infra-red sensors, placed in the high, forested mountains of Burma's northerly Kachin state, bordering China.

Glass Frog from EcuadorPhotograph by Paul S. Hamilton, RAEI

When - 2009Ten newfound species of amphibians — including a frog with spiky skin and three varieties of frogs with transparent skin — have been discovered in the mountains of Colombia. The new species were found on a recent expedition led by herpetologists from Conservation International and ornithologists from the Ecotrópico Foundation in Colombia's mountainous Tacarcuna area of the Darien, near the border with Panama. Over a period of three weeks, the scientists identified approximately 60 species of amphibians, 20 reptiles and almost 120 species of birds, many of them apparently found nowhere else in the world.

When - 2010An expedition to the coastal rainforests of western Ecuador has discovered 30 new species of frog and a slug-sucking snake.The team of scientists, who work for Reptile and Amphibian Ecology International, also identified four new species of stick insect, three species of lungless salamanders, a tiny, scaly-eyed gecko known as Lepidoblepharis buschwaldii and a bushmaster – the longest viper in the world.Most of the new animals were discovered in the forests of Cerro Pata de Pájaro, a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its cloud forests are particularly fecund: 14 of the 30 new species of frog discovered were found in a patch of cloud forest just a couple of miles wide, according to the press release.

Now the bad news.

Not that humans had anything to do with it.

Bison skull pile - 1870

(Photo by Dan Crosbie courtesy Canadian Ice Service)

The arrows point to unusual white noses in a cluster of bats in a New York cave during the winter in 2006.  The white is apparently caused by a fungus and may be related to an unusual number of bat deaths.  Read below for more information.  (Photo by Nancy Heaslip)

(AP)  ALBANY, N.Y. — Scientists studying white nose syndrome in bats estimate the fungal ailment has killed at least 5.7 million bats in 16 states and Canada, providing alarming new numbers about the scope of its decimation.

White nose is caused by a fungus that prompts bats to wake from their winter hibernation and die after they fly into the cold air in a doomed search for insects. First detected in a cave west of Albany in 2006, white nose has spread to 16 states from the Northeast to the South and as far west as Kentucky. It also has been detected in four Canadian provinces.

Save the whales!

Collect the whole set. Why?

Ziconotide is the synthetic equivalent of -cono-peptide MVIIA, a 25-amino-acid polybasic peptide present in the venom of Conus magus, a marine snail.

The synthetic form has been found to ease the pain in cancer and AIDS patients who have not found relief from morphine or other conventional painkillers.

http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/cone/fish2.mov

http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/cone/envenom.html