New Species
By New Species Podcast
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New SpeciesMay 18, 2021
Basics 2: Curation with Ashleigh Whiffin
In part 2 of Taxonomy Basics, Ashleigh Whiffin of National Museums Scotland brings us into the entomology collection to learn the fundamentals of curation and preservation, including which pins to use, the importance of collection data, and much more.
Ashleigh is responsible for the care and development of a collection of 2.5 million insect specimens. She is particularly interested in collections care and science communication, and is a coleopterist, specializing in Carrion beetles (Silphidae). In the UK, she works with the Biological Records Centre to co-organise a National Recording Scheme for Carrion Beetles, promoting the importance of the group and encouraging more people to record them. In 2020, she co-authored an atlas on Silphids and Histerids and has featured on national TV, sharing her passion for these beetles.
Ashleigh recently helped develop a new training resource hosted on the National Museums Scotland website:
This self-guided resource is an introduction to Caring for Entomology Collections, covering the basics through a combination of videos and text, as well as links for where to go for additional information.
Taxonomy Basics is a three part series on basic components of species description including collecting, preserving, and describing new species. This series focuses on entomological specimens, but has concepts that work across disciplines. Listen in as Evan Waite, Ashleigh Whiffin, and Marc Milne share their guidelines and discuss important concepts in taxonomy, curation, and beyond.
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ashleigh Whiffin - Transcript
Episode image credit: Molly Wilders
Connect with Ashleigh on Instagram/Threads: @ash_whiffin
X: @AshWhiffin
BlueSky: @ashwhffin.bsky.social
More info here: https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/collections-departments/natural-sciences/meet-the-team/ashleigh-whiffin/
Places to be involved in virtual curation and other citizen science projects:
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Basics 1: Collecting with Evan Waite
In part 1 of Taxonomy Basics, Evan Waite from Arizona State University teaches us all about collecting entomological specimens. From which traps to use to tips on sharing your collection with others, Evan gives us all of the details with some great stories along the way.
Evan is a coleopterist and PhD Candidate at Arizona State University. His work focuses on ground beetles, but he’s broadly interested in beetle diversity and has a personal collection that includes over 2,000 specimens from all across the arthropod world. His collecting and taxonomic work has taken him across the country to many unique habitats, as well as a variety of entomological collections.
Taxonomy Basics is a three part series on basic components of species description including collecting, preserving, and describing new species. This series focuses on entomological specimens, but has concepts that work across disciplines. Listen in as Evan Waite, Ashleigh Wiffin, and Marc Milne share their guidelines and discuss important concepts in taxonomy, curation, and beyond.
Connect with Evan online: @Evantomology on all platforms
Read Evan’s paper about collecting bias, including a case study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10323768/
Watch Evan’s talk “A Journey from Bugs to Birds” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asZWkrmAXZ4&t=3s
Chris Grinter’s website with a guide to collecting permits:
https://www.theskepticalmoth.com/collecting-permits/
UC Davis guide: How to Collect Insects: https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/how-collect-insects
A transcript of this episode can be found here:
Episode image credit: Evan Waite
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Three New Red Devil Spiders with Adrià Bellvert and Miquel Arnedo
“Another spider paper?!” you might ask. “More new spiders, what’s so interesting?” Well in addition to a revised genus and three new species, Adrià Bellvert and Miquel Arnedo’s most recent publication highlights some of the unique challenges taxonomists deal with as they work to untangle species relationships. “I think that the important part [of this paper] is it interfaces very well, it summarizes very well the kind of problems that.. we have to address when we are trying to understand the diversity of mega diverse groups,” says Miquel. Things like deteriorated specimens, missing label information, and difficulty collecting also contribute. But by the end of their story we see that time, effort, and collaboration can bring about some really important findings.
Miquel and Adrià’s paper “Integrating museum collections and molecules reveals genus-level synonymy and new species in red devil spiders (Araneae, Dysderidae) from the Middle East and Central Asia” is in volume 921 of the Journal of European Taxonomy
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2024.921.2429
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Adrià Bellvert and Miquel Arnedo - Transcript
New Species: Dysdera jaegeri, Dysdera naouelae, and Dysdera kourosh
Episode image credit: Adrià Bellvert
You can follow Adrià and Miquel on Twitter: @AdriaBellvert and @spidersysevo (Miquel’s lab)
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Five New Skinks with Ishan Agarwal
Skinks are one of the most diverse families of lizards, and Ishan Agarwal studies skinks in India, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. From the forest to the lab to the museum, Ishan shares his experiences investigating a group of cryptic skinks that had quite a few surprises to share, including biology and behavior. What is it about skinks that makes them so captivating? How and why do scientists designate neotypes? Why is a slingshot part of a skink-catching field kit? Find out in this episode of the New Species Podcast.
Read Ishan’s paper here: https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e110674
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ishan Agarwal - Transcript
New Genus: Dravidoseps
New Species: Dravidoseps gingeeensis, Dravidoseps jawadhuensis, Dravidoseps kalakadensis, Dravidoseps srivilliputhurensis, and Dravidoseps tamilnaduensis.
Episode image courtesy of Ishan Agarwal
Follow Ishan on Instagram: @Geckoella
Dropbox link to Ishan's papers: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Public/IA%20publications
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Tautonyms and Etymology with Mike Stephan
Mike Stephan is a lawyer obsessed with scientific etymology, specifically tautonyms, binomial names in which the generic name and species name are exactly the same. Scientific naming conventions and customs have a rich history, and as Mike says, “[taxonomic names] in some perhaps unintended way tell the greater story of human anthropology and history.” Come along for the ride as we discuss etymologies of all shapes, sizes, and redundancies and learn a little about people along the way.
Order Mike’s book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tautonyms-michael-j-stephan/1143958127?ean=9798350910759
Read Mike’s recent paper proposing that botany allow tautonyms:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tax.12902
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Mike Stephan - Transcript
Interview with Stefano Mammola about spider names: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/jxWszZc24Hb
Interview with Alireza Zamani about a new species named after Brian: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/VhSS5Lf24Hb
Follow Mike on Instagram (and submit your draw-tonym): @Tautonyms
Episode image courtesy of Mike Stephan
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Snakeworm Gnat with Thalles Pereira
There are no snakes in Alaska, so what’s that snakelike shape crossing the road? Few people would guess it’s actually thousands of fly larvae moving in a very peculiar pattern that gives the snakeworm gnat their common name. Dr. Thalles Pereira and his coauthors spent lots of time rearing, observing, and sharing their findings with their community in the process of describing this new species, and use citizen science data of this behavior in addition to morphological and molecular analyses in this paper. Listen in as Thalles brings us through the labs and back roads of Alaska to learn why gnats are so special!
Thalles Pereira’s paper “Discovery of snakeworm gnats in Alaska: a new species of Sciara meigen (Diptera: Sciaridae) based on morphological, molecular, and citizen science data” is in volume 6 issue 2 of Integrative Systematics.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.18476/2023.673937
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Thalles Pereira - Transcript
New Species: Sciara serpens
Episode image courtesy of Thalles Pereira via Integrative Systematics Stuttgart Contributions to Natural History
Check out Thalles’ Researchgate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thalles-Pereira-2
Video of the snakeworm larval behavior: https://doi.org/10.7299/X7WM1DQ9
View these specimens and their observational records on Arctos: https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?guid_prefix=UAM%3AEnto%2CUAMObs%3AEnto&scientific_name=Sciara%20serpens&scientific_name_match_type=match&family=Sciaridae
Springtail antifreeze protein paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60060-z
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Community Survey and Updates
This is a short episode to share some thoughts and feedback from this year's New Species community survey, as well as some updates on what is to come for the podcast.
Take the community survey here before March 1st: https://forms.gle/ayoZfXzadr2kd3st5
Check out our Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
And the Website:
www.newspeciespodcast.net
Five New Millipedes with Henrik Enghoff
Who wouldn’t want to receive thousands of millipedes in the mail? When Dr. Henrik Enghoff does it’s through his partnership with FoRCE, the Forest Restoration and Climate Experiment, a group researching tropical forest dynamics and their relationship with things like human disturbance and climate change. They collect millipedes through their field season and Henrik identifies them to increase our knowledge of millipede systematics. In this interview he shares stories about the diversity of millipedes, the exciting world of scanning electron microscopy, and why it’s important to care about creatures that others might pass by.
Henrik Enghoff’s paper “A mountain of millipedes XI. The trachystreptoform spirostreptids of the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania” is in volume 918 of the European Journal of Taxonomy.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2024.918.2405
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Henrik Enghoff - Transcript
New Genus: Udzungwastreptus
New Species: Attemsostreptus cataractae, Attemsostreptus leptoptilos, Attemsostreptus julostriatus, Lophostreptus magombera, Udzungwastreptus marianae
Episode image credit: A.R. Marshall
Learn more about FoRCE: https://force-experiment.com/
And project DiSSCo: www.dissco.eu
Other recent papers by Henrik and his team:
A new distinct, disjunct giant millipede of the genus Spirostreptus from Tanzania, and a solution for orphaned Spirostreptus species – Zootaxa https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5389.2.9
A new species of Lophostreptus Cook, 1895 discovered among syntypes of L. regularis - Zookeys https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1188.115802
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Scorpion with Prakrit Jain
How many nature enthusiasts can relate to this scenario: you’re watching the landscape go by as you drive, and suddenly you see an area that could be favorable habitat for your target species. Stop the car! That’s what Prakrit Jain did, and it helped him and his coauthors describe a new species of Paruroctonus scorpion from the San Joaquin Valley. So much makes this scorpion interesting, from the unique and at-risk habitat it occupies to the fascinating story of its description. Why describe new species? Prakrit says it best: “Because if this scorpion can get conservation attention then it doesn’t just save the scorpion it saves everything that lives alongside it, and that might be thousands of different species.”
Prakrit Jain’s paper “A new species of alkali-sink Paruroctonus Werner, 1934 (Scorpiones, Vaejovidae) from California’s San Joaquin Valley” is in issue 1185 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1185.103574
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Prakrit Jain - Transcript
New Species: Paruroctonus tulare
Episode image courtesy of Prakrit Jain
Follow Prakrit on Instagram: @bothrops_et_al
Connect with Prakrit on iNaturalist: @prakrit
iNaturalist records of this new species: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192661164
News coverage of this species description:
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/new-species-scorpion-california-san-joaquin-18537552.php
Take the community survey: https://forms.gle/y7utvaRuxeCQVMJy9
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Iris with John Manning
Southern Africa is home to over 1,200 species of irises, and if that number doesn’t blow you away, hearing Dr. John Manning’s speak about his new species certainly will. In this fascinating episode we are taken on a deep dive into Iridaceae’s stunning pollinator-driven diversity, evolution over millions of years and several continents, and the critical role of herbaria as the backbone of science past, present, and future. “They look static, and they look like dead plant specimens,” John says, “but they represent a great deal of life.”
Dr. John Manning’s Paper, “Moraea saxatilis, a new montane species from the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa” is in volume 165 of the South African journal of Botany.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2023.12.008
A transcript of this episode can be found here: John Manning - Transcript
New Species: Moraea saxatilis
Episode image courtesy of John Manning
Learn more about the Compton Herbarium here:
https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/foundations/biosystematics-collections/compton-herbarium/
Learn more about the CREW program here:
https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/building-knowledge/biodiversity-monitoring-assessment/custodians-of-rare-and-endangered-wildflowers-crew-programme/
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A Genus and Five New Species of Pseudoscorpions with Catalina Romero-Ortiz
Dr. Catalina Romero-Ortiz has been fascinated by pseudoscorpions for over a decade, and she wants everyone to understand how amazing they are. But beyond inherent scientific value, Catalina wants to share the importance of taxonomy in and out of the lab. She says, “As scientists, all of us are called to- there are some things that don’t work, you know? I think we [hold] in our shoulders much of the social responsibility… we are agents of change. And we need it.”
In this episode, Catalina speaks with conviction about the role taxonomy plays in changing the world for the better. She and her coauthors name their new genus using the prefix ‘pax,’ meaning peace, to commemorate the Havana Peace Talks in 2012 which brought together participants in Colombia’s civil war with the goal of uniting towards a more peaceful future.
Catalina Romero-Ortiz’s paper “A new genus and five new species of pseudoscorpions from Colombia” is in issue 1184 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1184.106698
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Catalina Romero-Ortiz - Transcript
New Species: Cystowithius florezi, Parawithius bromelicola, Oligowithius achagua, Paciwithius valduparensis, Paciwithius chimbilacus
Episode image courtesy of Catalina Romero-Ortiz
Visit Catalina’s ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catalina-Romero-Ortiz
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Scorpion with Javier Blasco-Aróstegui
What do glaciers and scorpions have in common? They’re the focus of Javier Blasco-Aróstegui’s paper in which he and his coauthor describe a new species from the foothills of Mount Olympus. It’s an area home to many legends, and also a surprising amount of biodiversity due to its unique topography. When a large-scale change in habitat restricts gene flow, it can result in species that are very different from their relatives and Javier has found one of those species. “Okay,” he remembers saying about the first specimen, “we’ve got something new and cool here.”
Javier Blasco-Aróstegui’s paper “Glacial Relicts? A New Scorpion from Mount Olympus, Greece” is in the November 9th issue of American Museum Novitates.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1206/4003.1
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Javier Blasco-Aróstegui - Transcript
New Species: Euscorpius olympus
Episode image courtesy of Javier Blasco-Aróstegui
Follow Javier on Instagram: @javierblar
Or on Twitter: @jblascoarosteg
Check out his ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Javier-Blasco-Arostegui
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Gecko with Javier Lobon-Rovira
When researchers talk about species disappearing before we can discover them, they’re talking about species like Javier Lobon-Rovira’s new gecko. With a specific and rapidly fragmenting habitat, this species of Paroedura might have left the world as an unknown cryptic species.
“My goal in my life,” Javier tells us, “is not to describe new species… but when you describe new species and you put it on an evolutionary frame, you can provide the grounds to better understand how the species distributed in the space and in the time, and which factors that are involved have some implication in the diversification pattern of the species that is completely needed to keep the natural selection or the continued evolution of the species to survive.”
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback on episode length - this episode ended up being short and sweet, but in the future we will have longer episodes, closer to 45 minutes.
Javier Lobon-Rovira’s paper “Another step through the crux: a new microendemic rock-dwelling Paroedura (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from south-central Madagascar” is in volume 1181 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1181.108134
New Species: Paroedura manongavato
Episode image courtesy of Javier Lobon-Rovira
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Javier Lobon-Rovira - Transcript
Check out Javier’s amazing photography: www.javierlobonrovira.com
Follow Javier on Instagram: @javilbn_wildphotography
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
Three New Wolf Spiders with Danni Sherwood
The island of Saint Helena can’t be described without the word special. It’s a small territory in the south Atlantic that is home to some of the most unique biodiversity in the world, including some extremely rare cloud forest spiders. An island full of spiders might not sound exciting for some, but to Danniella Sherwood it’s a dream! Listen in as Danni tells us all about the island and its history, the wolf spiders that find their home there, and the amazing community that supported and guided her work.
Danni Sherwood’s paper “Saint Helenian wolf spiders, with description of two new genera and three new species (Araneae: Lycosidae)” is in volume 19 issue 5 of Arachnology.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2023.19.5.816
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Danni Sherwood - Transcript
New Species: Molearachne sanctaehelenae, Dolocosa joshuai, Hogna veseyensis
Episode image courtesy of Danniella Sherwood
For more information on the FCDO funded Cloud Forest Project: https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/st-helena-cloud-forest-project/
Follow the Saint Helena National Trust here:
https://www.facebook.com/SHnationaltrust/
https://www.twitter.com/Shnationaltrust
Follow the Species Recovery Trust:
https://www.facebook.com/TheSpeciesRecoveryTrust/
https://www.twitter.com/speciesrecovery
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Collections Data with Makenzie Mabry
On this podcast we talk a lot about natural history collections. In fact, a spot (or more) of collections work is pretty much required to describe a new species. But what actually counts as a natural history collection? How many are there in the world? And what happens to all of that juicy data waiting in the stacks to be worked on? Dr. Makenzie Mabry has some of those answers and more. We talk about all of the different types of information that can be associated with specimens, the different resources researchers and non-researchers can use to access it, as well as some of the strengths and challenges to the way we build, use, and share museum data.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
IDigBio - Integrated Digitized Biocollections, a platform for organizing, storing, and sharing specimen data
Symbiota - Platform aimed at helping smaller collections manage and distribute their data
GBIF - The Global Biodiversity Information Facility which acts as a network for distributing biodiversity data
Bionomia - A platform that links natural history specimens to their contributors
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) - a group that develops data standards for collections in order to help in the sharing of knowledge and information
Makenzie’s publications can be found in journals including Plants People Planet, Journal of College Science Teaching, Plant and Cell Physiology, and PhytoKeys.
Follow her on twitter: @KenzieMabry
Or Instagram: @kenziemabry_phd
Makenzie’s website: makenziemabry.weebly.com
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Makenzie Mabry - Transcript
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Seven New Leaf Insects with Royce Cumming
You’ve got to hand it to leaf insects; their camouflage is so well-refined that studying them is difficult and collecting them is near-impossible. A sub-group of stick insects, members of the family Phylliidae have evolved to leaf like the best of them, even going so far as to uptake leaf pigments to match their colors. In order to study these creatures, Royce Cumming had to visit and take loans from collections all over the world, looking at historic specimens often found only because a passing storm had knocked them out of the canopy.
But Royce is not deterred. He and his coauthors are organizing and describing Phylliids in order to make studying them more approachable, and to help people better appreciate their uniqueness. Listen in as he describes identifying and reclassifying leaf insects, pulling us into their strange and beautiful world.
Royce Cumming’s paper “On seven undescribed leaf insect species revealed within the recent “Tree of Leaves” (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae)” is in issue 1173 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1173.104413
New Species: Phyllium iyadaon, Phyllium samarense, Phyllium ortizi, Pulchriphyllium heracles, Pulchriphyllium delislei, Pulchriphyllium bhaskarai, Pulchriphyllium anangu
Episode image was taken by Ashwin Viswanathan via iNaturalist and is used with permission by Royce Cumming
Follow Royce on Instagram: @RoyceCumming
Or check out his ResearchGate profile, where all of his work is shared open access: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Royce-Cumming
Check out this video on the phytochemical camouflage Royce talks about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JygVv3coRaU&t=1s
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Royce Cumming - Transcript
Further coverage of Royce and this paper:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/science/leaf-stick-insects-phyllium-asekiense.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUymjLIPWUk
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Five New Kleptoparasitic Spiders with Cláudia Xavier
Mysmenopsis is a tiny spider genus that has been shaped by women; women have collected, identified, and described the majority of members of the genus. In fact, Dr. Nadine Dupérré alone described 25 species, almost half of the genus’ known diversity. So it’s fitting, Cláudia Xavier explains, that her five new species are named after women, including Dupérré herself and Dr. Emilie Snethlage, whose position as director of the Museu Goeldi made her the first woman in South America to lead a scientific institution.
Mysmenopsids are tiny, kleptoparasitic spiders found across the Americas, particularly in northern South America. They are cryptic, their small size making it difficult to observe them, never mind dissect and study them. But that’s just what Cláudia and her coauthors did. In this interview she shares what it’s like studying spiders smaller than an apple seed - the good, the bad, and the painful! In her writing both in and out of the museum, Cláudia hopes to demystify spiders and bring more attention to their diversity.
Cláudia Xavier’s paper “On the symphytognathoid spider genus Mysmenopsis Simon, 1898 (Araneae: Mysmenidae) from the Brazilian Amazonian region: description of five new species and new records” is in issue 5219 off Zootaxa.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5319.1.4
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Cláudia Xavier - Transcript
New Species: Mysmenopsis rodriguesae, Mysmenopsis nadineae, Mysmenopsis snethlageae, Mysmenopsis lopardoae, Mysmenopsis regiae
Episode image courtesy of Cláudia Xavier
Follow Cláudia on Instagram or Twitter: @claudiia_xavier
Read Cláudia’s writing on Fauna News: https://faunanews.com.br/category/colunas/invertebrados/
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Eleven New Starfish with Chris Mah
Grab your parkas, we’re going to Antarctica! Or at least some researchers did in the 1960s, but it took starfish expert Dr. Chris Mah until the past few years to take a look at their samples and find a new genus and eleven new species of starfish. And not just any starfish, starfish from the deep-sea. In a special guest introduction, Dr. Thom Lindley from our friends at the Deep-Sea Podcast explains what exactly “deep-sea” means, from the creatures that live there to the physics of water pressure at depths of thousands of meters. Learn about “the chonkiest of starfish,” Darth Vader’s character arc, and what happens when you mishandle pressurized fish gut contents on this episode of New Species Podcast. (Spoiler alert on the fish guts: they don’t stay in the fish).
Chris’ paper “New Genera, Species, and observations on the biology of Antarctic Valvatida (Asteroidea)” is in volume 5310 number 1 of Zootaxa. See the episode details for a link to the paper, and to learn more about Chris and his work, you can follow him on twitter, @echinoblog, or you can check out his blog which covers all things marine invertebrates at www.echinoblog.blogspot.com
A very special thanks to Dr. Thom Linley and the rest of the crew from the Deep-Sea podcast for the wonderful introduction to this episode. Please go give their podcast a listen, or check out their website https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5310.1.1
Episode image courtesy of Chris Mah
The Smithsonian’s digital database: https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Chris Mah - Transcript
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
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Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
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A New Millipede with Paul Marek and Cedric Lee
Cedric Lee was collecting slugs with another diplopodologist James Bailey when they stumbled upon a very odd creature; thin and string-like with lots of fine legs and a long body. “We recognized that it might be something special,” explains Cedric as he shares how they uploaded the image to iNaturalist. Enter Dr. Paul Marek, who saw the pictures and immediately got in touch. After some collection and analysis, they have a new millipede to share, Illacme socal, one of only three species in genus Illacme, which is the only genus of the family Siphonorhinidae present in North America. Millipedes are critically understudied and there’s so much more for us to learn. Listen in as Paul and Cedric tell you all about diplopodology and their new discovery!
Cedric and Paul’s paper “A new species of Illacme from southern California (Siphonophorida, Siphonorhinidae)” is published in issue 1167 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1167.102537
Watch a video of an individual of the new species burrowing here: https://vimeo.com/823446011?share=copy
New Species: Illacme socal
Episode image courtesy of Paul Marek
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Paul Marek and Cedric Lee - Transcript
You can find Cedric’s work on his inaturalist profile: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/cedric_lee
You can find Paul’s work on his university website: https://millipedes.ento.vt.edu/
Or on Twitter at @apheloria
A guide to myriapods by Paul Marek and WIlliam Shear: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/113652/CURBIO.18835_PEM_28Oct22_VTWorks.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Check out our new website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Wonderful Weevils with Bob Anderson
“I always say that insect taxonomists will never get really rich but you will see parts of the world where nobody else gets a chance to go to. It’s a great chance to explore the world”
This special episode with Dr. Robert Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Nature brings us across the globe and through several decades of research in a fascinating corner of the beetle world. Bob shares the origin story of his fascination with insects, how he became Major League Baseball’s official entomologist, and even a musical secret about the prolific carabid beetle expert George Ball. This interview is a reflection on nearly 4 decades of entomology, and you won’t want to miss a minute.
Bob Anderson's papers can be found in Zookeys, Zootaxa, The Canadian Entomologist, and many other publications. Papers mentioned in this episode include:
A taxonomic monograph of the Middle American leaf-litter inhabiting weevil genus Theognete Champion (Coleoptera: Curculionidae; Molytinae; Lymantini)[2010 - Zookeys]: https://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02458p127f.pdf
A new species of Toxorhinus Lacordaire (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae; Rhynchophorini) from Ecuador
[2023 - Zootaxa]: https://doi.org/10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5270.2.9
A revision of the North American genus Proctorus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Ellescini) with descriptions of two new species
Coauthor: Jake H. Lewis
[2022 - Zookeys]: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1131.90392
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Bob Anderson - Transcript
Episode image courtesy of Bob Anderson. The weevil pictured is Cylindrocopturinus catherineae, the beautiful weevil he named after his wife
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Seven New Grasshoppers with JoVonn Hill
“Here in the South, our grasslands are where most of our, a huge part of our biodiversity are. And most people don't even know that we have natural grasslands in the Southeast…but they were some of the first things to be developed because they were already open. You didn't have to clear them…And so they were lost early on. And all we have now are these small little fragments. Within the last, I'll say seven years now, I've described close to 40 new species of grasshoppers, if we include these seven, from the southeast alone. And 34 of them, probably 35, are grassland inhabitants. So we almost, you know, we're in danger of losing all these species before we even knew they existed. Right here in our backyard in Eastern North America. You think, you know, oh, it's North America. We know, you know, most everything here. Well, we don't.”
In this episode, Dr. JoVonn Hill pulls us headfirst into the world of grasshopper research as he tells us about collecting in central Texas. He shares his thoughts on what accessibility in publications can look like, the unique role of scientific illustration, and advises us on the importance of an afternoon Dairy Queen break.
JoVonn’s paper “Diversification deep in the heart of Texas: seven new grasshopper species and establishment of the Melanoplus discolor species group (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae)” is in issue 1165 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1165.104047
New Species:
Melanoplus nelsoni - Nelson’s pouncer
Melanoplus walkeri - Walker’s pouncer
Melanoplus susdentatus - Hog-toothed pouncer
Melanoplus balcones - Balcones pouncer
Melanoplus corniculatus - Antlered pouncer
Melanoplus comanche - Comanche pouncer
Melanoplus tonkawa - Tonkawa pouncer
Episode image courtesy of JoVonn Hill
Follow JoVonn on Twitter: @JoVonnH
Mississippi State Moth Photographers Group: https://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/
Grasshoppers of North America: Volume 1 and Volume 2
A transcript of this episode can be found here: JoVonn Hill - Transcript
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Three New Argyresthia Moths with Jacob Gorneau
Have you ever seen a series of fine squiggles in a leaf? Those might be leaf-mining moths in the genus Argyresthia. These tiny moths are closely linked with many agricultural crops, but factors including sampling bias and their small size mean we don’t know as much about them as we’d like. Jacob Gorneau and his team examined material from Guatemala and described three new species.
An insect-lover from childhood, Jacob has always been fascinated by moths, and these Argyresthia moths are no exception. They’re a small group both in number (with only 200 species) and in size (approximately 1/8th of an inch or smaller), but there’s a lot to learn about them, especially in relation to their host plants. Listen in as Jacob tells us all about his work, his future plans, and why we should care about these tiny animals.
Jacob Gorneau’s paper “Three new species of the genus Argyresthia Hübner, [1825] from Guatemala, with notes on host plant evolution and Nearctic taxa (Lepidoptera: Argyresthiidae)” is in Volume 51 Issue 201 of SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.444
Another of Jacob’s papers mentioned in this episode - Measuring What We Don't Know: Biodiversity Catalogs Reveal Bias in Taxonomic Effort: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac116
Take a look at Jacob’s website for spiders, scorpions, and more! https://jacobgorneau.github.io/
Jacob is also part of National Moth Week: https://nationalmothweek.org/
You can follow him on twitter: @jacobgorneau
Or instagram: @fortheloveofleps
New Species: Argyresthia quetzaltenangonella, Argyresthia guatemala, Argyresthia iridescentia
Episode image courtesy of Jacob Gorneau
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Jacob Gorneau - Transcript
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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What’s in a Spider Name with Stefano Mammola
When a scientist comes on the podcast, we always ask them how they named their new species. It’s a privilege that comes with a species description, and we’ve seen firsthand how different that answer can be. For some it’s a straightforward geographic name, for others it’s about morphology, and still others name after collectors, celebrities, or loved ones. Dr. Stefano Mammola wants to know why.
Beginning in 2020 he and a team of researchers from all over the world analyzed 48,464 etymologies across nearly 300 years to examine naming trends in spider taxonomy to answer the question, “what’s in a spider name?” They cite many different projects (including this podcast!) and, as Stefano shares in this interview, come across some real surprises along the way.
Stefano Mammola’s paper “Taxonomic practice, creativity, and fashion: What’s in a spider name?” is in the February 13th issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac097
A transcript of this conversation can be found here: Transcript - Stefano Mammola
Episode image courtesy of Stefano Mammola
Check out Stefano’s website: https://publications.cnr.it/authors/stefano.mammola
And his twitter: @stefanomammola1
Check out this data and more on the World Spider Catalog
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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A New Bat with Amanda Grunwald
Amanda Grunwald is fascinated by arthropods, by reptiles, pretty much anything that creeps or crawls. But what about the creatures that fly? Here we dive into her work on bats in the genus Pseudoromicia, simple-nosed bats that are relatively less known. She takes us from the mountains of Cameroon to a genetics lab in Chicago, and we discuss what responsible science looks like and why it’s important.
A review of bats of the genus Pseudoromicia (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) with the description of a new species” is in volume 21 issue 1 of Systematics and Biodiversity.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2022.2156002
Or open access here: http://ir-library.mmarau.ac.ke:8080/bitstream/handle/123456789/13562/A%20review%20of%20bats%20of%20the%20genus%20Pseudoromicia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Amanda Grunwald - Transcript
New Species: Pseudoromicia mbamminkom
Episode art courtesy of Amanda Grunwald
To learn more about Amanda’s work, check out: batcon.org
Further reading on the topic of a more ethical taxonomic practice: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01460-w
Researchers mentioned in this episode: Dr. Eric Bakwo Fils, Dr. Patrick Atagana, and Frank Mayo https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Bakwo-Fils-Eric-Moise-Lab
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), Instagram (@newspeciespodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Seven New Sea Slugs with Ángel Valdéz
Dr. Ángel Valdés has known since childhood that he would study sea slugs, and several years ago that dream took him to New Caledonia to work with a large international research team. While divers and other collectors swept the shoreline and beyond for marine life, Ángel diligently photographed every sea slug, including some unexpected finds. Were those hours worth it? Definitely, in part because he and his team have described seven new species of Nudibranchs, in the family Discodorididae.
Nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, are found all over the world. But what’s so special about these “cryptic” New Caledonian species, and what might they have to do with curing rare diseases? Learn all of this and more on this episode of New Species Podcast.
Ángel Valdés’ paper “Seven new “cryptic” species of Discodorididae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia) from New Caledonia” is in the March 7th issue of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1152.98258
New Species: Atagema kimberlyae, Atagema sobanovae, Jorunna daoulasi, Jorunna hervei, Rostanga poddubetskaiae, Sclerodoris faninozi, Sclerodoris dutertrei
Episode image courtesy of Ángel Valdés
Visit Ángel’s website: https://www.cpp.edu/faculty/aavaldes/index.shtml
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ángel Valdés - Transcript
Check out our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
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Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Una Araña Trampilla Nueva con Cristian Pertegal
Muy a menudo, los científicos que entrevistamos en el podcast hablan inglés como su segundo, tercer o cuarto idioma. Y muchos de los oyentes también son multilingües. Me parece muy importante hacer que estas entrevistas sean accesibles en los idiomas que hablan los científicos, y estoy muy agradecida de que me hayan ayudado a grabar este episodio y espero hacer más de lo mismo en el futuro.
This episode is a Spanish translation of our previous interview with Cristian Pertegal. To listen to this conversation in English, please refer to the episode published April 4th, 2023.
Las arañas de trampilla son un misterio relativo para los aracnólogos: son un grupo pequeño que no es muy conocido a pesar de su coloración a menudo audaz y sus madrigueras únicas. Pero para Cristian Pertegal son una pasión y una fascinación, aunque en ocasiones también son un dolor literal. Escuche mientras Cristian comparte su amor por estas arañas, su morfología única, sus fascinantes trampillas y lo que pueden decirnos sobre nuestro mundo.
publicación de Cristian “Descripción de una nueva especie de araña trampera del sur de España, y nueva información sobre Nemesia uncinata (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Nemesiidae)” es en el volumen 64, número 1 de Arachnology Letters.
Se puede encontrar aquí: https://doi.org/10.30963/aramit6401
Una transcripción de este episodio se puede encontrar aquí: Cristian Pertegal - Transcript
Imagen del episodio cortesía de Cristian Pertegal
Encontrar Cristian en instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristianpertegal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nemesidae.nemesia.7/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristian-Pertegal
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/entomologiaasturias
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La música en este podcast es "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
Si tiene preguntas o comentarios sobre este podcast, envíenos un email a: NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
A New Horseshoe Bat with Michael Curran
Where there is a unique ecosystem to be studied, for example, a patch of tropical evergreen forest 1,000 meters up a mountain, sometimes it’s best to be pushy. Michael Curran had done his master’s research in altitudinal patterns and species richness in rural Mozambique, and when he heard about an expedition back to the area, he wrote to the researcher in charge and asked them to let him come along and catch a few bats. That risk certainly paid off, because he and his coauthors have now described a brand new species of Rhinolophid, or horseshoe bat.
Bats are mysterious creatures of mind-boggling diversity and beauty, and ecosystems like Mount Namuli hold just as much of both. Learn about all of this and more as Michael takes us on his journey of collection and description, and discover the unique story these bats have to tell.
Michael Curran’s paper “A new species of horseshoe bat (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from Mount Namuli, Mozambique” is in Volume 24, Issue 1 of Acta Chiropterologica.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2022.24.1.002
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Michael Curran - Transcript
Listen to this episode on our website: www.newspeciespodcast.net
New Species: Rhinolophus namuli
Episode image courtesy of Michael Curran
See some more amazing photos of bats from Michael and his team: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/rare-african-bats
Check out Michael’s website: https://www.fibl.org/en/about-us/team/curran-michael
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), Instagram (@newspeciespodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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A New Trapdoor Spider with Cristian Pertegal
Trapdoor spiders are a relative mystery to arachnologists - they’re a small group that is not well known despite their often bold coloration and their unique burrows. But for Cristian Pertegal they are a passion and a fascination, even if they are occasionally also a literal pain. Listen in as Cristian shares his love for these spiders, their unique morphology, their fascinating trapdoors, and what they can tell us about our world.
Cristian Pertegal’s paper “Description of a new trapdoor spider species, Nemesia amicitia spec. nov., from southern Spain, and new information on Nemesia uncinata (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Nemesiidae)” is in Volume 64 Issue 1 of Arachnology Letters.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.30963/aramit6401
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Cristian Pertegal - Transcript
New Species: Nemesia amicitia
Episode image courtesy of Cristian Pertegal
Follow Cristian on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristianpertegal/
And on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nemesidae.nemesia.7/
Or ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristian-Pertegal
And also on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/entomologiaasturias
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), Instagram (@newspeciespodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Check out our website: https://www.newspeciespodcast.net
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Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
A New Beech Tree with Wei Harn
Did you know that there are still new species of tree to discover? Wei Harn does, and in this episode he tells us all about his trip surveying Malaysian Royal Belum State Park and an unexpected new species discovery. How does one collect a tree, this entomologist host would like to know! (there certainly aren’t any vials big enough). We learn all about the stunning diversity of the park including its unique assemblages and history, and the importance of studying and valuing natural areas like it.
Wei Harn’s paper “Castanopsis corallocarpus (Fagaceae), a new species from Royal Belum (Perak) in Peninsular Malaysia” is in the 219th issue of Phytokeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.219.95991
New Species: Castanopsis corallocarpusEpisode image courtesy of Wei Harn
To learn more about the evolutionary history, diversity, identification and conservation of this new species and over 700 others, check out www.asianfagaceae.com
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreoNesticuscom/NewSpeciesPod
A New Carpenter Bee with Dibyajyoti Ghosh
How do you continue your research when the harsh climate makes collecting impossible most of the year, or when much of your focal area is contained within a Buddhist community which prevents the harm of any animal? What if it’s also a remote area that is difficult and costly to access? Oh, and don’t forget the trap-destroying monkeys and wild hogs!
But once you are able to navigate all of these obstacles, the nature you find is well worth the trouble. In this episode, Dibyajyoti Ghosh shares his experience collecting carpenter bees in a unique and understudied corner of India’s Himalayan mountains. In addition to tales from the field he shares his affection for native bees and speaks with conviction about why their habitats should be better surveyed and protected.
Dibyajyoti Ghosh’s paper “Description of a new species of genus Ceratina Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) from Eastern Himalayas, India with a new country record” is published in volume 9 issue 1 of the Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.52547/jibs.9.1.139
New Species: Ceratina tawangensis
Episode image courtesy of Dibyajyoti Ghosh
Find Dibyajyoti’s work on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Dibyajyoti-Ghosh-2242506077
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), Instagram (@newspeciespodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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Ten New Species of Cave Spiders with Marshal Hedin
Meet Dr. Marshal Hedin. He’s an arachnologist fascinated with Nesticidae, a group of cave-dwelling spiders found in the southern Appalachian mountains, an area of tremendous beauty and biodiversity. In this interview he describes the joy of discoveries of new and interesting species, the struggles of collecting in rock piles and other dangerous terrain, as well as a few adventures along the way. What can we learn from Nesticus? Marshal says: “I just think generally if you live in some hollow or some mountain in southern Appalachia and you happen to have some Nesticus that’s only found in that mountain you might find that interesting and unique…a sense of place, you know? That’s your little cave spider.”
Marshal Hedin’s paper “New species in old mountains: integrative taxonomy reveals ten new species and extensive short-range endemism in Nesticus spiders (Araneae, Nesticidae) from the southern Appalachian Mountains” is in the February 3rd edition of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1145.96724
New Species: Nesticus binfordae, Nesticus bondi, Nesticus canei, Nesticus cherokeensis, Nesticus dellingeri, Nesticus dykemanae, Nesticus jemisinae, Nesticus lowderi, Nesticus roanensis, and Nesticus templetoni
Episode image courtesy of Alan Cressler
Marshal’s lab site: https://marshalhedinlab.com/
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreoNesticuscom/NewSpeciesPod
Three New Species of Caecilians with Juan Fernández
For some, roadkill is just roadkill. For one researcher, it was the start of a brand new career path.
Did you know that there is a group of animals that are legless like snakes and burrow through the ground like worms? Meet Caecilians, an amazing group of amphibians that just received 3 new species courtesy of Dr. Juan David Fernández and his team from Bogotá, Colombia. They examined specimens from the Cordillera Oriental to help piece together the story of Caecilian biodiversity in the Andes. Listen to this interview to learn about these unique creatures and what they can tell us about one of the most fascinating biodiversity hotspots in the world.
And in case you’re curious, the new species pictured here (Caecilia macrodonta) is aptly named- it has the largest dentary teeth of the entire genus!
Do you want to share your thoughts on the podcast? Please do so here:
https://forms.gle/fnXUuiNknRFadXWj6
We now have an instagram! Follow @NewSpeciesPodcast
Juan David Fernández’s paper “On the identities of Caecilia degenerata Dunn, 1942 and of C. corpulenta Taylor, 1968 (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) with descriptions of three new species of Caecilia Linnaeus, 1758 from the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia” is in the January 5th edition of Zootaxa.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5227.2.3
New Species: Caecilia atelolepis, Caecilia epicrionopsoides, and Caecilia macrodonta
Episode image courtesy of Juan David Fernández
Follow Juan on instagram: @jdfernandezr
Or check out his researchgate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Juan-Fernandez-Roldan-2
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Afrotropical Ant with Kiko Gómez
'When it comes to ants,' Dr. Kiko Gómez says, 'it’s important to know what you don’t know.' The ant genus Pheidole contains over 1,000 species, and is found across the world. But what does it mean to find a new species in this genus? In this episode, Kiko shares his experience collecting and identifying Pheidole ants in the Ivory Coast. He tells us what it’s like to visit the amazing Taï National Park, how myrmecologists differentiate between worker, soldier, and other ant designations, and what makes his group of ants unique from the rest.
Do you want to share your thoughts on the podcast? Please do so here:
https://forms.gle/fnXUuiNknRFadXWj6
I really appreciate the responses, and I’m working hard to make them happen. Expect bonus content, episode transcripts, a website, and more coming soon. If you’d like to support the podcast, please consider giving us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or supporting us on Patreon to get access to that bonus content. Even $1-2 a month really helps keep the podcast going!
https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Book mentioned: Journey to the Ants by Bert Hölldobler and E. O. Wilson
Kiko Gómez’s paper Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) is in the June 20th 2022 issue of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1104.81562
New Species: Pheidole klaman
Episode image courtesy of Kiko Gomez
Find Kiko on Instagram: @netodejulilla
Virtual 3D data of the major worker holotype (CASENT0764691) and two minor worker paratypes (CASENT0764692 & CASENT0745509) can be found on Dryad (doi: 10.5061/dryad.mpg4f4r1k)
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Mud Dragon with Maria Herranz
Have you ever heard of Mud Dragons? They’re actually a group of marine invertebrates that can be found in oceans across the globe. And, as Dr. María Herranz tells us in this interview, collecting and processing them is a unique challenge. Listen in to find out how a piece of copy paper and Madonna in the early 90s are connected to these fascinating creatures!
María Herranz’s paper “Expanding the Echinoderes coulli group (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida) with a new species from the Chuuk Islands, Micronesia” is in Volume 302 of Zoologischer Anzeiger.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2022.11.010
New Species: Echinoderes inaequalis
Episode image courtesy of María Herranz
Follow María on twitter: @Maríaherranz___
Check out María’s website: https://www.Maríaherranzm.com/
And visit the Natural History Museum of Denmark’s Collections Portal: https://collections.snm.ku.dk/en
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
20 New Species of Frogs with Mark Scherz
The frogs are back! In a year of episodes rich in amphibians, New Species rounds out 2022 with Dr. Mark Scherz and his paper describing 20 new species of frogs from Madagascar. This paper has everything! Barcode fishing, large-scale scientific collaboration, and plenty of fascinating frog facts. The real question I should have asked Mark is how he became an expert in Brygoomantis calls - as you’ll hear in this episode, he’s very accomplished.
Do you want to share your thoughts on the podcast? Please do so here: https://forms.gle/fnXUuiNknRFadXWj6
Mark Scherz’s paper “An inordinate fondness for inconspicuous brown frogs: integration of phylogenomics, archival DNA analysis, morphology, and bioacoustics yields 24 new taxa in the subgenus Brygoomantis (genus Mantidactylus) from Madagascar” is in Volume 7 Issue 2 of Megataxa.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/megataxa.7.2.1
New Species: M. ambohimitombi marefo, M. ambohimitombi miloko, M. mahery, M. steinfartzi, M. incognitus, M. jonasi, M. katae, M. kortei, M. riparius, M. fergusoni, M. georgei, M. jahnarum, M. marintsoai, M. grubenmanni, M. gudrunae, M. augustini, M. bletzae, M. brevirostris, M. eulenbergeri, M. glosi., M. stelliger, M. manerana, M. manerana fotaka, and M. manerana antsanga.
Episode image (M. stelliger) courtesy Miguel Vences
Find Mark on twitter: @MarkScherz
Or on Mastedon: @MarkScherz @EcoEvo.social
Or how about Tumblr: MarkScherz.tumblr.com
Or check out his website: MarkScherz.com
Mark’s other content includes:
Anatomy Insights: www.youtube.com/AnatomyInsights
Squamates Podcast: http://squamatespod.com/
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Australian Native Bee with Kit Prendergast
It’s possible that you’ve heard about a new species of bee from Western Australia that has a snout like a dog. But did you know it specializes on just a few species of plant from the Fabaceae (legume) family? And how did it get named L. zephyr? And what does it mean to be a “plasterer bee?” Hear about all of this and more as we get a behind the scenes look into the wonderful world of native bees with Dr. Kit Prendergast.
Kit Prendergast’s paper “Leioproctus zephyr, an oligolectic new bee species with a distinctive clypeus” is in Volume 93 of the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.93.85685
New Species: Leioproctus zephyr
Episode image courtesy of Kit Prendergast
Follow Kit onTwitter: @BeeBabette
Or on Instagram: @bee.babette_performer
Kit also has Facebook: @The Buzz on Wild Bees
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Gecko With Javier Lobon Rovira
Imagine this: you’re hiking in the savannah of western Angola when you spot the silhouette of a gecko in the brush. You pick it up, expecting to find your old friend Kolekanos plumicaudus, a little brown patterned gecko with a feather-like tail. But when you look at this gecko, its tail is entirely different, spines instead of feathery plumes. When his colleague brought him the first four specimens, Javier Lobon Rovira knew immediately that they had found a new species. Listen in as he shares his tips for finding geckos, how special this species is to him, and how important it is to give attention to understudied areas like the Angolan savannah.
Javier Lobon Rovira’s paper “A new species of feather-tailed leaf-toed gecko, Kolekanos Heinicke, Daza, Greenbaum, Jackman, Bauer, 2014 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the poorly explored savannah of western Angola” is in the November 2nd issue of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1127.84942
New Species: Kolekanos spinicaudus
Episode image courtesy of Javier Lobon Rovira
Check out Javier’s stunning photography! www.javierlobonrovira.com
Follow Javier on Instagram: @javilbn_wildphotography
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Seven New Species of Medetera Flies with Marc Pollet
You’ve probably seen these organisms before. They’re green, shiny, and “quite nervous” according to Dr. Marc Pollet, who has been studying Dolichopodidae, long-legged flies, for decades. But there’s so much more to this group than what meets the eye. Take a deep dive into the fascinating world of flies with Marc, and learn a secret or two about the beauty of taxonomy, the importance of names, and what might be waiting to be discovered in your own backyard.
Dr. Marc Pollet’s paper “Discovery of a Lineage of Soil-Dwelling Medetera Species with Multi-Coloured Eyes in Southern Europe” can be found in volume 13 issue 11 of Insects.
An open access link is available here: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13111012
New Species: Medetera aglaops, Medetera corsicana, Medetera gibbosipyga, Medetera hispanica, Medetera lusitana, Medetera parva, and Medetera rectipyga.
Episode image courtesy of Andreas Stark
Find Marc’s work on his INBO Page: https://pureportal.inbo.be/en/persons/marc-pollet
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Re-Release: Happy Face Spiders with Rosemary Gillespie
Many parts of the world are celebrating all things spooky this time of year, and spiders are getting their time to shine. Whether you’re a spider lover or not, you have to admit that spiders have some stunning diversity and fascinating natural history.
To celebrate that, this is a re-release of an episode we originally published on February 9th of 2021. It’s a wonderful interview with Dr. Rosemary Gillespie who studies “Happy Face Spiders,” spiders from the Hawaiian Islands with unique colors and patterns. Dr. Gillespie is a professor of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, professor in the Division of Insect Biology, and Director of the Essig Museum of Entomology at the University of California - Berkeley. She and Brian, creator of the podcast, discuss why these spiders are called Happy Face spiders, how they got to Hawaii, and why they are important in the Hawaiian ecosystem.
Rosemary Gillespie’s paper “A happy family: systematic revision of the endemic Theridion spiders of the Hawaiian Islands” is in the January 5th 2021 edition of Invertebrate Systematics.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1071/IS20001
To learn more about Dr. Gillespie, follow her on Twitter @Berkeley_Evolab or Instagram @berkeley.evolab. You can also check out her website at https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/rosemary-g-gillespie.
Follow the first author on the paper, Adrià Bellvert, on Twitter @AdriaBellvert, or follow the senior author, Dr. Miquel Arnedo, on Twitter @MiquelArnedo.
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Homalopsid Snake with Justin Bernstein
Mud snakes may not look as exciting as some of their other snake relatives, but in this episode Dr. Justin Bernstein tells us just a few of the fascinating details he and his team have uncovered while studying them. How do you compare the genetic makeup of snake populations? Why should you turn off your headlamp while collecting in Mangrove forests? Learn all of this and more as Justin tells us stories from his travels and helps us unravel the mysteries of these fantastic snakes.
Justin Bernstein’s paper “Undescribed Diversity in a Widespread, Common Group of Asian Mud Snakes (Serpentes: Homalopsidae: Hypsiscopus)” is in Volume 110, Issue 3 of Ichthyology and Herpetology.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1643/h2022015
New Species: Hypsiscopus murphyi
Episode image courtesy of Bryan Stuart
Follow Justin on twitter: @JustBernstein
And check out his website: https://justinbernstein.org/
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Three New Species of Ground Snake with Alejandro Arteaga
Have you heard of snakes in the genus Atractus? They’re the largest snake genus in the world, and recently they received three new members found in an unexpected place. In this episode, Alejandro Arteaga shares the story of how he and his team found three new species of fossorial snakes in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, and what this discovery has to say about the conservation of biodiversity in this unique region of the world.
Alejandro Arteaga’s paper “Leaving no stone unturned: three additional new species of Atractus ground snakes (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Ecuador discovered using a biogeographical approach” is in the September 15th issue of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1121.89539
New Species: Atractus discovery, Atractus zgap, and Atractus michaelsabini
Episode image courtesy of Alejandro Arteaga
For more coverage of Ale and his work, check out the Khamai foundation’s press release: https://www.khamai.bio/news/three_new_ground_snakes.html
Follow Ale on instagram: @alejandroartheagath
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Thyreophoran Dinosaur with Facundo Riguetti
New Species: Jakapil kaniukura
Did you know that there are still new dinosaurs being identified? In this episode, hear from Facundo Riguetti, a PhD student of the Universidad Maimónides-CONICET and a fellow of the Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara, both in Buenos Aires. He'll tell us how his new species of dinosaur was collected, what makes it different from others of its clade, and even some theories on key morphological features which make it unique from other similar genera. It's the first of its kind to be found in South America, making it an especially important discovery!
Facundo Riguetti’s paper “A new Cretaceous thyreophoran from Patagonia supports a South American lineage of armoured dinosaurs” is in the August 11th issue of Scientific Reports, volume 12 article 11621.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15535-6
New Species: Jakapil kaniukura (Riguetti, Apesteguía & Pereda-Suberbiola)
Episode image courtesy of Facundo Riguetti
And a bonus! Facundo's new species has been imagined to life through an animation by Gabriel Díaz Yanten, Mauricio Alvarez, and Lautaro Rodríguez Blanco. Watch their clip below, and follow @PaleoGDY on twitter or the artists on instagram for more of their work.
Animation: https://twitter.com/PaleoGDY/status/1557819385946988544?s=20&t=wa4k41TzTZk8WZLLYf_6PA
https://www.instagram.com/lautarorodriguezblanco/ (Lautaro Rodríguez Blanco; sculpture)
https://www.instagram.com/paleogdy/ (Gabriel Díaz Yanten; 3D models and renders)
https://www.instagram.com/mauricio_alvarez_art/ (Mauricio Alvarez; illustration and skin of models)
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
A New Species of Ambrosia Beetle with Rachel Osborn
What's an ambrosia beetle? How do you go about finding one? Learn all of this and more as we interview Dr. Rachel Osborn of the A.J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection at Michigan State University. She'll take us on an adventure with a tribe of beetles about the size of a grain of rice, and reveal a newly-discovered clue to their evolutionary history.
Dr. Rachel Osborn’s paper “New Xyleborine (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Genus With an Afrotropical-Neotropical Distribution” is in Volume 6, Issue 4 of Insect Systematics and Diversity.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixac016
New Species: Xenoxylebora pilosa, Xenoxylebora addenda, Xenoxylebora calculosa, Xenoxylebora hystricosa, Xenoxylebora serrata, and Xenoxylebora sulcata (Osborn, Smith & Cognato).
Episode Image courtesy of Rachel Osborn
If you would like to learn more about Dr. Osborn and her work, you can follow her on twitter @rachelkosborn
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
S02 Episode 9: A new spring-snail species from the Belasitsa Mountains!
Dilian Georgiev is an Associate Professor in the department of Ecology and Environmental Protection at The Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv. In this episode, he tells Zoe about his recent paper in volume 44 of Historia naturalis bulgarica, in which he and his coauthors describe a new species of spring-snail from the Belasitsa Mountains in South-West Bulgaria. He describes spring-snail evolution, tells us some stories about caving, and shares some wise words about the importance of conservation.
The title of the paper is "Bythinella fabiae n. sp., a new spring-snail species (Gastropoda: Rissooidea) from the Belasitsa Mountains, South-West Bulgaria."
The paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.44.041
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom). If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E08: Two episodes in one! First, a new Taylor Swift millipede, then ectoparasites and mites!
Dr. Derek Hennen works for the Virginia Department of Agriculture as the Slow the Spread Coordinator monitoring the spongy moth populations in the state. He talks to co-host Brian Patrick about his paper inthe April 15th issue of ZooKeys in which he and his coauthors describe 17 new species of millipedes from the eastern United States. We discuss this massive work on millipedes from eastern US, and particularly the group restricted to the Appalachians, how to find millipedes, and how a species named after Taylor Swift got its name!
The title of the paper is “A revision of the wilsoni species group in the millipede genus NannariaChamberlin, 1918 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae).” The paper is currently available here: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/73485/
To learn more about Derek, follow him on Twitter, @derekhennen, or his millipede account, @DearMillipede.
Ricardo Bassini-Silva is an acarologist and post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Pathology at the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Saő Paulo, Brazil. In this episode, he tells us about the new genus of mites he and his coauthors have published in their recent paper in the April issue of the Journal of the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. We discuss the diversity of mites, the process of taxonomic reclassification, and the wonderful world of ectoparasitism.
The title of the paper is “A New Genus for Euschoengastia chisosensis Wrenn, Baccus, and Loomis, 1976 (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae).” The paper is currently available here: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.123.4.693
To learn more about Ricardo Bassini-Silva and his work, follow him on instagram @RicardoBassini.
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E07: New species of vampire worms from the deep ocean!
Kaila Pearson just graduated with her Master’s from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. She’s here today to talk to me about her paper in the April 22nd issue of Zootaxa in which she and her coauthor describe three new species of deep sea vampire worms. We discuss how life exists without any sunlight, how to collect worms that are a mile (or two!) deep in the ocean, the difference between a deep ocean vent and a seep, why they’re called vampire worms, and how these species got their names!
The title of the paper is “Vampire Worms: A revision of Galapagomystides (Phyllodocidae, Annelida), with the description of three new species.” The paper is currently available here: https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5128.4.1
To learn more about Kaila, follow her on Instagram, @kailacoconut.
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E06: A new spider from Madagascar!
Brogan Pett is our guests and he talks about his recent paper in which he and his coauthor describe a new species of spider from Madagascar in the March 14th issue of Zootaxa. Brogan is a doctoral researcher in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter in the UK. Additionally, Brogan serves as the research director of SpiDervERse, a workgroup of the Belgian nonprofit organization Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO). We discuss these unique spiders, their less explored habitat, and the incredible undescribed diversity of this group of spiders in Madagascar!
The title of the paper is “A new species of Copa (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae) from dry forests in the north west of Madagascar.” The paper is currently available here: https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5115.2.7
To learn more about Brogan Pett, follow him on Twitter, @broganConBio, and follow the Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO), @BINCOnpo.
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E05: A new species of underground frog with a nose like a tapir!
In this episode, Zoe interviews Germán Chávez, Associate Researcher at the Instituto Peruano de Herpetologia and the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad in Lima, Peru. His newly described frog is in the paper “A needle in a haystack: Integrative taxonomy reveals the existence of a new small species of fossorial frog (Anura, Microhylidae, Synapturanus) from the vast lower Putumayo basin, Peru” in the February 16th issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Systematics. (Link: https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/80281/element/8/4930//).
Germán describes the special adaptations of fossorial frogs, the epic journey he and his team took to collect their first specimens, and how this special little frog was named by its community.
To learn more about Dr. Chávez and his work, follow his institutions on Twitter: Instituto Peruano de Herpetologia (@IPHperu) and the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad in Lima (@PeruCORBIDIteam).
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E04: Huge woolly flying squirrels from the Himalayas!
Zoe interviews Kris Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute. They discuss how one species became three, what makes these animals unique, and what other questions scientists could ask about them in the future.
This paper is in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society’s February 2022 issue, “Across the great divide: revision of the genus Eupetaurus (Sciuridae: Pteromyini), the woolly flying squirrels of the Himalayan region, with the description of two new species.” A copy of the paper is available here: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/194/2/502/6287636
To learn more about Kris, follow him on Twitter: @khelgen
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast
S2, E03: New crustaceans from Africa and a new frog species from Panama!
Two interviews in this episode! First, Agata Szwarc from the University of Gdansk in Poland talks about her recent paper in the December 9th(2021) issue of Zookeys in which she and her coauthors describe two new species of ostracod crustaceans from Africa! She talks with cohost Zoe Albion about these unusual crustaceans that live in temporary pools of water (very fast lives!), why they’re important to the southern Africa food chain, their asexual lifestyle, and how to find these unique and tiny organisms.
The title of her paper is “Two new Cypridopsinae Kaufman, 1900 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from southern Africa.” The paper is currently available Open Access here: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/76123/
The second interview with Dr. Abel Batista discusses a new species of rainfrog from Panama published in the January 10th issue of the ZooKeys. Dr. Batista is a researcher at Universidad Autonoma de Chiriqui in Panama and was the guest for Season 1, Episode 15! During this interview, we talk about cloud forests in Panama, frogs guarding eggs, and the difficulties of finding these frogs.
The title of the paper is “A new rainfrog of the genus Pristimantis (Anura, Brachycephaloidea) from central and eastern Panama.” The paper is currently available Open Access here: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/63009/
To learn more about Dr. Batista, follow him on Twitter, @abelbatistapty, or multiple places on Instagram (@abelbat, @fundación_los_naturalistas, @goherpingpanama).
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom).
If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast