Tuesday, December 16, 2008

New Species Alert! Hot Pink Millipede, Collosal Spider, and Tiny Deer Emerge.

Desmoxytes purpurosea
For the last ten years, two new species a week have been identified in the Greater Mekong, a swath of diverse ecosystems along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. In a new World Wildlife Fund report, scientists say they have documented at least 1,068 new species since 1997.

These aren’t run-of-the-mill species, either. Take Desmoxytes purpurosea, a bubble-gum pink “dragon” millipede that looks like a Halloween prop. Scientists found the thumb-sized centipede just sitting around on rocks and palm trees. Its shocking pink color is actually a warning to would-be predators: get too close and they’ll have to contend with the deadly cyanide that the millipede secretes.

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