750 new species added to Australia’s national species list
By Ashmeeta Subra 24 September 2024
From a stunning marine worm named after Sir David Attenborough to an orb spider dubbed after a comic book character, here are some of the cool new species making their debut!
The national species list is a taxonomic database that officially catalogues Australia’s native plants, animals, fungi and other organisms. Taxonomy is the science of describing, naming and recording life on Earth. It helps us understand and protect the diversity of life by classifying organisms, benefitting conservation and research efforts.
In the latest count, 750 species have been newly recognised on Australia’s list, including a frog (Litoria ridibunda) that laughs rather than croaks, an intertidal marine worm (Marphysa davidattenboroughi) named in honour of Sir David Attenborough, and an orb spider (Venomius tomhardyi ) named after Tom Hardy’s Marvel character, Venom.
“While many species may not be known to western science, they are likely to have been familiar to First Nations peoples for millennia and are central to Indigenous culture.” Euan Ritchie, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation science at Deakin University told The Guardian.
Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek explained that many of the newly described animal, plant and fungi species were classified through projects funded by the Australian Biological Resources Study’s National Taxonomy Research Grant Program. This program will allocate $2 million across 14 projects to name and classify native Australian species in 2024-25.
One of the projects will build on data collected last year by citizen scientists regarding the laughing tree frog. Researchers will use the FrogID app to study their croaks and compare differences in male calls, while DNA from museum specimens will help identify and describe new frog species.
Other projects include formally describing at least 120 species from Australia’s sixth-largest plant genus, Lepidosperma (sedges), reviewing orb-weaving spider families to identify 50 new species and assessing crustacean biodiversity in the deep-sea marine parks of Western Australia.
Image source
Rossi GF, Castanheira PS, Baptista RLC, Framenau VW (2023) Venomius, a new monotypic genus of Australian orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Araneidae). Evolutionary Systematics 7(2): 285-292. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.7.110022
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With background in international relations and marketing communications, Ashmeeta is excited to use her skills to encourage positive environmental actions through Planet Ark. She believes that by taking small actions, we can help make a big difference and be good stewards of our planet. She also loves spending time in nature and being at the beach.
