Even biology geeks love a good top 10 list.
And the International Institute for Species Exploration has delivered one that rivals anything People or Billboard could assemble, featuring everything from an electric blue tarantula to a giant millipede.
The Arizona State University organization’s Top 10 New Species list picks the most exciting discoveries of 2011’s over 18,000 discoveries in flora and fauna. Making the grade: the alliterative Bonaire Bonded Box Jelly, the SpongeBob SquarePants mushroom (technically spongiforma squarepantsii) that can be bounce back into shape after squeezing, an orchid that blooms at night, and of course, a snub-nosed monkey from Myanmar that sneezes when it rains.
Biology and botany boffins may disagree with some of the top choices, named on the 350th birthday of botanist Carolus Linnaeus. For instance—how could they not have picked that slime mold beetle named after George W. Bush?
Video produced by Paca Thomas.
