Gallery: The Top 10 New Species of 2011

Darwin's Bark Spider

(Caerostris darwini)
 The bark spider spins the largest orb-style webs in the world with a silk that is ten times stronger than Kevlar and the strongest biological material known to man. Described exactly 150 years after the first publication of The Origin of Species, this spider was named in honor of Charles Darwin.

 

 

 

 

 

Eternal Light Mushroom

(Mycena luxaeterna)
 One of only 71 known species of bioluminescent fungi, these mushrooms constantly emit a greenish-yellow light from their stems. They were collected near Sao Paolo, Brazil, in some of the last remaining Atlantic forest.

 

 

 

Monitor Lizard

(Varanus bitatawa)
 This lizard is over 6 feet long and weighs around 20 pounds. Though known by local hunters, it had eluded biologists until recently as it is primarily a tree-dweller. It is only found in the Northern Sierra Madre Forest on Luzon Island in the Philippines.

Pollinating Cricket 

(Glomeremus orchidophilus) 

Found on Réunion Island in the Southwestern Indian Ocean, this cricket is the only pollinator of a rare orchid also found on the island. This is the first clear evidence of cricket-mediated pollination in flowering plants.

Duiker

(Philantomba walteri)
 This deerlike mammal was discovered in West Africa at a bushmeat market. It is named Walter's Duiker in honor of Walter Verheyen, who is believed to have collected the first sample of the species in Togo in 1968.

King Tyrant Leech

(Tyrannobdella rex)
 In what was surely an unpleasant moment of discovery, this T. rex leech was found on the nasal mucous membrane of a girl in Peru. The size of its teeth are unusual for a leech with a single armed jaw.

 

 

 

Underwater Mushroom

(Psathyrella aquatica)
 Found in the Rogue River in Oregon, these fungi are the only known species of mushrooms that fruit underwater.

 

 Jumping Cockroach

(Saltoblattella montistabularis)
 This cockroach's legs are specially adapted for jumping, an adaptation which has not been seen since the Jurassic period. Its jumping prowess is akin to that of a grasshopper. The antennae provide an extra point to stabilize it while jumping.

 

 Pancake Batfish

(Halieutichthys intermedius)
 The crown jewel of this list, the Lousiana Pancake Batfish's well-being is unfortunately on tenterhooks thanks to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill encompasses the batfish's entire known distribution.

Rust-Eating Bacterium 

(Halomonas titanicae)

Found on a rusticle on the sunken Titanic, this bacteria consumes iron oxide. Along with other microorganisms, the bacteria have contributed to the decay of the ship's metal by sticking to the steel and forming mounds of corrosion material. Pictured here: on the left, a negative staining of a bacterium; right, a stack of bacteria forming a stalactite-esque structure.

[ POPSCI]