Opah, the world's first warm-blooded fish species, flaps fins to generate heat

The opah is the first fish species found to be fully warm-blooded, circulating heated blood throughout its body much like mammals and birds, research has revealed. The fish, found in the waters off the US, Australia and several other countries, generates heat by constantly flapping its fins and has developed an internal “heat exchange” system within its gills to conserve the warmth. This adaptation means warm blood that leaves the opah’s body core helps heat cold blood returning from the surface of the gills where it absorbs oxygen, maintaining an average body temperature of about 4C to 5C. This system, likened by scientists to a car radiator, is similar to that used by -READ MORE AND SEE VIDEO -http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/15/opah-the-worlds-first-warm-blooded-fish-species-flaps-fins-to-generate-heat

Travis Louie's "Archive of Lost Species" paintings

Fantastic painter of the fantastical Travis Louie returns to Seattle's Roq La Rue Gallery with a new show opening tomorrow (May 7). Titled "Archive of Lost Species," the paintings and drawings hang until May 30. From Roq La Rue:

(Louie's) work is highly influenced by Victorian and Edwardian oddities and portraiture, and he often refers to his style as a kind of ‘cryptozoology’. Informed by the stories he writes, his characters inhabit a world shared with other strange creatures, mythological figures, and extinct or exaggerated versions of animals we know. Each has their own unique folklore, but they are connected through the relationships that unfold thorough Louis’ tales, their intricate histories and societies revealed through a window into an alternate past-READ MORE AND SEE MORE PICTURES-http://boingboing.net/2015/05/07/travis-louies-archive-of-l.html

Ottoia prolifica-Toothy 'Penis Worm' from Cambrian Period Discovered

You might have heard of vagina dentata — the mythical "toothed vagina" born of male paranoia. But have you heard of the carnivorous penis-shaped worm known as Ottoia prolifica? This 505-million-year-old phallus-like creature actually had a throat full of teeth.

Now, scientists who took a close look at the teeth of fossilized penis worms (or priapulids) have discovered a new species.

Paleontologist Charles Walcott first discovered O. prolifica in 1911 in the Burgess Shale, a geologic formation in the Canadian Rockies that contains fossils of bizarre critters, such as trilobites and velvet worms, from the middle Cambrian period.-READ MORE -http://www.livescience.com/50748-cambrian-penis-worm-discovered.html

Capelatus pryke-New species of diving beetle found living in isolation in Africa

A striking new species of beetle with no direct relatives has been identified by a scientist from Plymouth University living in wetlands on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Capelatus prykei is so different from any of the world's other diving beetles that it has been placed in a new genus all of its own, with its nearest relations to be found around the Mediterranean and in New Guinea.

In a study, published in the journal Systematic Entomology, scientists used a combination of morphological and molecular data to study Capelatus, and establish it as a highly distinctive, and apparently endangered, member of the world fauna.

Capelatus prykei measures between 8-10mm, large in comparison to most copelatine diving beetles, and was discovered in areas of relatively dense vegetation within the Noordhoek Wetlands.

Dr David Bilton, Reader in Aquatic Biology at Plymouth University, said: "Capelatus prykei immediately looks odd, quite unlike any previously known diving beetle. It's fairly common to find new species of beetle, but it's much less usual to find things which are so different they have to be put in their own genus. Our study of DNA sequences shows that the closest relatives ofCapelatus live thousands of miles away, and that they last shared a common ancestor around 30-40 million years ago.

"This beetle's a real evolutionary relic, which only seems to have survived in a very small area close to Cape Town, probably because this region has had a relatively stable climate over the last few million years. Today Capelatus is extremely rare though - in fact we know of only one population, fortunately located inside Table Mountain National Park. We've also found old, unnamed specimens in the Natural History Museum in London, but the area where these were caught in the 1950s is now under the suburbs of the city-READ MORE-http://phys.org/news/2015-05-species-beetle-isolation-africa.html

New species discovered near Machu Picchu

Less than a week after the announcement of a new species of dragon found in Peru’s Tropical Andes, scientists working near Machu Picchu say they have discovered yet another species of lizardA group of Peruvian and Spanish scientists, supported by rangers of Peru’s National Parks Service, have discovered a new lizard species living in the wet Puna montane forests between 2760 and 2800 metres above sea level.

The reptile, which researchers propose naming the “Machu Picchu Andean lizard”, shows distinctive skin colouring and flaking patterns.

The discovery was announced late this week by Drs Luis Mamani and Juan Carlos Chaparro of Cusco’s National University of San Antonio Abad, and Dr Naomi Goicochea of Spain’s National University of Natural Sciences.

The wet mountain ecosystem around Cusco is a known treasure trove of plant and animal diversity, with many species found nowhere else on Earth.

..READ MORE-http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-new-species-discovered-near-machu-picchu-106123

Invasive ants are extreme excavators

Researchers in the US have revealed a secret of the success of invasive fire ants - they can excavate any type of soil. Three-dimensional scanning revealed that the insects were able to build their complex nests regardless of the size of grains they needed to move. The ants also changed their excavation techniques depending on the type of soil in which they were digging. The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. They invaded [the US] 80 years ago and they have dug nests from Georgia to LA - they can dig in anything Prof Dan Goldman, Georgia Institute of Technology Lead researcher Prof Dan Goldman, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, told BBC News that while we "shove this kind of material around using bulldozers", fire ants create complex underground structures using discreet little appendages. "They're really grasping and holding," he said.read more -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32609797bc

Sichuan bush warbler -New bird species discovered in China

The Sichuan bush warbler was discovered after its insect-like song attracted the notice of researchers. 19 years on, it has finally been relocated and confirmed as a new speciesA new bird species has been discovered in central China by an international team of scientists. This shy brown bird, named the Sichuan bush warbler, Locustella chengi, breeds in the mountainous region of the Sichuan Basin at 1000-2300 m elevation. Its winter home is currently unknown. This bird was first noticed whilst singing its distinctive song in May 1992 by two members of the research team, who thought it might be something new. After nearly two decades of searching, they found the bird again. Extensive analyses of the bird’s DNA, physical measurements, plumage colour and vocalisations confirmed their hunch that this is indeed a new bird species to science.read more-http://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2015/may/01/new-bird-species-discovered-in-central-china