I can't find any evidence of this being real. There is nothing online that I can see except this article, and it reads like it was written by an AI with most paragraphs not actually saying anything of substance.
Newly Discovered/Described Species 2025
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SeaOtterHQ
Well-Known Member
Bizarre ‘bone collector’ caterpillar discovered by UH scientists
Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have found a new caterpillar species with unique and bizarre behaviors—it lives in spider webs and decorates its portable home with the body parts of the spider’s prey. This remarkable discovery, reported in a new study in the journal Science, also reveals the species to be endangered.
The caterpillar, a member of the Hawaiian Fancy Case Caterpillar group also known as the genus Hyposmocoma, has been named the “bone collector” caterpillar due to its macabre habit of adding insect body parts into its silken, portable case. Researchers have observed these caterpillars measuring and attaching body parts such as fly wings, weevil heads and earwig abdomens to their cases.
“The bone collector caterpillar is another example of how incredible and unpredictable evolution in Hawaiʻi can be,” said Dan Rubinoff, a professor at the UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience. “Not only are they the only caterpillars in the world to decorate their homes with body parts but maybe more shocking, they make their living hanging around spider webs. This is something we never even imagined was possible. But in Hawaiʻi, here it is.”
However, the study also reveals a troubling reality: the newly discovered species is already endangered. After decades of searching, the caterpillar has only been found in a small 15-square-kilometer area of forest in the Waiʻanae mountain range on Oʻahu.
The researcher team estimates that the evolutionary origin of the bone collector caterpillar lineage dates back at least six million years, significantly older than the current islands of Hawaiʻi. This suggests that the species may have once been more widespread across the ancient and now sunken islands to the northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago.
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2025/04/25/bizarre-bone-collector-caterpillar/
Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have found a new caterpillar species with unique and bizarre behaviors—it lives in spider webs and decorates its portable home with the body parts of the spider’s prey. This remarkable discovery, reported in a new study in the journal Science, also reveals the species to be endangered.
The caterpillar, a member of the Hawaiian Fancy Case Caterpillar group also known as the genus Hyposmocoma, has been named the “bone collector” caterpillar due to its macabre habit of adding insect body parts into its silken, portable case. Researchers have observed these caterpillars measuring and attaching body parts such as fly wings, weevil heads and earwig abdomens to their cases.
“The bone collector caterpillar is another example of how incredible and unpredictable evolution in Hawaiʻi can be,” said Dan Rubinoff, a professor at the UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience. “Not only are they the only caterpillars in the world to decorate their homes with body parts but maybe more shocking, they make their living hanging around spider webs. This is something we never even imagined was possible. But in Hawaiʻi, here it is.”
However, the study also reveals a troubling reality: the newly discovered species is already endangered. After decades of searching, the caterpillar has only been found in a small 15-square-kilometer area of forest in the Waiʻanae mountain range on Oʻahu.
The researcher team estimates that the evolutionary origin of the bone collector caterpillar lineage dates back at least six million years, significantly older than the current islands of Hawaiʻi. This suggests that the species may have once been more widespread across the ancient and now sunken islands to the northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago.
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2025/04/25/bizarre-bone-collector-caterpillar/
New Pygmy Gecko (Goggia: Gekkonidae) from the arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa
New Pygmy Gecko ( Goggia : Gekkonidae) from the arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa | Zootaxa
The genus Goggia is composed of ten small bodied leaf-toed gecko species endemic to South Africa and adjacent Namibia. Using a combination of phylogenetic and morphological analyses we assessed the taxonomic status of an isolated rupicolous population discovered south of Klein Pella in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The newly collected material was recovered as a well supported clade by two independent phylogenetic algorithms (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference), with little intraspecies structuring. While the particular interspecific relationships among closely related Goggia remain unresolved, the phylogenetic results suggest the novel material is related to G. rupicola, G. gemmula, G. incognita and G. matzikamaensis. This is supported by the similar ecologies (rupicolous lifestyle), geographies (arid western extent of South Africa) and morphologies (prominent dorsal chevrons and yellow-centred pale dorsal spots), which are shared among these closely related species. Despite their similarity, the novel population from Klein Pella remains geographically separate, differs from congeners by an uncorrected ND2 p-distance of 11.03–22.91%, and is morphologically diagnosable. Based on these findings we describe the Klein Pella population as a new species.
New Pygmy Gecko ( Goggia : Gekkonidae) from the arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa | Zootaxa
The genus Goggia is composed of ten small bodied leaf-toed gecko species endemic to South Africa and adjacent Namibia. Using a combination of phylogenetic and morphological analyses we assessed the taxonomic status of an isolated rupicolous population discovered south of Klein Pella in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The newly collected material was recovered as a well supported clade by two independent phylogenetic algorithms (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference), with little intraspecies structuring. While the particular interspecific relationships among closely related Goggia remain unresolved, the phylogenetic results suggest the novel material is related to G. rupicola, G. gemmula, G. incognita and G. matzikamaensis. This is supported by the similar ecologies (rupicolous lifestyle), geographies (arid western extent of South Africa) and morphologies (prominent dorsal chevrons and yellow-centred pale dorsal spots), which are shared among these closely related species. Despite their similarity, the novel population from Klein Pella remains geographically separate, differs from congeners by an uncorrected ND2 p-distance of 11.03–22.91%, and is morphologically diagnosable. Based on these findings we describe the Klein Pella population as a new species.
A New Rodent Species Found in Appalachian Mountains mentions the naming of the Appalachian highland mouse (Peromyscus appalachiensis novus), first observed in 2021.
Filipinorhynchus Cabras gen. nov., with two new species (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae, Pachyrhynchini) from Davao de Oro, Mindanao Island, Philippines | Zootaxa
A new genus of jewel weevil has been described from Mindanao, with two new species
A new genus of jewel weevil has been described from Mindanao, with two new species
New species and new records of families, genera and species of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from French Guiana
Five new species of land gastropod have been described from French Guiana, alongside reports of four new families, three new native species and one introduced species for French Guiana.
Five new species of land gastropod have been described from French Guiana, alongside reports of four new families, three new native species and one introduced species for French Guiana.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.70086
A new basslet Liopropoma terecaudum described from Taiwan.
Identity of Labeo nigrescens Day, 1870 with descriptions of two new Labeo species from the Southern Western Ghats | Indian Journal of Fisheries
Two new cyprinids, Labeo uru and Labeo chikida, described from the Western Ghats
Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China
A new nemacheilid loach Traccatichthys punctulatus described from southern China
Pseudobarbus outeniqua sp. nov., a new redfin species (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) from the Cape Fold Ecoregion of South Africa
A new cyprinid, Pseudobarbus outeniqua described from South Africa
A new basslet Liopropoma terecaudum described from Taiwan.
Identity of Labeo nigrescens Day, 1870 with descriptions of two new Labeo species from the Southern Western Ghats | Indian Journal of Fisheries
Two new cyprinids, Labeo uru and Labeo chikida, described from the Western Ghats
Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China
A new nemacheilid loach Traccatichthys punctulatus described from southern China
Pseudobarbus outeniqua sp. nov., a new redfin species (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) from the Cape Fold Ecoregion of South Africa
A new cyprinid, Pseudobarbus outeniqua described from South Africa
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
7 New species of Crayfish described from Western Indonesia (some of which were already in the aquarium trade)
Seven New Species of Crayfish of the Genus Cherax (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parastacidae) from Western New Guinea, Indonesia
Two new species of Betta fish described from Sumatra, Indonesia (both of which were already in the aquarium trade)
Phylogenetic analysis of Betta coccina complex (Teleostei, Osphronemidae) from Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra Island with descriptions of two new species
Prionotus pictus, a new species of Sea Robin described, endemic to the Galapagos Islands (yay, another Galapagos species)
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation
Neotrygon romeoi, a new species of Blue-spotted Maskray described from Fiji just today (previously mixed up with Neotrygon khulii, it will be interesting to track some of the linegaes of the Blue-spotted Maskrays already in captivity)
A new blue‐spotted Maskray species (Neotrygon, Dasyatidae) from Fiji - Glaus - Journal of Fish Biology - Wiley Online Library
Seven New Species of Crayfish of the Genus Cherax (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parastacidae) from Western New Guinea, Indonesia
Two new species of Betta fish described from Sumatra, Indonesia (both of which were already in the aquarium trade)
Phylogenetic analysis of Betta coccina complex (Teleostei, Osphronemidae) from Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra Island with descriptions of two new species
Prionotus pictus, a new species of Sea Robin described, endemic to the Galapagos Islands (yay, another Galapagos species)
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation
Neotrygon romeoi, a new species of Blue-spotted Maskray described from Fiji just today (previously mixed up with Neotrygon khulii, it will be interesting to track some of the linegaes of the Blue-spotted Maskrays already in captivity)
A new blue‐spotted Maskray species (Neotrygon, Dasyatidae) from Fiji - Glaus - Journal of Fish Biology - Wiley Online Library
Oh great, another Neotrygon to make identification of captive specimens harder
are Fijian Neotrygon exported much?
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
I'm not too sure to be honest, I believe its just one exporter right now whos working in Fiji (Walt Smith International). I know from 2017 to 2024, they banned all Coral Export from the country (not sure about Fish, but I didn't recall hearing about any Fijian Fish till exporting was allowed again last year). I'd imagine any Neotrygon that was in captivity before 2017 might have a chance of being the new species if its lineage could be traced back. But agreed, I can barely tell the current species apart right now lol, this will be "fun"Oh great, another Neotrygon to make identification of captive specimens harder
Revisiting and rediscovering the tarantulas (Araneae, Theraphosidae) of Culapnitan (Libmanan) Caves in the Philippines: troglomorphism, taxonomy, phylogeny and ecological niche
Two new subterranean tarantulas described from the limestone karst caves of Libmanan Caves National Park (LCNP), Camarines Sur in, Luzon Island. Another species, named in 1892, was also rediscovered.
Two new subterranean tarantulas described from the limestone karst caves of Libmanan Caves National Park (LCNP), Camarines Sur in, Luzon Island. Another species, named in 1892, was also rediscovered.
A new genus and species of extant shrew, Nagasorex albidens, is described based on a single specimen obtained in Nagaland, north-east India, in 1950. The new species shows novel characters, such as a total tooth number of 34, not found in any extant genus though found in some extinct genera.
Described in
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 474, June 18, 2025
Described in
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 474, June 18, 2025
A new species of salmon, Oncorhynchus biwaensis, endemic to Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
The Biwa salmon, a new species of Oncorhynchus (Salmonidae) endemic to Lake Biwa, Japan - Ichthyological Research
This species has previously been known as Onchorhynchus rhodurus and O. masou rhodurus (and has images in the Zoochat galleries under these names), but the specimens described in the description of rhodurus were O. masou masou or O. masou ishikawae, so rhodurus is not a valid name for O. biwaensis.
The Biwa salmon, a new species of Oncorhynchus (Salmonidae) endemic to Lake Biwa, Japan - Ichthyological Research
This species has previously been known as Onchorhynchus rhodurus and O. masou rhodurus (and has images in the Zoochat galleries under these names), but the specimens described in the description of rhodurus were O. masou masou or O. masou ishikawae, so rhodurus is not a valid name for O. biwaensis.
Mossman Joe
Well-Known Member
Five new species and a new genus of crab spiders described from Sumatra:
Expanding the taxonomy of crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Sumatra: a new genus, five new species, and regional records
A new species of freshwater goby, Stiphodon hadiatyae from Enggano Island, Indonesia:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...CIDAE_Stiphodon_FROM_ENGGANO_ISLAND_INDONESIA
Expanding the taxonomy of crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Sumatra: a new genus, five new species, and regional records
A new species of freshwater goby, Stiphodon hadiatyae from Enggano Island, Indonesia:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...CIDAE_Stiphodon_FROM_ENGGANO_ISLAND_INDONESIA
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
A whopping 10 new species of Nudibranch from the Indo-Pacific from the genus Cyerce were described back in May; these include:
Fun fact: This increases the genus by about two-thirds of what was previously known the paper mentions.
Phylogenetic systematics of the genus CyerceBergh, 1870 (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa: Caliphyllidae) from the Pacific and Indian oceans with descriptions of nine new species | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | Oxford Academic
- C. basi (used to be called C. elegans but is now C. basi)
- C. blackburnae
- C. katiae
- C. goodheartae
- C. takanoi
- C. trowbridgeae
- C. tutela
- C. whappi
- C. liliuokalaniae
- C. elegans (officially a new species)
Fun fact: This increases the genus by about two-thirds of what was previously known the paper mentions.
Phylogenetic systematics of the genus CyerceBergh, 1870 (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa: Caliphyllidae) from the Pacific and Indian oceans with descriptions of nine new species | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | Oxford Academic
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Another Darth Vader named species this year: Eviota vader (The "Black Dwarf goby") was just described from Papua New Guinea last week
Eviota vader, a new western Pacific dwarfgoby from Papua New Guinea (Teleostei: Gobiidae)
Eviota vader, a new western Pacific dwarfgoby from Papua New Guinea (Teleostei: Gobiidae)
It's not every day a new anemonefish is described! Amphiprion maohiensis, the Polynesian Anemonefish, described from French Polynesia. It was formerly identified as Amphiprion chrysopterus.
A new species of Anemonefish from French Polynesia, Amphiprion maohiensis, (Pomacentridae, Amphiprioninae), the Polynesian anemonefish
A new species of Anemonefish from French Polynesia, Amphiprion maohiensis, (Pomacentridae, Amphiprioninae), the Polynesian anemonefish
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
A new species of Jelly was just described last month! The "Blue Ring Spotted Jelly" (Phyllorhiza yurena) was described by scientists from the Ningbo Ocean World aquarium in China. The species gets it's name from a dark blue ring that develops around the bell as it ages.
It is currently on exhibit at Ningbo Ocean World, and the Jelly aquaculture company Exotic Aquaculture is also currently culturing the species, so we may see it in more aquariums soon
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/6/632
It is currently on exhibit at Ningbo Ocean World, and the Jelly aquaculture company Exotic Aquaculture is also currently culturing the species, so we may see it in more aquariums soon
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/6/632
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
The Portuguese Man O' War, which was previously thought to be 1 species, was just split into 4 seperate species last month.
Spectrolebias shoheiohtanii is a new species of annual Killifish that was just described, and was infact named after Shohei Ohtani
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- Physalis physalis (the old species)
- P. utriculus
- P. megalista
- P. minuta
Spectrolebias shoheiohtanii is a new species of annual Killifish that was just described, and was infact named after Shohei Ohtani
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