The 10 most exciting species discovered this year

A cartwheeling spider, a bird‐like dinosaur and a fish that wriggles around in circles on the sea floor have all been named among the top 10 species discovered by scientists this year.

The Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) department at the State University of New York unveiled its annual list on Thursday from among the approximately 18,000 new species named during the course of the last year. As you'll see, not all of them are still around...

1. Anzu wyliei

Three well-preserved partial skeletons of this bird-like dinosaur, a contemporary of T-rex and triceratops, were discovered in North and South Dakota.

2. Balanophora coralliformis

This parasitic coral plant, discovered on Mt Minganand in the Philippines and almost immediately considered endangered, has "elongated, repeatedly branching, and rough-textured aboveground tubers".

3. Cebrennus rechenbergi

This spider from the deserts of Morocco uses a "gymnast’s trick" to escape from threatening situations - it cartwheels its way out of danger.

4. Dendrogramma enigmatica

These multicellular animals from Australia look rather like mushrooms, with "a mouth at the end of the 'stem' and the other end in the form of a flattened disc".

5. Deuteragenia ossarium

This wasp found in China constructs nests in hollow stems with several cells, each separated by soil walls, before killing and depositing one spider in each cell to provide nourishment for her developing young.

6. Limnonectes larvaepartus

Unlike other frogs, this species from Sulawesi, Indonesia, gives live birth to tadpoles that are deposited in pools of water.

7. Phryganistria tamdaoensis

This Vietnamese stick insect is nine inches in length and according to ESF is "compelling evidence that, in spite of their size, more giant sticks remain to be discovered".

8. Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum

This sea slug found off the coast of Japan was commended for "graceful lines and vivid colouration".

9. Tillandsia religiosa

This bromeliad, used during Christmas celebrations in Mexico, is "an example of a species long known to local inhabitants but only recently discovered by science".

10. Torquigener albomaculosus

This puffer fish (see top image) recently solved a 20-year-old mystery - that of intricate circles found under the sea off Japan's Amami-Ōshima Island which it creates as part of a mating ritual.

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