旋轉(zhuǎn)蜘蛛能在1/8秒內(nèi)改變方向，豹紋鰻其實(shí)是一種蠑螈，你知道“精靈狗魚”名字的來歷嗎？大自然有如此多的奧秘等待我們?nèi)ヌ剿?，但我們首先要保護(hù)好各類物種，使瀕危物種免遭滅絕，不然有些物種可能還沒等來自己的名字，就永遠(yuǎn)消失了。

News about the natural world has not been great this year. Ice sheets are melting at unprecedented rates, greenhouse gas emissions are accelerating like “a speeding freight train,” insects appear to be disappearing. But in the midst of all this bad news, there’s a tiny bright spot: the scads of new species discovered in 2018.

今年自然界沒有什么好消息。冰蓋正在以前所未有的速度融化，溫室氣體排放像“高速行駛的貨運(yùn)列車”一樣在加快速度，昆蟲似乎正在消失。但在所有壞消息中也有個(gè)小亮點(diǎn)：2018年發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量新物種。

Scientists are finding tens of thousands of new species a year—there were 18,000 identified in 2016. But it’s also worth noting that we’re destroying species at an alarming rate. Because we know so little about what’s out there, it’s hard to quantify how much is being lost, but estimates vary from dozens to hundreds of species a day.

科學(xué)家每年都會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)數(shù)以萬計(jì)的新物種——2016年有1.8萬個(gè)。但同樣值得指出的是，我們也在以驚人的速度摧毀物種。由于我們對大自然知之甚少，所以很難對滅絕的物種進(jìn)行量化，但估計(jì)每天滅絕的物種有幾十種到幾百種不等。

“Biodiversity scientists estimate that less than 10% of species on Earth have been discovered,” says Shannon Bennett, chief of science at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

位于美國舊金山的加利福尼亞州科學(xué)院的科學(xué)主管香農(nóng)·貝內(nèi)特說：“據(jù)研究生物多樣性的科學(xué)家估計(jì)，地球上的物種被發(fā)現(xiàn)的只有不到10%?！?/p>

以下是今年最有意思的一些新發(fā)現(xiàn)：

Flattie spiders with ultra-fast spin moves

旋轉(zhuǎn)擬扁蛛

Three new species in the spider family Selenopidae were discovered this year by researchers working with the California Academy of Sciences. These spiders, found in the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia, have the quickest pivot in the world, allowing them to change direction in an eighth of a second. Those quick moves enable them to catch prey, unlike their better-known house spider relatives, who use webs to catch food.

加利福尼亞州科學(xué)院的研究人員今年發(fā)現(xiàn)了擬扁蛛科的三個(gè)新物種。這些在美洲、非洲、澳大利亞和亞洲發(fā)現(xiàn)的蜘蛛擁有世界上最快的旋轉(zhuǎn)速度，能夠在1/8秒內(nèi)改變方向。它們捕獲獵物靠的正是如此迅捷的動(dòng)作，而它們的親戚、更為人熟知的家蛛則通過結(jié)網(wǎng)捕食。

pivot ['p?v?t] : n. 旋轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)動(dòng)

【小知識：擬扁蛛如何捕食】

美國加利福尼亞大學(xué)默塞德分校的研究人員在英國《實(shí)驗(yàn)生物學(xué)雜志》上發(fā)表報(bào)告說，他們高速拍攝的視頻在慢放后顯示，擬扁蛛緊貼地面，通過氣流擾動(dòng)判斷獵物來向，然后迅速彎曲“長腿”完成捕食行為。它們每條腿朝向不同方向，360度無死角，不論獵物來自哪個(gè)角度，都可以迅速轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)。

論文第一作者曾昱這樣描述擬扁蛛的捕食過程：最靠近獵物的腿作為支點(diǎn)錨住地面，將軀干拖向獵物，同時(shí)遠(yuǎn)端的幾條腿推離地面，于是推拉兩股力量產(chǎn)生了旋轉(zhuǎn)力；接下來蜘蛛就像花樣滑冰運(yùn)動(dòng)員一樣，收緊其他脫離地面的腿以減小風(fēng)阻，增加旋轉(zhuǎn)速度，并準(zhǔn)確地將嘴轉(zhuǎn)到獵物前。

The leopard eel 

豹紋鰻

Despite what you might think at first glance, Siren reticulata is a salamander, not an eel, but it does have distinctive, leopard-like spots. Discovered in waterways around the Florida panhandle, this new species is one of the largest to be found in the US over the last century—and confirms decades of rumored sightings by locals.

不管你第一眼看到它時(shí)是怎么想的，豹紋鰻其實(shí)是一種蠑螈，而不是鰻魚，但它確實(shí)具有獨(dú)特的豹紋。在佛羅里達(dá)州走廊的河道中發(fā)現(xiàn)的這一新物種是近一個(gè)世紀(jì)在美國發(fā)現(xiàn)的最大物種之一，也證實(shí)了幾十年來有關(guān)當(dāng)?shù)厝丝吹竭^這種生物的傳言。

salamander ['s?l?,m?nd?]: n.火蜥蜴；蠑螈目動(dòng)物

New croc 

新鱷魚

Mecistops leptorhynchus is the first crocodile species to be named in 80 years. The new species, also known as the Central African slender-snouted crocodile, was originally thought to be the same species as its cousin, Mecistops cataphractus, which lives in West Africa. Because the two species are now known to be distinct from one another, that means M. cataphractus is now critically endangered; there are only 500 of them left in the wild.

中非狹吻鱷是80年來第一個(gè)被命名的鱷魚物種。它最初曾被認(rèn)為與它的表親西非狹吻鱷是同一物種。由于現(xiàn)在已知這兩個(gè)物種并不相同，這就意味著西非狹吻鱷已經(jīng)瀕臨滅絕，野生的西非狹吻鱷只有500只。

Genie’s dogfish

精靈狗魚

This deepwater shark’s official species name is Squalus clarkae, but it’s being colloquially named “Genie’s dogfish,” after “Shark Lady” Eugenie Clark, a marine biologist whose life work revolved around changing the public dialogue around sharks. This shark species was originally thought to be part of a different dogfish species called Squalus mitsukurii, but scientists discovered this year that it’s a species of its own. Squalus clarkae joins four fish species with the honor of being named after Clark.

這種深海鯊魚的正式物種名稱是太平洋尖吻星鯊，其俗稱為“精靈狗魚”。這是以“鯊魚女士”尤金妮·克拉克的名字命名的——克拉克是一名海洋生物學(xué)家，她的畢生工作就是改變大眾對于鯊魚的誤解。這種鯊魚最初曾被認(rèn)為屬于另一種叫做“長吻角鯊”的星鯊物種，但科學(xué)家今年發(fā)現(xiàn)它其實(shí)自成一個(gè)物種。太平洋尖吻星鯊和另外4種魚一樣，成為以克拉克的名字命名的物種。

A bright new coral

鮮艷新珊瑚

Scientists discovered Thesea dalioi this year off the coast of Panama. Unlike its drabber cousin, Thesea variabilis, which lives off the coasts of southern California and Costa Rica, T. dalioi is bright red. Amid frequent news of dying coral, the discovery of a new coral species reminds us of the importance of preserving our undersea wildlife: who knows how many other undiscovered species await us, if we don’t kill them first?

科學(xué)家今年在巴拿馬沿海發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種新珊瑚Thesea dalioi。與它生活在加利福尼亞州南部沿海和哥斯達(dá)黎加沿海的黃褐色表親Thesea variabilis不同，這種珊瑚是鮮紅色的。在眾多關(guān)于珊瑚死亡的新聞中，新珊瑚物種的發(fā)現(xiàn)提醒我們保護(hù)海底野生生物的重要性：誰知道還有多少未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的物種在等著我們？如果還沒被我們殺死的話。

The tree that went extinct before it was named

命名之前滅絕的樹

The official designation of Vepris bali was more than 70 years in the making. A member of the Nigerian Forestry Service collected a sample of the tree in Cameroon in 1951, but it wasn’t until this year that scientists identified the tree as its own species. In their paper detailing the discovery, researchers note that Vepris bali may already be extinct, since areas in which the tree would grow have been subject to heavy logging and clearing for agriculture. “It is hoped that naming this species will relaunch efforts to rediscover and protect this species from extinction,” the authors write.

Vepris bali的正式命名過程持續(xù)了70多年。早在1951年，尼日利亞林業(yè)局的一名工作人員就在喀麥隆采集到了這種樹的樣本，但直到今年，科學(xué)家才確定這種樹屬于獨(dú)立物種。在詳細(xì)介紹這一發(fā)現(xiàn)的論文中，研究人員指出，這種樹可能已經(jīng)滅絕，因?yàn)樗L的區(qū)域?yàn)榱宿r(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)而遭到了大量砍伐和清理。論文作者寫道：“人們希望，命名這一物種能讓人們重新投入精力去發(fā)現(xiàn)并保護(hù)這些物種免遭滅絕?！?/p>

Twelve unnamed species: Your name here?

12個(gè)未命名的物種：有你的名字嗎？

While a new species’ naming rights typically go to the researcher who discovered it, conservation non-profit Rainforest Trust is auctioning away naming rights for 12 new species discovered in South America. Among them are four orchid species, four frog species, and a legless amphibian. Some scientists have voiced concerns that the practice of auctioning naming rights focuses too much on photogenic or charismatic species, and that it could even motivate taxonomists to fraudulently claim new species in the name of profit. Others are more enthusiastic, pointing to the good that can come of the proceeds. The Rainforest Trust says money raised from their auction will be used to purchase and protect land in which the newly-named species can thrive.

一個(gè)新物種的命名權(quán)通常屬于發(fā)現(xiàn)它的研究人員，不過非營利性組織雨林基金會(huì)正在拍賣南美洲發(fā)現(xiàn)的12個(gè)新物種的命名權(quán)。這其中包括4種蘭花、4種青蛙和一種無腿兩棲動(dòng)物。一些科學(xué)家表示，他們擔(dān)心拍賣命名權(quán)的做法會(huì)過度關(guān)注更上鏡或有魅力的物種，甚至有可能促使分類學(xué)家為了獲得利益而詐稱發(fā)現(xiàn)新物種。另一些科學(xué)家則對此抱有熱情，認(rèn)為這樣做可以帶來好處。雨林基金會(huì)說，拍賣所得的資金將用于購買和保護(hù)新物種能夠繁衍生長的土地。

amphibian [?m'f?b??n] : n. [脊椎]兩棲動(dòng)物

除了上面這些，2018年還有一些新物種讓大家很感興趣，快來強(qiáng)勢圍觀：

果子半米長的參天大樹

學(xué)名：Dinizia jueirana-facao

老家：巴西

這種發(fā)現(xiàn)于巴西大西洋沿岸森林中的古樹高達(dá)40米，估計(jì)有5.6噸。它們個(gè)頭雖大，數(shù)量卻不多，估計(jì)全世界僅剩下25棵；且僅有約半數(shù)位于保護(hù)區(qū)內(nèi)，可謂生存狀態(tài)岌岌可危。這種樹結(jié)出的果碩大，長度可達(dá)半米。

“鐘樓怪蝦”

學(xué)名：Epimeria quasimodo

老家：南冰洋

這種蝦聽起來有點(diǎn)耳熟，它取名于法國作家維克多·雨果的小說《巴黎圣母院》中的人物——“鐘樓怪人”加西莫多。這種50毫米長的蝦也是“駝背”，但比加西莫多好一點(diǎn)的是，這種遍布南冰洋冷水中的蝦樣子并不“丑”。它顏色亮麗，其冠頂裝飾讓人聯(lián)想到神話中的“龍”。

愛搭順風(fēng)車的甲蟲

學(xué)名：Nymphister kronaueri

老家：哥斯達(dá)黎加

只有1.5毫米長的“克羅瑙爾蟲”搭乘一種行軍蟻的便車行走四方。這種行軍蟻?zhàn)邆€(gè)兩三周、歇個(gè)兩三周，“克羅瑙爾蟲”則隨軍而行。其大小、形狀和顏色與工蟻的肚子一模一樣，它們用嘴吸住工蟻的肚子，乍一看以為工蟻長了兩個(gè)肚子。

“壓力山大”的獅子魚

學(xué)名：Pseudoliparis swirei

老家：西太平洋

在西太平洋馬里亞納海溝的漆黑深淵，生活著已知住所最深的一種“獅子魚”。它們生活在7000米到8000米深的海底，體長112毫米，形似蝌蚪。

在7000多米的水下，實(shí)際上它要承受700多個(gè)大氣壓力，相當(dāng)于手指甲大小的面積上，有700公斤的壓力。（大家自己腦補(bǔ)一下）

利己也不損人的寄生花

學(xué)名：Sciaphila sugimotoi

老家：日本石垣

大多數(shù)植物“自力更生”，從太陽光中吸收能量，但也有少數(shù)植物是“異養(yǎng)的”。

日本發(fā)現(xiàn)的植物“杉本”就是如此，它靠從真菌中汲取營養(yǎng)為生，并在九、十月份開出漂亮的小花朵。難能可貴的是，這樣做倒也不傷害它的真菌小伙伴。

“有袋”的獅子化石

學(xué)名：Wakaleo schouteni

老家：澳大利亞

從2300萬年前的漸新世晚期到中新世，一種有袋的獅子游蕩在澳大利亞西北部昆士蘭的森林中?？茖W(xué)家們根據(jù)化石證據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種新獅子。這種大約23公斤的“苗條”獅子還可以上樹，是一種雜食動(dòng)物。

來源：石英財(cái)經(jīng)網(wǎng)、參考消息網(wǎng)、新華社

編審：yaning