Tiny seahorse, world's longest insect among top new species

10 new creatures

I'm always facinated to learn about new species. The article explains the 10 species found with pictures.

"Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth's species is," said Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, which announced the top 10 new species list.

"We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted," Wheeler added.

We find previously unknown species nearly everywhere we look, from bacteria to more advanced organisms. I don't think we'll ever learn or even blindly experience every species living on Earth. Doing so would mean we are everywhere, observing everything. And mutations will keep creating new ones right under our noses.

I think the important thing to remember is that the quest for knowledge is innate, and we should not stop looking, but we should also recognize that we will never know everything about our own planet, let alone the Universe. And we have the power to change our planet for the better, or worse, so every action should have its ramifications considered. However, evolution by definition means some species will survive and others won't. If we conserve every endangered species, competition for survival can cause otherwise 'superior' species to falter. Something to think about.

[edit on 5/22/2009 by abecedarian] for spelling

[edit on 5/22/2009 by abecedarian]