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First I present to you…

the Histiophryne psychedelica

a new species of frogfish from Indonesia. Hands down, my favorite on the Top 10 New Species list. One glimpse at this fish and you’ll see where the  psychedelic part of it’s moniker came from. The bizarre, intriguing, and slightly creepy, face of the Histiophryne psychedelica suggests a bad LSD trip worthy of a Timothy Leary experiment. As if the face alone weren’t enough, the frogfish has fins that resemble legs, and instead of swimming, it bounces off the bottom of the ocean. The kicker…because the tail isn’t centered on the body, each bounce sends the fish off at a new angle, bouncing helter skelter across the ocean floor.

Next on the list…

the Bosavi Woolly Rat

from Mount Bosavi on the island of New Guinea. The mere existence of this “ratzilla” would top the “Reasons Kate will not be visiting New Guinea” list. The brave filmmakers from the BBC Natural History Unit, went to New Guinea early this year to explore for unknown species. Imagine their joy at finding this nearly 3 ft. long, 3+ pound gigantic rat. Luckily for them, the rat appears to be vegetation and quite docile, as exhibited by the obviously CRAZY man holding it. Also discovered at Mount Bosavi…unusually hairy caterpillars, giant butterflies and tree kangaroos.

And last, but certainly not least,

Glow in the Dark “Shrooms

also know as Mycena luxaeterna and Mycena luxperpetua (meaning eternal light and perpetual light).  A mushroom expedition (who knew there were mushroom expeditions?) to Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean revealed seven new species, a scientific jackpot  in it’s own right, but then the coup d’etat..these mushrooms GLOW in the dark! They all emit a greenish-yellow light, possibly to lure nocturnal animals so they will eat the fungi and spread their spores, scientists said.

Curious about the other entries on Time’s Top 10 New Species list? Take a look.

Also, check out Liz’s list from yesterday…Top 10 Quotes of 2009

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break

and as always, leave a comment on this, or any, post and be automatically entered in this week’s giveaway.