New Species Photos: Giant Millipede, Horned Frog Among Borneo Finds

Mountain Refuge

Photograph courtesy Constantijn Mennes

Researchers scoured the wildlife-rich forests of Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu (pictured) for previously unrecorded animals, plants, and fungi. Split among Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, Borneo is the world's third largest island.

The study team hopes to shed light on evolutionary relationships between isolated and endemic mountain species and their more widespread lowland counterparts.

Previously it had been thought that lowland species slowly migrate up the mountain before adapting to colder, more extreme living conditions, Schilthuizen said.

But in many cases, it seems, species take the opposite route.

"Some of the species that live on top of the mountain are actually ancestral—they are older than their relatives in the lowlands," Schilthuizen said.

"They aren't newly evolved species but rather relics."

(See pictures of Borneo's threatened forests in National Geographic magazine.)

Published October 5, 2012

Atlas Moth

Photograph courtesy Constantijn Mennes

Insects encountered on Mount Kinabalu include this giant Atlas moth. Considered the largest moth in the world, its wingspan of up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) reaches birdlike proportions.

DNA analysis of specimens collected by the expedition team will be used to construct detailed evolutionary trees, which will be compared with those of lowland species.

"From the branching order of these populations, we can tell which is older and which is younger, and that should tell us whether Mount Kinabalu was more like a cradle of evolution or a museum of evolution," Schilthuizen said.

(Watch video: "Borneo's Moment of Truth.")

Published October 5, 2012

Fungi "El Dorado"

Photograph courtesy Joris van Alphen

Fungi expert József Geml, of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, sorts through samples collected in September on Mount Kinabalu.

The region is a mushroom El Dorado where species come in an "endless variety of shapes and colors that sometimes are truly breathtaking," Geml said in a statement.

"Kinabalu has remained terra incognita for scientific studies on fungi," he added. "While the detailed scientific work will take years, we already know that many of these species are new to science."

(Read about a new initiative to save fungi.)

Published October 5, 2012

New Fungus?

Photograph courtesy Luis Morgado

A suspected new species of mushroom from the genus Entoloma is picked for closer inspection from its lofty perch of about 6,560 feet (2,000 meters).

Some 300 fungi species were collected during the two-week biodiversity survey, and as many as a hundred of them are thought to be new to science.

DNA samples and other data from the expedition will provide the first estimates of the number of different fungi that inhabit Mount Kinabalu, the study team said.

(See "Photos: "'Zombie' Ants Found With New Mind-Control Fungi.")

Published October 5, 2012

Big-Fanged Spider

Photograph courtesy Peter Koomen

A fearsome-looking jumping spider stares down the lens of the team that captured it in Kinabalu Park in September.

The undescribed species has unusually long fangs, said expedition leader Schilthuizen. "Normally they are used for hunting, but in some cases they are also used in courtship and mating, so it's hard to say what their purpose is in this species," he said.

Between 10 and 15 new species of jumping spiders were discovered on the trip, Schilthuizen added.

(See "Fanged-Frog Pictures: Nine New Species Found.")

Published October 5, 2012

Glowing Fungi

Photograph courtesy Luis Morgado

Sprouting from the forest floor, this small red toadstool was among hundreds of fungi species recorded during the recent expedition.

Fungus forays also took place at night, when finds included brightly glowing mushrooms.

The mushrooms are thought to emit bioluminescent light to attract bugs, which then disperse the fungi's spores in the forest. (See pictures of glowing mushrooms.)

Published October 5, 2012

Giant Millipede

Photograph courtesy Joris van Alphen

Creepy-crawlies like this giant millipede featured prominently in the haul of more than 1,400 animal, plant, and fungi species.

While this critter isn't new to science, the survey team estimates that it uncovered up to 60 previously unknown invertebrate species in total.

Highlights included stalk-eyed flies, whose eyes sit on stems as long as their bodies. "It makes them look either ludicrous or fascinating, depending on how you feel about insects," Schilthuizen said. (Learn more about bugs.)

Published October 5, 2012

Plant Collector

Photograph courtesy Joris van Alphen

Dutch botanist Frederic Lens collects plant samples as part of last month's biodiversity survey in Malaysia's Kinabalu Park.

The team found at least one suspected new species of begonia. Better known for houseplants, this colorful plant type includes many species that flourish in the gloomy forests of Mount Kinabalu.

Published October 5, 2012

Next: New-Species "Heaven" in Peru

Photograph courtesy Alexander Pari

Published October 5, 2012