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| New glow in the dark cockroach |
Children love anything that is glow in the dark, but maybe not a real living cockroach.
According to a new top 10 list, among the recent discoveries are a cockroach that glows in the dark and a monkey with a bright blue behind.
"Through releasing a top 10 list, we're really trying to raise awareness of how many species exist on the planet,” Quentin Wheeler, founding director of the International Institute for Species Exploration or IISE, said. This is the sixth release of the list by the Institute of Arizona State University.
"On average, 18,000 species are discovered annually. That sounds like a lot, but really is not," Wheeler said.
Wheeler said there are an estimated 10 to 12 million living species, but only about 2 million have been discovered. The top 10 list of this year was chosen from more than 140 candidates.
“While the institute just compiles a list, these discoveries are made by professionals and amateurs around the world," she said.
An image released by the institute shows a newly discovered frog that takes up about a third of the space in the face of a U.S. dime.
“I love nature, and I always watch the discovery shows. Once these cockroaches become more popular I will purchase some of them for my collection. I love the fact that the bug glows in the dark,” Wanda Wise, 29, of Atlantic City, New Jersey told YourJewishNews.com after being asked to comment on the new glow in the dark cockroach.
The new type of glow in the dark cockroach was discovered in Ecuador. The cockroach is one of more than a dozen species of cockroaches discovered since 1999.