New Species

New Species Podcast
New Species

Just a fraction of the species on our planet are known to science, but more are described and published every day. This podcast talks to the authors of these new species to get the behind-the-scenes stories of how new species are found and named, as well as why these discoveries should matter to everyone, not just scientists. Join us on our journey to better understand the wonderful biodiversity of our planet! Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), and support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

  1. A New Astigmatid Mite with Hemen Sendi

    APR 1

    A New Astigmatid Mite with Hemen Sendi

    What if I told you that the oldest known biotic association of arthropods is a piece of Lebanese amber from the Cretaceous period? At the same time that flowering plants were diversifying, astigmatid mites were finding a very convenient way to get around: on the backs of termites. Can mites and termites be friends? How does one identify a tiny mite specimen without damaging its equally-important host? Learn the answers to these questions and more from Dr. Hemen Sendi on this episode of the New Species Podcast. Hemen’s paper “The oldest continuous association between astigmatid mites and termites preserved in Cretaceous amber reveals the evolutionary significance of phoresy” is in volume 25 of BMC Ecology and Evolution.  It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02351-5 A transcript of this episode can be found here: Hemen Sendi - Transcript   New Species: Plesioglyphus lebanotermi Episode image credit: Hemen Sendi Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast). Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    24 min
  2. A New Woolly Devil with Isaac Lichter Marck

    MAR 18

    A New Woolly Devil with Isaac Lichter Marck

    Sunflowers come in all shapes and sizes, and the group has gained a new member. Nicknamed the “woolly devil,” Ovicula biradiata is the product of the amazing bi-national collaboration between taxonomists, conservationists, and community scientists in Big Bend National Park. But it comes at a time when the future of National Parks is uncertain. “I think this particular discovery has inspired a lot of people outside of the world of biodiversity science to recognize that we still have a lot of work to do in terms of just describing the biodiversity in environments as iconic as the US National Parks” says Isaac Lichter Marck, one of the taxonomists involved in the description. “We assume that because it's found within a US national park that it'll be within an environment that's preserved into the future. That's been the ideal of national parks. But I think in the current reality we have to be cautious about that assumption.” Listen in to learn more about Isaac and his work, the tremendous effort that went into this discovery, and what the future might look like for this little plant and others. Isaac Lichter Marck’s paper “Ovicula biradiata, a new genus of Compositae from Big Bend National Park in Trans-Pecos Texas” is in issue 252 of Phytokeys It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.252.137624 A transcript of this episode can be found here: Isaac Lichter Marck - Transcript   New Species: Ovicula biradiata Episode image credit: Cathy Hoyt Other articles about this new species: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308248/wooly-devil-new-species-genus-big-bend https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/news/new-plant-species-discovered-in-big-bend.htm Articles about cuts to National Parks staff and funding: www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx7kez4vx2o www.npr.org/2025/02/28/nx-s1-5304434/what-doge-cuts-could-mean-for-national-park-visitors www.npca.org/articles/6614-five-ways-president-trump-s-executive-orders-could-harm-national-parks Follow Isaac on social media: Bluesky: @ca-naturalist.bsky.social Instagram: California_naturalist Twitter: @ca-naturalist Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast). Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    47 min
  3. 12/24/2024

    Science Communication: Hard Conversations with Ethan Tapper

    Someone who identifies as a nature lover might not be excited to see trees cut down or large machines rolling across the forest floor. Science doesn’t always align with everyone’s expectations, and often scientists have to explain their work to audiences that aren’t interested or who don’t agree. Ethan Tapper has many of these conversations. Ethan works to manage Vermont forests sustainably and help them thrive, which often includes practices that might seem destructive or contrary to a forest’s best interests. Science is about communicating, and Ethan has worked hard to use communication as a tool to make caring for forests a community issue.  What is the role of a scientist in explaining their work? How do we communicate unfamiliar scientific topics to people who already might have preconceived notions about them? These are some of the questions Ethan tackles in this episode.  Ethan’s book can be found here, and wherever books are sold: https://ethantapper.com/book A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ethan Tapper - Transcript Follow Ethan on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and TikTok: @howtoloveaforest Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast), and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast) Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like free bonus episodes or would like to support the podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    36 min
  4. A New Malagasy Spider with Matjaž Gregorič

    12/10/2024

    A New Malagasy Spider with Matjaž Gregorič

    On an expedition to Madagascar, Matjaž Gregorič and his research team came upon a damaged termite nest that had a few other invertebrate visitors. When they experimentally damaged the nest again, they found two unexpected things: spiders ballooning in to prey on the termites as they rebuilt, and hopeful ants standing by to steal termites from those spiders. It created what the authors called “a perilous Malagasy triad”, a three-way predator-prey-kleptoparasite interaction that tells a very interesting story about chemical signaling and arthropod behavior. As a bonus, they identified the spider involved as a brand new genus and species, named Vigdisia praesidens to honor Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Iceland’s first female president. Listen in as researcher Matjaž Gregorič gives us the full story, as well as his thoughts on why it’s important to pursue science for science’s sake. Matjaž Gregorič’s paper “A perilous Malagasy triad: a spider (Vigdisia praesidens, gen. and sp. nov.) and an ant compete for termite food” is in the July 14th issue of New Zealand Journal of Zoology.  It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2024.2373185 A transcript of this episode can be found here: Matjaž Gregorič - Transcript New Species: Vigdisia praesidens More on Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the world’s first democratically-elected female president (Iceland, 1980-1996): https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/vigdiacutes-finnbogadoacutettir.html An article about this paper: https://www.icelandreview.com/news/new-spider-species-named-after-icelandic-president/ Videos of the kleptoparasitic behavior: https://www.youtube.com/@ezlab7631/videos Episode image credit: Matjaž Gregorič Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast) Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    21 min
  5. A New Schizomid with Sean Birk Bek Craig

    11/12/2024

    A New Schizomid with Sean Birk Bek Craig

    What happens when a hymenopterist finds a mysterious arachnid in a Danish hothouse? Sean Birk Bek Craig was exploring the floor of a hothouse, also known as a greenhouse, when he came upon an interesting creature. “I could see that it was an arachnid when I looked up close,” he said, “but immediately just looking at it with my eyes… I was really perplexed about what the devil that was!” Short-tailed whip-scorpions, or members of the order Schizomida, are tiny arachnids who aren’t typically in Denmark, but with a lot of research, Sean concluded it had probably been accidentally imported on one of the tropical plants, possibly from Thailand. With a few ups and downs, Sean described it as his very first new species, and gave it a specific epithet of “serendipitus” after the unexpected way it came into his life. Sean’s paper “First records of the order Schizomida from tropical hothouses in Denmark: Stenochrus portoricensis and a new species of Bamazomus (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae)” is in issue 67 of Arachnology Letters.  It can be found here: https://arages.de/en/1030963?tx_psbpublicationmanagement_publicationmanagement_showdoi%5Baction%5D=showDoi&tx_psbpublicationmanagement_publicationmanagement_showdoi%5Barticle%5D=1011&tx_psbpublicationmanagement_publicationmanagement_showdoi%5Bcontroller%5D=Article&cHash=e268cf69e617c9feaa929fb54fe289ad A transcript of this episode can be found here: Sean Birk Bek Craig - Transcript   New Species: Bamazomus serendipitus Episode image credit: Sean Birk Bek Craig Find Sean on X/Twitter: @BekBirk Read the paper describing Materia boggildi: https://bioone.org/journals/arachnology/volume-19/issue-6/arac.2023.19.6.888/A-new-Masteria-Araneae--Dipluridae-from-tropical-hothouses-in/10.13156/arac.2023.19.6.888.short Read the paper that nearly made Sean’s new species a synonym: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/121754/ Read the paper describing a new Schizomid genus from Germany: https://arages.de/10.5431/aramit4906 Read Abrams’ paper “Too Hot to Handle”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790319301824 Enjoy the World Schizomida Catalog: https://wac.nmbe.ch/order/schizomida/5 Read Matty’s thesis on biologists: https://research.ku.dk/search/result/?pure=en/publications/for-the-love-of-the-living(049e101d-c89d-472f-ba7a-f7a62e8337a4).html Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast) Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    45 min
  6. Two New Pseudoscorpions with Danniella Sherwood

    08/28/2024

    Two New Pseudoscorpions with Danniella Sherwood

    In this episode, Danniella Sherwood brings us two new pseudoscorpions from Ascension Island, one of the most remote islands in the world. Ascension’s ecological history is full of many twists and turns, and it is home to amazing biodiversity that is in desperate need of conservation. Danni and her team worked together to address this need, producing a paper titled ‘David and Goliath’ with one very small and one very large new species. They also provide new faunistic records, or records that show that Ascension and the nearby Boatswain Bird Island are home to stunning endemic pseudoscorpion diversity. One of my favorite things about Danni’s story is the emphasis she places on teamwork. “It takes a village to produce good research,” She says. “it takes a village to work towards visions of conserving invertebrates in their habitats. You need to have people from all fields, all specialties, all viewpoints in order to make something that’s really impactful, really lasting and enduring to the fields of conservation and ecology and taxonomy.” Listen to this episode for a meaningful story of teamwork and community, and to learn the importance of taxonomy’s role in conserving island flora and fauna.  Danniella Sherwood’s paper “David and Goliath: on the pseudoscorpions of Ascension Island, including the world’s largest, Garypus titanius Beier, 1961, and a new, minute, Neocheiridium Beier, 1932 (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)” is in issue 42 of Natura Somogyienis. It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.24394/NatSom.2024.42.131 A transcript of this episode can be found here: Danni Sherwood 2 - Transcript Listen to Danni’s other New Species episode about St. Helenian wolf spiders: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0o8dL8yEpRiFtMO1gVNjkc?si=c068e5d3b6fb40f7 New Species: Garypus ellickae and Neocheiridium ashmoleorum  Episode image credit: Adam Sharp Follow the Ascension Island Government Conservation Directorate here: https://www.facebook.com/AscensionIslandConservation https://twitter.com/aigconservation Follow Danni’s research on all manner of arachnids here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Danniella-Sherwood Follow the Species Recovery Trust: https://www.facebook.com/TheSpeciesRecoveryTrust/ https://www.twitter.com/speciesrecovery Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast) Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

    48 min
4.5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Just a fraction of the species on our planet are known to science, but more are described and published every day. This podcast talks to the authors of these new species to get the behind-the-scenes stories of how new species are found and named, as well as why these discoveries should matter to everyone, not just scientists. Join us on our journey to better understand the wonderful biodiversity of our planet! Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), and support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

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