Bright Side

Because JustSaying dedicated a fair amount of posts to endangered and threatened species last year, I'm thinking it may be nice to highlight some uber-cool new and evolving species because, well, I'm remarkably optimistic about the staying power of the conservation efforts, awareness and activism surrounding all things environmental of late. And I'd like to think that the more wildlife we see and discuss, the more considerate we all become. So cheers to a few newly discovered critters!

New Strawberry Crab Species. Discovered off of Suther Taiwan by Marine biologist Professor Ho Ping-ho from the National Taiwan Ocean University. These little gals have clam-shaped shells about an inch wide and resemble a species called Neoliomera Pubescens, that lives in the areas around Hawaii, Polynesia and Mauritius. Read more here.

The Kuranda tree frog, discovered in tropical Queensland state in eastern Australia by WWF-Australia conservationists, has a distinctive tapping call that scientists call "fast talk." The fast-talkin' frog has unfortnately already placed on the critically endangered list. More here.

White Lizards in the White Sands of New Mexico. These little lizards aren't exactly a new species but they are a new color! Learn more from professor Erica Bree Rosenblum here and here.

Speaking of lizards, I should give a shout out to the Mwanza Flat Headed Agama (aka Spiderman) lizard too. Not because of newness, but because of newfound popularity thanks to photograher Roy Daines.

Little Limestone Leaf Warbler. Found in the rocky forests of Laos and Vietnam by a team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Lao PDR Department of Forestry, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Swedish Museum of Natural History, BirdLife International and other groups. More here.

The teen-tiny Barbados Threadsnake, leptotyphlops carlae. It is one of the world's smallest snakes (a total length of 104mm, or 4.1 inches). Discovered by  Professor of Biology from the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, S. Blair Hedges. So frickin' cool. More here.

Last - certainly not least but last because it is purely fictional fun i.e. not real - the Swiss Funk Squirrel (pictured). Possibly because he resembles a little dog we know and love that often smells like the other animal the Swiss Funk resembles.