Man Discovers A New Life-Form At A South African Truck Stop

[Michaelangelica]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=man-discovers-new-life-form-at-sout-2011-04-26&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20110428

 

t was required to discover the Mantaphasmatodes, whether the species on top of the Massif or the species at the truck stop, was the realization that no one else knew what they were. Once that realization was made, discovering them was both easier and more interesting. Until then, the Mantaphasmatodes, like much of life, seemed (wrongly) likely to be known by some expert in a university somewhere. Yet they were not known, just as most of life is not known.

 

It was only recently that it was discovered that mice sing to each other. It was not so very long ago that it was discovered that clouds are filled with bacteria. What else remains to be known? Nearly everything.

 

So pay attention when you are walking through forests and backyards and, yes, even truck stops. Take notes. Take pictures and assume that you are the very first one to see everything that you see. The life around us is as foreign as the dark side of the moon, we just forget. You may find a new form of life and you will certainly find new observations of behaviors.

 

[jab2]

I have read the SciAm article on the Brandberg, Namibia hunt a while ago. (Few years maybe) This find of Mantaphasmatodes in South Africa is however news to me. I have not seen or heard anything about it in the local media. (Maybe because the insect was not committing a crime, crime being a prerequisite to make the SA media lately it seems <_<)

 

Thanks for sharing M.

[Moontanman]

Paying attention to your surroundings can often pay off in finding new things, but if you do find something really odd preserve it! I have a friend who is quite certain he found freshwater skate in a remote mountain stream but he failed to keep it, thinking he would come back and catch another but sadly no other specimen was ever found, that was many years ago and now the creek is dead from mine runoff :( another friend of mine found a long eel like amphibian when he was digging into a mountain side to build a basement and foundation for a house, again he let it go thinking he would find another one to show but none were ever found and it was not an animal any one is familiar with quite possibly it was a new specimen of Caecilian. Both of these people are well educated, and know when something is unusual but lack of a specimen relegates the find to anecdotal evidence at best (kill Bigfoot if you see him! :doh: ) Even a picture is not real evidence... There is a story of a small creek in Ohio that back in the 1800's was subjected to the run off from a huge forest fire, several large specimens (over 6') of what was described as slimy alligators with antlers were found dead, the specimens were discarded and no others were ever found, if real they were probably some sort of giant mudpuppy but with no specimens all we have is a story...