300 new species found in Philippines waters

The scientists have discovered more than 300 species in the Philippine that are likely new to science, the California Academy Science reported on June 29.

“The Philippines is one of the hottest of the hotspots for diverse and threatened life on Earth,” said Dr. Terrence Gosliner, leader of the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition.

The new species include dozens of new insects and spiders, deep-sea armored corals, ornate sea pens, bizarre new sea urchins and sea stars, a shrimp-eating swell shark, and over 50 colorful new sea slugs.

During their 42-day expedition to survey Luzon Island―the largest island in the Philippine archipelago―and its surrounding waters, the international team of scientists created species lists and distribution maps for a wide variety of species to help to inform future conservation decisions and ensure that this remarkable biodiversity is afforded the best possible chance of survival.”

Over the next few months, the expedition s will be hard at work, analyzing the specimens they collected during their field survey―and undoubtedly discovering more new species along the way. In the meantime, they were scheduled to present their preliminary results to the San Francisco public for the first time on June 30, during the Academy’s weekly NightLife event.

Scientists estimate that more than 90 percent of the species on this planet have yet to be discovered. In the face of large-scale habitat loss and degradation, many of these species are disappearing before we even know they exist.