The Golden 80s

This page lists the new species of plants and animals discovered. The list is based on newspaper reports and will be updated till end of this month. Mesosticta davidattenboroughi - A type of damsel flies, shadowdamsels, named after Sir David Attenborough. Discovered from Burma. The hyperlink has a list of species named after David Attenborough. Hundreds of potentially new species of fungi discovered in the deep coral ecosystem from the University of Hawaii researchers. New species of Monkeyflower reported from Shetland, UK. Capinatator praetermissus, a new genus and species of arrow worms (Chaetognaths). New species of grass snake identified in England, says Guardian . Xibalbaonyx oviceps , a new species of giant sloth discovered from Mexico. Cycas pschannae and Cycas dharmrajii are two new Cycas species discovered from India, taking the total number of species in India to 14. New Species of Ocean Sunfish , the World’s Largest Bony Fish, discovered, says t...

Fish resources in the mesopelagic zone are of great interest to scientists. The mesopelagic zone is the vertical layer of the ocean that extends down 200 metres to 1,000 metres. This zone is also called the Twilight zone as the reach of sunlight is less here, but just enough for photosynthesis. It was earlier estimated that with 1,000 million tonnes, the mesopelagic fish population constitutes the dominant fish biomass in the ocean.  Now, a study by Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) published in the Nature Communications  journal claims that the mesopelagic biomass may be 10 times more than expected. The new estimates are based on acoustic observations made by the Malaspina expedition. For the scientists, the mesopelagic zone is important as it is through this layer that carbon dioxide must pass to darker lower layers of the ocean. The exact mechanism of carbon flux and the interactions of living beings in this ocean layer are still unknown. For example, the orga...

The question whether we are really "aware" in this information and smartphone age is a topic of a big debate. I use the word "aware" in the way it is defined in the Merriam Webster free online dictionary. Aware (adj): Knowing and understanding a lot about what is happening in the world or around you. Yes, there is knowing a "lot" about what is happening because we are all bombarded with messages of all sorts in various media unheard in the 80s and 90s. But do we really understand what is really happening around us? Let us check this tweet: While most of the people will focus on the person mentioned in the tweet, I have a problem with something else. That is, someone has built a forest in 30 years. If a forest can be "built" in such a short period , it is really wonderful. But as an Environmental Studies student, I very well need to dispute this fact. A forest is not a vast collection of trees in acres of land. A forest has a structur...