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New Species Found in Central Park

Posted by michael on from the muggerus-americanus-still-found-often dept.

ScurvySeaDog writes "The centipede is the first new species in more than a century to be discovered in Central Park." Just goes to show what's right before your eyes...

30 comments

  1. That happens all the time by GCP · · Score: 5, Funny

    Everytime I go to Central Park I encounter a new species or two. They appear humanoid, but I'm sure I don't know what planet they're from.

    --
    "Those who have never entered upon scientific pursuits know not a tithe of the poetry by which they are surrounded."
    1. Re:That happens all the time by jafuser · · Score: 3, Funny
      [Puts on his sunglasses]

      Excuse me, GCP, I'm with the local health clinic and we're going around town and giving people free eye exams today. Would you look right here for just a second.....

      ->[BRIGHT FLASH]<-

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      Please consider making an automatic monthly recurring donation to the EFF
    2. Re:That happens all the time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you ought to come to lillington north carolina there are ten thousand different species here and they all thuink that they are better than everyone else i stand alone

  2. Isolated. by undeg+chwech · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Central park is pretty isolated from the outside world - for a centipede.

    Could this new species perhaps evolved there from a known centipede species?

    A new species of mosquito evolved in the London underground, for example.

    1. Re:Isolated. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      If it evolved there from another species, where are the intermediates? If this is much better than the originals, why are the originals still present? If an intermediate was better than the original, the original should be gone by evolutionary theory (survival of the fittest, not survival of the fitter).

      It wasn't evolution, it was just hiding from nosy biologists. Sort of like the Coelacanth, which is an index fossil for rock layers 70,000,000 to 400,000,000 years old. Brings up questions, doesn't it.

    2. Re:Isolated. by diaphanous · · Score: 1

      If an intermediate was better than the original, the original should be gone by evolutionary theory.

      That isn't true. The original species will continue to exist so long as its members produce enough offspring to replace the individuals of that species that die.

      If the descendent species occupy the same ecological niche (eat the same food, use the same places for shelter and mating, etc) then it is possible that one or the other species will die out because the ecosystem can't support them both, but it isn't an inevitable outcome when new species emerge

      To succeed, a species or individual doesn't need to be the "fittest", it just needs to be good enough.

    3. Re:Isolated. by Alsee · · Score: 4, Informative

      why are the originals still present?

      In many cases the force driving the split is that it is evoloving to fit into a different ecological niche. Both species can then co-exist because they aren't in competition. They are living in separate places and/or eating differnt things.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  3. first in 100 years? by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

    what were the other species discovered in Central Park?

    1. Re:first in 100 years? by PD · · Score: 1, Informative

      Here's one

      Here's two more

      --
      If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
    2. Re:first in 100 years? by hmallett · · Score: 0

      This has been modded "Informative"?
      Let's hope the meta-moderators actually look at the links...the moderators obviously didn't.

  4. A genus! by AndyAMPohl · · Score: 0

    A new genus is impressive, but even more so is a new phylum! Remember it goes Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, then species.

    For those who aren't familiar with archae, they are single-cell creatures that carry characteristics of both prokaryotes (e.g. operonal gene function), and eukaryotes (e.g. some genes have introns). They're pretty weird little things.

    Although I have to admit, it is pretty cool they found the genus/species in NYC. Of all places.

    1. Re:A genus! by AndyAMPohl · · Score: 0

      That link probably won't work unless you're computer has a subscription to nature. Sorry. I forgot. But anyways the article I linked to was by Huber, et. al. and is in the May 2, 2002 issue of Nature and is titled "A new phylum of Archaea represented by a nanosized hyperthermophilic symbiont".

  5. "Just goes to show what's right before your eyes." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    -umm..did you miss the 1'st new species in more than a century part?..lol

  6. Centipede? by DJayC · · Score: 4, Funny

    If it's only got 82-legs, why is it a centipede? I'm sure some bum just spent his day cutting off the lower 1/4 of all the centipedes in sight.. new species!

    1. Re:Centipede? by Shade1001 · · Score: 1

      Heh well probably just 'cause eightytwopede would sound evil if not to mention the look of it...

    2. Re:Centipede? by p3d0 · · Score: 1

      That would be closer to 1/5.

      --
      Patrick Doyle
      I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
    3. Re:Centipede? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      He was drunk and them things are squiggly. You try cutting off exactly 25 legs.

  7. They should come to my place by GrandCow · · Score: 2, Funny

    If they want to find some new species to name, they should check out my bedroom. With all the crap that's been laying around for who knows how long I'm sure a few things have mutated into new organisms by now.

    --
    "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
  8. Wrong Topic by EccentricAnomaly · · Score: 4, Funny

    This story should have been submitted as a "Bug" :)

    --
    There are 10 types of people in this world, those who can count in binary and those who can't.
  9. 0.4 inches long? by sedawkgrep · · Score: 3, Funny

    Article says something like "adult grows to about 0.4 inches in length, about half that of a normal centipede".

    WTF?! Is that all the bigger they get in the rest of the world? My best friend caught one in his bedroom (he lives in a very desert/arid area of Colorado) that was about 5 inches long. HUGE. I've seen several in the 3-4 inch range. Anyhow he stuck it in a big tea-jar and proceeded to feed it all sorts of other insects. Watching that thing eat was possibly the most horrific thing I've ever seen in real life. Those things are truly frightening creatures. Not to mention the barbed legs - they created a nice screeching sound as it tried to climb the side of the jar.

    YUCK.

    sedawkgrep

    --
    Is that a salami in my pants or am I just happy to be me?
    1. Re:0.4 inches long? by flewp · · Score: 2

      In reply to your sig, that's not a salami, but a 5 inch centipede in your pants. Watch out!

      --
      WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
    2. Re:0.4 inches long? by norhythmsoldier · · Score: 1

      If it's that large, it's probably a millipede.

  10. BotFly by johnstewart · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You think that's gross, check this out:

    http://mycostaricatrip.sitemanager.ims.net/learn /i ndex.php?category_id=163

    Check out the "Mark's Human Botfly Infestation Story" link. A horrifying prospect to have a couple of these little guys burrowing in your scrotum. No lie.

    1. Re:BotFly by johnstewart · · Score: 1

      Whoa, that's screwed up. Gotta be the slashcode; I pasted the URL in properly. Remove the space in the index.php.

      Or try this link:

      http://mycostaricatrip.sitemanager.ims.net/

      And click the botfly link towards the bottom right.

      Scary stuff.

    2. Re:BotFly by sedawkgrep · · Score: 2

      Jesus christ there are some fucked up things in this world. I am NEVER going to Costa Rica! :-) :-((((((((((((((((

      --
      Is that a salami in my pants or am I just happy to be me?
  11. Shows you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So few forms of life can survive in downtown New York. It's hard stuff out there.

  12. bugtrack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hmmmmmm...