Darwin's Bark Spider
Photograph courtesy Matjaz Kuntner
Created by the Darwin's bark spider—called one of the top ten new species of 2010—a river-spanning web dwarfs a park ranger in Madagascar in 2008.
Each May the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University (ASU), along with an international committee of taxonomists, announces their choices for the top ten species that were formally recognized during roughly the previous year. Participants draw up their own criteria, and selections can be made based on anything from unique attributes to odd names.
The announcement is timed to celebrate the May 23 birthday of Carolus Linnaeus, who developed the scientific system of plant and ****** names more than 250 years ago.
