The much maligned borderline science of cryptozoology is having a bumper year so far, with the discovery of two significant new species of mammal, and the news that the ivory-billed woodpecker also appears to have survived!

The ivory-billed woodpecker is a large, iconic American bird that I remember seeing in books of rare (or extinct) creatures when I was a kid. The last confirmed sighting was 40 years ago. It's evidently an elusive species, left now only thinly distributed in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas. Previous sightings, which were almost invariably attributed to the pileated woodpecker, it seems, should have been believed.

In May, came the news that a new rodent, the kha-nyou, had been discovered for sale at an Asian food market, by scientist Robert Timmins (Wildlife Conservation Society, New York City). As is usual in these cases, the locals - people of the Khammouan region of Laos - have always been familiar with the animal. It's a large rodent - around 40 cm from nose to tail - and appears to be related to South American rodents, such as guinea pigs and chinchillas, though it's not closely related to any other rodents and has been assigned its own family. As with the Vu Quang ox (a kind of goat-antelope discovered in Vietnam), it seems to be an important member of its order, providing critical information about evolution and spread of its relatives.

Mostly recently (also in May) came the announcement of the discovery of the highland mangabey, a new species of monkey. It's apparently slightly larger than a baboon, with long cheek whiskers and a tall crest on its head (see picture), and it makes a distinctive call. Of course, it's in low numbers, and living in an isolated location - the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania - which is what has enabled it to survive this long. In this case it was apparently so isolated that even the locals were unaware of its existence!

Dr. Karl Shuker, author of The Lost Ark and The New Zoo, large books which compile new and rediscovered animals, will have to get busy with a new edition...

I always hope that new discoveries will lead to appropriate conservation efforts, and don't represent cases of animals being found because the last wildernesses are about to disappear!

Images & Sources:

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - Watercolor by George Miksch Sutton, courtesy of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (Science Magazine)

Kkha-nyou - Robert Timmins (Kha-nyou site)

Highland Mangabey - Tim Davenport, Wildlife Conservation Society (Wildlife Conservation Society) (Donations welcome!)

Labels: birds, cryptozoology, new animals, new birds, new species