PHOTOS: Armored Catfish And Cowboy Frog Among 1,300 Species Documented In Suriname

An armored catfish, a Pac-Man frog and a cowboy frog were some of the 1,300 species documented during a scientific survey conducted by Conservation International in southwest Suriname in 2010. Their finds included 46 potentially new species.

According to a press release, Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program traveled to three locations along the Kutari and Sipaliwini Rivers "in an effort to document the region?s poorly known biodiversity and help develop sustainable ecotourism opportunities for the local indigenous people."

The findings from the expedition were published in the RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment series, "A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Kwamalasamatu region, Southwestern Suriname."

More species were discovered around the world this month, including the world's tiniest vertebrate, found in New Guinea. Off the eastern coast of Australia, scientists encountered the world's first hybrid shark.

Check out photos and a video of the new and observed species discovered by the Rapid Assessment Program below (Captions courtesy of Conservation International):

New Species: An Armored Catfish

Potentially new species: Pseudacanthicus sp. is a catfish whose armor (external bony plates) is covered with spines. The river it lives in is full of huge piranhas, so it must be well defended. One of the local guides was about to snack on this fish, until the experts preserved it as a scientific specimen. Only a handful of Pseudacanthicus specimens are known from Suriname, and this is the first from the Sipaliwini River. Discovered by scientists working with Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program in southwest Suriname in August and September 2010. "An Armored Catfish, a 'Cowboy Frog', and a Rainbow of Colorful Critters discovered in Southwest Suriname" by Conservation International.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/new-species-suriname-photos_n_1228550.html

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