16:06 25 May 2011
The winners are in: the top new species of 2010, as selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University in Phoenix. From glow-in-the-dark mushrooms and steel-eating bacteria to giant leeches and bizarre pancake fish, New Scientist takes a look at the ones that made the cut.
Image 9 of 11
Previously thought to have lived only in the Late Jurassic, the jumping cockroach made a reappearance in South Africa last year. The "leaproach" (Saltoblattella montistabularis
) has an unusual anatomy: its legs are highly modified compared with other cockroaches, and its antennae have an additional fixation point to help improve the insect's stabilisation while jumping.
Thanks to all the modifications, the leaproach can jump about as well as a grasshopper.
(Image: Mike Picker/University of Cape Town, South Africa)