Blog

The sneezing monkey with an upturned face, and other other weird species

published on
Pass notesEndangered speciesHundreds of new(ish) species have been discovered in the eastern Himalayas in recent years, including the ‘walking’ fish and a tissue-wielding, snub-nosed primate Name: The sneezing monkey. Age: Depends what you mean. Please don’t be difficult. OK. Biologically about 7m years; scientifically five years; in environmental PR terms, a few hours. I have no idea what you are on about. The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (AKA Rhinopithecus strykeri or “Snubby”) is a species of monkey first identified five years ago. Read More...

Anger over spelling of Irish names on transport passes | Ireland

published on
Ireland This article is more than 5 years oldAnger over spelling of Irish names on transport passesThis article is more than 5 years oldIrish transport authority blames ‘technical limitation’ for lack of fadas on Leap cards The fada – a slanting line over a vowel – is a way of indicating a particular pronunciation or meaning in Irish. Seán is the Irish version of John whereas sean means old. On Monday the fada had a new meaning: affronted. Read More...

Discovered in the deep: is this the worlds longest animal?

published on
Discovered in the deepMarine lifeA submersible off the coast of Western Australia chanced upon a 45-metre-long deep-sea siphonophore arranged in a feeding spiral, trailing its deadly tentacles In 2020, about 600 metres (2,000ft) down in an underwater canyon off the coast of Western Australia, scientists encountered a long gelatinous creature suspended in a giant spiral. “It was like a rope on the horizon. You couldn’t miss it,” says Nerida Wilson from the Western Australian Museum. Read More...