#species-discovery

#species-discovery

But as he swept his flashlight through the dark waters, something unexpected emerged. Inching through the beam of light, an alien creature crawled across the surface of the sand, resembling an inch-long cluster of ghostly leaves fringed with silvery filigree and capped with a pair of antennae-like stalks. It immediately caught my eye, said Gosliner, Invertebrate Zoology Curator for the California Academy of Sciences. I've been diving there for 30 years and this one immediately struck me as different.

A debate over a potential newly discovered species, and a tip for buying good sherry in this week's pick from the Nature archive.

For now, the Curiously Isolated Hairstreak reminds us that even the smallest and most overlooked species can hold extraordinary scientific and conservation significance.