It's not every day that a new carnivore is discovered. Thus, the announcement of the Olinguito, Bassaricyon neblina, from cloud forests in Ecuador and Colombia is legitimately exciting news. In fact, it is the first new carnivore from the Americas in 35 years! Interestingly, specimens existed in museum collections and were even on display as living specimens in zoological parks yet its significance as a distinct kind of procyonid had not been recognized until now. Details of the find can be found on the Smithsonian site, http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-scientists-discover-new-species-carnivore, the proud institutional parent of this taxonomic triumph. The background stories implied in this discovery are as fascinating as the cute animal itself. That our museums contain un-described species of insects and plants is generally known, but finding a new species of carnivore sitting on a shelf drives the point home. The intrepid search to locate them living in the wild is a testament to scientific fortitude.
Without detracting from the scientific significance of this find — and this truly is headline material by any reasonable standard — and perhaps indulging my sensibilities as an entomologist I could not help but notice the difference in enthusiasm and level of coverage by broadcast and Web media outlets. I am of course delighted by the coverage. What eludes me is the lack of coverage for most of the other 18,000 (more or less) newly discovered species in an average year. Mind you, I am taking notes. Just as celebrity names for species has enabled colleagues and I to shamelessly seek public awareness of taxonomy, natural history museums, and the biodiversity crisis, the public interest in warm, cuddly, and furry does not go unnoticed. But why are our closer relatives so much more eagerly embraced by journalists? Many recent plant, fungi, and insect discoveries are equally or more scientifically amazing and not infrequently involve species so unlike any ever seen in our world that they demand whole new genera or families or even phyla to be erected. The Olinguito, as cool and cute as it is, by contrast is so similar to related species that it had not been distinguished until now.
The announcement of the Olinguito happened to arrive not long after my friend and colleague, Professor Alessandro Minelli of the University of Padova, sent me a reprint of a recent publication by he and Emanuele Rigato entitled "The great chain of being is still here," printed in the open access Evolution: Education and Outreach (http://www.evolution-outreach.com/content/6/1/18). They document that the idea of a Scala naturae is alive and well among professional biologists based on a detailed survey of top scientific journals. The Scala naturae sees species as progressing from "lower" to "higher" forms, culminating with Mankind as the pinnacle of evolution. This concept of a ladder with humans on the top rung is outdated, replaced by the phylogenetic view that all living species occupy equally tips of branches on cladograms. I wonder, to what extent are journalists mired in the outmoded notion of a progressive ladder of evolution if biologists continue to fall into the trap? I am no doubt over analyzing this. After all, it may be decades before we find another carnivore species in the Americas if ever so we should indeed be celebrating this fantastic finding.
On the other hand, our failure in the 150 years since Darwin to educate the public to understand the basics of evolution must be corrected. This public science education challenge must be met. Not only are the needs and priorities for biodiversity exploration undercut when the voting public does not understand what is at stake, we are depriving millions of people the intellectual pleasures of contemplating the great diversification of life on planet earth of which they are a part. As if to drive home this crying need for evolution education, an anchor on CNN this morning asked a guest whether the Olinguito arose through the interbreeding of two other species. Small wonder a pretty picture gets top billing.
