不断有物种濒临灭绝，当然，也有物种在新生。肉食性海绵、小叶山药和平脸的迷幻璧鱼，这三者有什么共同点么？下面要向大家介绍的是年度十大惊悚新物种。
And the Weirdest New Species Are...

What do a carnivorous sponge, a lobular yam and a flat-faced psychedelic frogfish all have in common? They’re among the Top 10 Species first described in 2009. That’s according the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. [http://species.asu.edu/Top10]

肉食性海绵、小叶山药和平脸的迷幻璧鱼，这三者有什么共同点么？是的，它们都属于2009年人类第一次发现的十大物种。亚利桑那州立大学物种探索研究所就是这么表示的。

Scientists are discovering new species all the time. But who knew how many? Or how weird? According to the Institute, scientists spotted more than 18,000 plants and animals they’d never seen before in 2008 alone. That year’s most notables included caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray. But in 2009 we met: a bug-eating slug (most of‘em stick with algae); a minnow with fangs, dubbed the Dracula fish; and a deep-sea worm that confuses predators by ejecting body parts that then start to glow.

一直以来科学家们都在发现新物种，可谁知到到底有多少新物种，谁又知道这些物种有多奇特？研究所说光是2008年科学家们就发现了18000多种以前从未见过的动植物，其中最引人注目的莫过于不含咖啡因的咖啡和发胶里的细菌。可2009年我们遇到了这些生物：吃虫子的蛞蝓（其中很大一部分都生活在海藻上）；张着犬牙的鲦鱼，昵称为德古拉鱼；还有一种深海虫子，它们可以喷出身体的一部分，这部分开始发亮，以此来迷惑捕食者。

Several new species sport the monikers of folks their discoverers admire, including a very large, carnivorous pitcher plant named for naturalist and TV host Sir David Attenborough to mark his 80th birthday. [Attenborough: “The Earth, as it makes its annual journey around the sun…”] Because nothing says happy birthday like being linked with a meat-eating plant big enough to digest a rat.

有些新物种是以发现者敬佩的人命名的，比如某个巨大的肉食瓶状叶植物就是以博物学家兼电视主持人大卫·阿滕伯勒爵士命名的，以此纪念他的80岁生日。（阿滕伯勒：“地球每年绕着太阳运动……”）如此命名的原因是，没什么能比与一个大得能消化老鼠的肉食植物有关联更能表示生日快乐的祝愿的了。