National Geographic reported this weekend that three new species of salamander have been discovered in distant cloud forests of Costa Rica’s La Amistad National Park. Just like X-Men, each salamander seems to have a special power: “one with a bold streak, one with a ‘ballistic’ tongue, and one no longer than a fingernail,” according to Nat’l Geographic.
La Amistad is the largest wildlife reserve in Central America, and…
…much of it has yet to be explored.
This salamander has markings reminiscent of a poison dart frog, possibly an environmental ruse.
In the article, Alex Monro of London’s Natural History Museum said that the last salamander shown above has “this incredible tongue which is one of the fastest moving things in the animal kingdom. In seven milliseconds it can reach and wrap around prey.” You know how I know I am getting older? That guy used the words, “reach,” “around,” and “tongue” in the same sentence and I didn’t even comment on it. Oh wait, yes I did.