News From the Field

Tiny Australian leech named for best-selling author Amy Tan


January 21, 2016

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Researchers have named a new leech after best-selling author Amy Tan based on an innovative method for peering inside soft-bodied animals. Chtonobdella tanae is the first new species of invertebrate without chitinous or calcified tissues (like a shell or exoskeleton) to be described with computed tomography (CT). The work opens possibilities for non-destructively studying a group of animals ranging from worms to jellyfish that represent a huge part of the tree of life.Full Story

Source
American Museum of Natural History

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