Science / species Top 10 Newly Discovered Species Including a mushroom named for SpongeBob By Dustin Lushing, Newser Staff Posted May 27, 2012 9:17 AM CDT Copied SpongeBob SquarePants has a mushroom in his name. (AP Photo/Nickelodeon, file) Roughly 18,000 new species were discovered last year, and scientists at Arizona State University have compiled a list of their 10 favorites. A sample, from the Arizona Republic: Pterinopelma sazimai: A blue tarantula... that's also iridescent. Spongiforma squarepantsii: A mushroom that resembles a sponge. It's also named for a certain cartoon character. Crurifarcimen vagans: A giant millipede the size of a sausage, discovered in Tanzania. Rhinopithecus strykeri: A monkey with barely any nose, discovered in the mountains of Myanmar. It sneezes every time it rains. Click for the full list. (More species stories.) Report an error