'New' species discovered include 'T rex' leech, a 6ft-long lizard and glowing fungus

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• Amazing hopping cockroach and 6ft-long lizard also make top 10 list
  
• 10million species waiting to be classified, say experts
  

The next time you get an itchy nose, just pray it's hayfever... and not a 'T-Rex' leech stuck up there.Scientistsdiscovered the bloodthirsty invertebrate when they pulled a 2in-long specimen from the mucous membrane of a girl in a remote region of Peru.The Tyrannobdella rex - which hasa mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the Tyrannosaurus rex - leads a top 10 list of weird and wonderful 'new species' published today.Others making the list include a 6ft-long fruit-eating lizard, a glowing tree fungus and a hopping batfish.

Fearsome leech: Tyrannobdella rex has a mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the 'king of dinosaurs' Tyrannosaurus rex. It was found up the nose of a nine-year-old girl in Peru

I'm new in town: This 6ft-long fruit-eating monitor lizard from the Philippines is on a list of 10 new species drawn up by scientists

Strong little fella: This new species of orb-weaver spider - found in Madagascar - is able to weave webs large enough to span rivers and lakes while, right, among the new plant life identified was this gilled mushroom - found in a river in Oregon, U.S. - which fruits underwater

Experts made the selection from thousands of plants, animals and microbes described for the first time last year to draw attention to the importance of conserving life on Earth.Scientists say that 'a reasonable estimate' is t! hat ther e are still around 10million specieswaiting to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood.A somewhat more attractive example of a new species is the striking fruit-eating monitor lizard, Varanus bitatawa, from Luzon Island in The Philippines.

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At 6ft 6in in length, it has a blue-black body mottled with pale yellow-green dots and spends most of its time in trees.Another large species on the top 10 list is Walter's duiker, Philantomba walteri, an antelope first encountered at a bushmeat market in West Africa.At the other end of the size scale isan iron-eating bacterium found growing on the submerged wreck of the Titanic. Halomonas titanicae could provide a useful function in helping to dispose of sunken ships and oil rigs.

Flat as a pancake: The hopping 'batfish' was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

Another large species on the top 10 list is Walter's duiker, Philantomba walteri, an antelope first encountered at a bushmeat market in West AfricaOthernew species are a glowing forest fungus from Brazil, a jumping cockroach, a cricket which is the only pollinator of a rare orchid, a hopping 'batfish', a spider that weaves webs large enough to span rivers and lakes, and a gilled mushroom that fruits underwater.The list was compiled by experts at the International Institute for Species Exploration, based in Arizona State University in the U.S.
Its director, Dr Quentin Wheeler, said: 'At the same time that astronomers search for Earth-like planets in visible space, taxonomists are busily exploring the life forms of themost Earth-like planet of all, our own.
'We can only realistically aspire to sustainable! biodive rsity if we first learn what species exist to begin with.
'Our best guess is that all species discovered since 1758 represent less than 20 per cent of the kinds of plants and animals inhabiting planet Earth.'A reasonable estimate is that 10million species remain to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood.'

Leaping lizards? No, it's jumping cockroaches: Found in the Mountain National Park in South Africa, this one has modified legs that puts it on par with grasshoppers

'Beautiful': This luminescent fungus - found in Sao Paulo, Brazil - attracts small insects that help to disperse its sporesDetailsof the top 10 species of 2010 were published on Arizona State University's website on the 304th anniversary of the birth of Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.Linnaeus pioneered the system of plant and animal classifications and names which is still used today.
Dr Mary James, from Wichita State University in the U.S., who chaired the international committee which drew up the list, said: 'Each of these amazing species discoveries tells a story about our planet.
'They are pieces of the puzzle that help us to understand how all of the components of life on earth work together.

Fertile: This cricket - found in the Mascarene Archipelago in the Indian Ocean - is the only known pollinator of a rare orchid; right, this rust-eating bacterium, discovered on the wreckage of the Titanic, recycles sunken human creations so that the constituents can be re-used by others
'That beautiful, luminescent mush! room: it s all-day glow attracts small insects that help to disperse the mushroom's spores.'The rust-eating bacterium: it recycles even the most titanic of human creations so that the constituents can be used by other creatures.
'Ithink that the top 10 species helps to bring attention to the pieces ofthe puzzle that are still waiting to be discovered, whether it's in your own backyard, a health clinic in Peru, in the deep ocean, or a market in West Africa.
'Biodiversity science is all about exploration and discovery - cool stuff.'