Last April, a report from the United Nations Environment Program revealed how we are failing to protect the biodiversity of this planet. Since 1970, animal populations have dropped more than 30-percent and some areas like living coral have fallen by jaw-dropping 40-percent.

"The deadline has arrived, yet the deterioration of our natural resources continues apace," the secretary-general said in a statement.

So the release of a top 10 list of newly discovered species for 2009 is the perfect way to showcase how much we still do not know about this planet. Issued by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, a total of ten species were chosen from 18,225 newly discovered ones in 2008.

Here they are:

Known as the Green Bomber, it has modified gills that can be cast off as illuminescent "bombs" used as a defense mechanism.

The Aiteng sea slug eats insects, whereas nearly all sacoglossans eat algae and a few specialize in gastropod eggs.

It's called the Psychedelic frogfish, nuff said.

The Dracula Minow has vampire-like fangs for sparring with other males and is the only occurance of teeth-like structures found in the freshwater Cyprinidae.

It is hard to talk about the Phallus Drewesli without giggling like a schoolkid but you should listen to NPR for the full story.

Attenborough's Pitcher might look harmless but this plant is right out of the Little Shop of Horrors. About the size of a football, the carnivorous pitcher plant lives off of mainly insects but has been known to eat a rat or two.

The Giant Orb Spiders are known for their gianormous webs and that the females can be 4-times larger than the males.

Omars' Banded Knifefish shows us how much we just don't know about biodiversity. The species has been used for the past thirty years as a model for understanding electric organ physiology...but under the wrong name!

We've known about carnivorous spongues for about 15 years, but what makes this one fascinating is its shape is similar to fossils found during the Jurassic era.

This udderly weird yam is an edible yam found in Madagascar that is heavily harvested and growin in unprotected areas.