caffeine-free coffee plant , a snail whose shell twists around four axes , a palm that flowers itself to death and microscopic bacteria that live in hairspray . See photos of the new species '' Here 's the complete list : 1 . Pygmy seahorse : Classified by its Latin name , Hippocampus satomiae , this species measures about half an inch long and was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan , Indonesia . 2 . A plant that kills itself : Found in a small area of northwestern Madagascar , a rare genus of palm -- Tahina spectablilis -- produces huge , spectacular flowers and then dies and collapses . Fewer than 100 have been found . 3 . Decaf , please : Known as Coffea charrieriana , this plant found in Cameroon is the first record of a caffeine-free coffee species from Central Africa . 4 . Spray-on species : An extremophile bacteria , Microbacterium hatanonis , was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists . 5 . A stick that moves : The world 's longest insect , with a body length of 14 inches -LRB- 22.3 inches including legs -RRB- , Phobaeticus chani resembles a stick and
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A pea-sized seahorse , the world 's longest insect , a `` ghost slug '' and the world 's smallest snake were among the top 10 species discovered in 2008 , a committee of scientists said Friday . A tiny seahorse and the world 's longest insect were among the top 10 new species discovered in 2008 . These unusual critters were among thousands of species found last year , many in remote or tropical regions of the planet , that hint at the breadth of the Earth 's undiscovered biodiversity . `` Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth 's species is , '' said Quentin Wheeler , director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University , which announced the top 10 new species list . `` We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted , '' Wheeler added . The ASU institute and an international committee of taxonomists -- scientists devoted to species exploration and classification -- compile the top 10 list of new species each year . Also on the 2008 list are a