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Ten species enter the English language for the first time as winners of the 2011 Name a Species competition are announced.

Emerging from obscurity, ten previously unnamed British species are now enjoying some long-awaited limelight as the results of the competition to give them popular names were announced last week (Thursday 21st July).

Thousands of people submitted entries in response to the Name a Species competition organised by Natural England and The Guardian. The competition invited the public to give popular names to ten British species that have until now been listed only in Latin.

The overall winner was ‘hotlips’ – Octospora humosa – a disc-shaped fungus that is a vivid orange-red and often resembles puckered lips. Among this year’s winners is the shimmering-ruby tail – nee Chrysis fulgida – a species of cuckoo-wasp named for its metallic-rainbow colouring. The fountain anemone, Ascot hat and scarlet lady were previously only known as Sagartiogeton lacertes, Xerocomus bubalinus and Coryphella browni, respectively. They now join the ranks of the more familiar bluebell, bladderwrack and Devil’s coach-horse, having popular names that describe their characteristics.

Dr Pete Brotherton, Head of Biodiversity for Natural England, said: “This competition set out to inspire the nation, drawing attention to some less well-known species that have, until now, been without a common name. The public have come up trumps with some vivid and imaginative suggestions to rescue these forgotten species from obscurity.”

The ten winning names announced last week were:

• Shimmering ruby-tail (Chrysis fulgida): A shiny bright wasp

• Zipperback (Chrysotoxum elegans): One of nature’s gardeners

• Hotlips (Octospora humosa): A red high pressured fungus

• Ascot hat (Xerocomus bubalinus): A tree-nurturing mushroom

• Sunburst lichen (Lichenomphalia alpina): A lichen that thinks it’s a mushroom

• Neptune’s heart sea squirt (Phallusia mammillata): Britain’s largest sea squirt

• Scarlet lady (Coryphella browni): A recycling seaslug

• Fountain anemone (Sagartiogeton laceratus): A many tentacle anemone

• Serpent’s table brittlestar (Ophiura albida): A snaky star in the sand

• Gangly lancer (Nymphon gracile): An undersea spider with a straw

Today’s ten new species names were selected from over 6,000 entries by a panel of five judges: Dr Peter Brotherton of Natural England, Dr Keith Hiscock of the Marine Biological Association, Liz Holden of the British Mycological Society, Matt Shardlow of Buglife and George Monbiot author and Guardian columnist.

Dr Brotherton continued: “Biodiversity is the foundation of our own existence and we cannot afford to take it for granted, which is why we are getting the issue out from under the microscope and into the limelight. We’re delighted that this competition has continued to inspire the public’s imagination and encouraged so many to find out more about the amazing range of wildlife we have in this country.”

Adam Vaughan, editor of environmentguardian.co.uk, said: "The fact that a 12 year-old girl won the Name a Species competition puts paid to the lie that today's young generation are not interested in nature. By dubbing a fungus with the witty, memorable and salient name of 'hotlips', Rachael Blackman has probably done more for the conservation of Octospora humosa than any naturalist before her. The quality of this year's entries was superb and I hope Neptune’s heart sea squirt, the gangly lancer, and shimmering ruby-tail will soon find a place in our collective cultural memory."

This is the second year of the competition, which was originally inspired by Natural England’s Lost Life - a report that showed that nearly 500 species have become extinct in England in the last 200 years – and the subsequent call by George Monbiot, author and Guardian comment writer, for a competition to enable the public to become more familiar with the species that we are in danger of losing.

Notes to Editors:

For further information, contact Lyndon Marquis, lyndon.marquis@naturalengland.org.uk, 0300 060 4236. Out of office hours, please contact the duty press officer on 07970 098005

The winning entries were submitted by:

Shimmering ruby-tail (Chrysis fulgida): Oscar Holland

Zipperback (Chrysotoxum elegans):

Hotlips (Octospora humosa): Rachael Blackman

Ascot hat (Xerocomus bubalinus): Diane Mathewson

Sunburst lichen (Lichenomphalia alpina): Alan Campbell

Neptune’s heart sea squirt (Phallusia mammillata):

Scarlet lady (Coryphella browni): Paul Whitehead

Fountain anemone (Sagartiogeton laceratus): Martin Cox

Serpent’s table brittle-star (Ophiura albida): Alan Campbell

Gangly lancer (Nymphon gracile):

Runner-up suggestions

Chrysis fulgida: Sapphire-headed ruby wasp

Chrysotoxum elegans: Elegant hover fly

Octospora humosa: Orange bombardier

Xerocomus bubalinus: Linden rose bolete

Lichenomphalia alpina: Boggart’s blanket

Phallusia mammillata: Opal sea squirt

Coryphella browni: Sting wraith

Sagartiogeton laceratus: Sneezing carrot

Ophiura albida: Twin-spot brittlestar

Nymphon gracile: Lowry’s sea spider

Note: due to the large number of entries received via the Guardian blog, the names and addresses of some winners are still being confirmed.

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