'Lost World' found
in Indonesian jungle
Scientists surveying an isolated Indonesian jungle discovered dozens of new species. |
Jakarta - Scientists discovered a "Lost World" in an isolated Indonesian jungle, identifying dozens of new species of frogs, butterflies and plants - as well as large mammals hunted to near extinction elsewhere, expedition members said yesterday.
They found wildlife that was remarkably unafraid of humans during their rapid survey of an area in the Foja mountains with more than a million hectares of tropical forest, said Bruce Beehler, a co-leader of the month-long trip.
Two Long-Beaked Echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal, simply allowed scientists to pick them up and take them back to camp to be studied, he said.
The December 2005 expedition to Papua province on the western side of New Guinea island was organised by US-based Conservation International and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
Papua, the scene of a decades-long separatist rebellion, is one of Indonesia's most remote provinces, geographically and politically, and access by foreigners is tightly restricted.
``There was not a single trail, no sign of civilisation, no sign of even local communities ever having been there,'' said Mr Beehler. Headmen from the Kwerba and Papasena tribes, the customary landowners of the Foja mountains, said their people had never been there.
He said they discovered 20 frog species including a tiny microhylid frog less than 14mm long, four new butterfly species and at least five new types of palms.
Their findings will have to be published and then reviewed by peers before being officially classified as new species.
Other discoveries included the golden-mantled tree kangaroo, an arboreal jungle-dweller new for Indonesia and previously thought to have been hunted to near extinction, and a new honeyeater bird with a bright orange face-patch and a pendant wattle under each eye, he said.
They also took the first known photographs of Berlepsch's six-wired bird of paradise, described by hunters in New Guinea in the 19th century.
He said there appeared to be no immediate conservation threat to the area, which is a wildlife sanctuary. AP
isolated
a long way from towns and villages and difficult to reach
species
particular classes of animals or plants
extinction
the condition of no longer existing, i.e., having died out completely
expedition
an organised journey made for a particular purpose
primitive
simple; in an early period of development
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remote
far away from where people live and difficult to get to; isolated
restricted
limited
peers
people who have the same status as you - in this case, other scientists
mantle
a layer or coat covering the surface
arboreal
living in trees
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pendant
an ornament worn around the neck, in this case, a natural one
wattle
a flap of skin
conservation
the saving and protecting of the environment
sanctuary
a place where birds, animals and plants are protected and allowed to live freely
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