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Showing posts with label frog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frog. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

New species found in 'Lost World' rainforest


A Pinocchio frog with an extendable nose and the world's smallest wallaby are just some of the new species discovered in a mountainous region of Indonesia.

The Foja Mountains, a national wildlife sanctuary, is on the island of New Guinea and encompasses 1,200 sq miles of undisturbed rainforest.

The discoveries were made as part of a survey in the area by Conservation International. A team of 17 scientists were dropped off in the area by helicopter. They were then joined by 30 local naturists and spent four weeks exploring the mountains.

Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at Conservation International and a member of the research team that set out in November 2008, said "while animals and plants are being wiped out across the globe at a pace never seen in millions of years, the discovery of these absolutely incredible forms of life is much-needed positive news. Places like these represent a healthy future for all of us, and show that it is not too late to stop the current species extinction crisis."

The mountainous region has been called the "Lost World" due to it's absence of roads and tropical environment which has made it the perfect habitat for diverse species.

Conservation International hopes it's documentation of the wildlife in the Foja Mountains will encourage the Indonesian Government to increase long-term protection of the area.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

New species discovered in Borneo

A 'Ninja slug', a lungless frog and a giant stick insect are just some of the amazing new species discovered on the Borneo island.

Around 120 species have been found in an area designated for conservation and the findings have been published in a report by the WWF.

Among the findings are a long-tailed slug (pictured above) that uses 'love darts' made of calcium carbonate to pierce and inject a hormone into a mate to increase the chances of reproduction.

Researchers also discovered a 57 centimetre long stick insect named "Phobaeticus chani" (pictured left) and a flat-headed frog, known as "Barbourula kalimantanensis" (pictured right), which breathes entirely through it's skin instead of it's lungs.
Adam Tomasek, head of WWF's Heart of Borneo initiative, said "we have been finding on average three new species a month and about 123 over the last three years, with at least 600 new species found in the last 15 years."