A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tinybear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater onthe Pacific island of Papua New Guinea.
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosaviand explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that hasevolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago.In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, thebiologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded byscience, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which mayturn out to be the biggest in the world.
The discoveries are being seen as fresh evidence of the richness of the world’s rainforestsand the explorers hope their finds will add weight to calls forinternational action to prevent the demise of similar ecosystems. Theysaid Papua New Guinea’s rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% a year.
“It was mind-blowing to be there and it is clearly time we pulledour finger out and decided these habitats are worth us saving,” said DrGeorge McGavin who headed the expedition.
The team of biologistsincluded experts from Oxford University, the London Zoo and theSmithsonian Institution and are believed to be the first scientists to enter the mountainous Bosavi crater. They were joined by members of the BBC Natural History Unit which filmed the expedition for a three-part documentary which starts tomorrow night.
Theyfound the three-kilometre wide crater populated by spectacular birds ofparadise and in the absence of big cats and monkeys, which are found inthe remote jungles of the Amazon and Sumatra, the main predators aregiant monitor lizards while kangaroos have evolved to live in trees. New speciesinclude a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog and a fish called the Henamogrunter, named because it makes grunting noises from its swim bladder.
“Thesediscoveries are really significant,” said Steve Backshall, a climberand naturalist who became so friendly with the never-before seen Bosavisilky cuscus, a marsupial that lives up trees and feeds on fruits andleaves, that it sat on his shoulder.
“The world is getting an awful lot smaller and it is getting very hard to find places that are so far off the beaten track.”
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