A Biologists Dream!

Yesterday MSNBS reported the discovery of a plethora of new species found in the remote old growth tropical forests of Papua New Guinea. It would be super to be able to be part of this research group! Below are some excerpts from the MSNBC website posted on February 07, 2006.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Describing it as the discovery of a “Lost World,” conservation groups on Tuesday said an expedition to one of Asia’s most isolated jungles had found several dozen new species of frogs, butterflies, flowers and birds.

“It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” Bruce Beehler, a Conservation International scientist who led the expedition, said in a statement.
The team of U.S., Indonesian and Australian scientists ventured into the Foja Mountains of Papua province last December. The remote area covers more than two million acres of old growth tropical forest.

One of the most remarkable discoveries was the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo, an arboreal jungle-dweller new for Indonesia and previously thought to have been hunted to near extinction.
Among the discoveries was a new species of the honeyeater bird. The first new bird discovered on New Guinea since 1939, it has a bright orange face patch.

The team captured the first photos of a male Berlepsch’s Six-Wired Bird of Paradise, named for the wires that extend from its head in place of a crest.

“Amazed scientists watched as a male Berlepsch’s bird of paradise performed a mating dance for an attending female in the field camp,” Conservation International said. “This was the first time a live male of the species had been observed by Western scientists, and proved that the Foja Mountains was the species’ true home.”

The bird had been the focus of several earlier expeditions that failed to find its home.
“Other discoveries included what may be the largest rhododendron flower on record — almost six inches across — along with more than 20 new frogs and four new butterflies,” Conservation International said.

Below is the first photographic record of the Berlepsch's six-wired "lost" bird of paradise (Image: Bruce Beehler)