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Dozens of new species discovered in Indonesia

Scientists combing through undersea wonders off Indonesia's Papua Province said yesterday they had discovered dozens of new species.

The discoveries included a shark that walks on its fins and a shrimp that looks like a praying mantis.

The team from Conservation International also warned that the area -- known as Bird's Head Seascape -- is under danger.

The group stated that fishermen in the area tended to use dynamite and cyanide to net their catches and called on Indonesia's government to do more to protect it.

"It's one of the most stunningly beautiful landscapes and seascapes on the planet," Mark Erdmann, a senior adviser of Conservation International, said.

Erdmann and his team claim to have discovered 52 new species, including 24 new species of fish, 20 new species of coral and eight new species of shrimp.

Among the highlights were an epaulette shark that walks on its fins, a praying mantis-like shrimp and scores of reef-building corals.

Conservation International said papers on two of the new fish species -- called flasher wrasse because of the bright colors the male exhibits during mating -- have been accepted for publication in Aqua: Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology.

The group is in the process of writing papers on the other species, it said.

Carden Wallace, a coral expert and principal scientist at the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville, Australia, said she was not surprised by the finding "mostly because it is a remote location and hasn't been visited by scientists very much."

Wallace said that the finds should give scientists some crucial data.

"This will give us a better understanding of where all this diversity originates from and how vulnerable it may be," Wallace said.

Erdmann said that the stunning discoveries add to what was already a legendary reputation for the area, which stretches for 180,000km2 on the northwestern end of Indonesia's Papua Province.

Dubbed Asia's "Coral Triangle," it is home to more than 1,200 species of fish and almost 600 species of reef-building coral -- representing 75 percent of the world's known total.

Conservation International has called for the Indonesian government to set up a series of marine parks around Bird's Head Seascape.

"These Papuan reefs are literally species factories that require special attention to protect them from unsustainable fisheries and other threats so they can continue to benefit their local owners and the global community,'' Erdmann said.

Erdmann said only 11 percent of the area is currently protected, most of it in the Teluk Cendarawasih National Park.

He said the government is studying the idea of creating additional marine parks.
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