A new type of tree kangaroo, a 2.5m-long river shark, a frog with vampire-like fangs and a turquoise lizard are among hundreds of new creatures found and being documented in a report by conservationists working in the Pacific island of New Guinea.
About 1,060 previously unknown species of mammals, fish and birds have been spotted on the volcanic island over a 10-year period.
The Final Frontier report, which was put together by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, marks a brief respite from the escalating rate of animal and plant extinctions which is taking its toll across the planet and has left a quarter of all known mammals on the endangered list.
The species have all been discovered, at a rate of two each week, in the period from 1998 to 2008 by the various teams and researchers who have visited the region and its extensive forests, waters and wetlands.
One team discovered a new bird, the wattled smoky honeyeater, within seconds of leaving their expedition helicopter.
Perhaps the most extraordinary freshwater discovery is the species of river shark which, given its size, has done well to evade discovery until now. The shy fish has been named the Glyphis garricki after New Zealand zoologist Jack Garrick, who identified it. Because of its rarity it has immediately gone on to the endangered list.
In the salt waters a snub-fin dolphin that comes in a delicate shade of pink was spotted in 2005 and, after much scientific measuring and debating, now qualifies as the first new dolphin species to be found in more than three decades.
Mark Wright, conservation science adviser at WWF, said the report was a fabulous reminder that “the world is full of fantastic and fantastical creatures, of quirky and improbable lifestyles. The more we look, the more we find.”
However, he said that species diversity was rich the world over.
“Perhaps it is so commonplace we ignore it, or maybe we’ve forgotten how to look. Let’s take flies. Britain is home to more than 5,000 species of fly, and these are not everyone’s favorite, but flies represent 5,000 entirely different responses to life’s challenges,” he said.
“For instance, the holly leaf miner, whose nondescript larvae cause leaf blotching at this time of year — their entire world is limited to that tiny strip between the top and bottom of a single leaf. Those same life processes that we go through — feeding, growing, breathing —- are still acted out, but now crammed into a creature far smaller than a grain of rice,” he said.
New Guinea is in an area known as the “coral triangle,” a region with the most diverse marine eco-systems on Earth. In the 10-year period in question, 33 new fish species have been found in the waters around the island, including the damselfish, a strikingly brilliant blue wrasse and seven species of zig-zag rainbow fish, an 11cm-long creature that lives in shallow waters.
In all, 218 new kinds of plants — including a flesh-like orchid, 43 reptiles and 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, two birds and 71 fish have been found.
“It is precisely that endless variety of form and function that enthralls me, but this exuberance of nature is under threat,” Wright said. “Despite the best efforts of groups like WWF, it is clear that we will not save all we would like to.”
“Forest will continue to be felled, rivers dammed and coastlines developed. And species will be erased. Some extinction is inevitable — a consequence of [Charles] Darwin’s ‘natural selection’ — but humans are imposing intense pressures, leading to ‘unnatural selection.’ Nature is struggling to cope, but we have the ability and power in our hands to forge a future in which the environment is truly valued — we must choose to do so,” he said.
New Guinea is the second largest island on Earth, after Greenland, and is divided between the countries of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It holds the third-largest tract of rainforest in the world and is home to about 8 percent of the world’s species. However, while its relatively low level of human population had protected its species, illegal logging is now projected to strip the island of half of its forest cover by 2020.
To support WWF’s anniversary report, writer and filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff has made a short film, which will include footage of some of the new species from New Guinea. Called Astonish Me, the film will be shown exclusively online by the London-based Observer later this summer.
Poliakoff said that his drama — which stars Bill Nighy — had been inspired by the new discoveries made in the natural world.
“What astonishes me is there are so many animals out there we are seeing for the first time from the very colossal squid to the largest insect in the world discovered recently — it’s extraordinary in the 21st century that this is still going on. We think we know everything, but we don’t,” he said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese