'Lost world' of untouched species found in Indonesia
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-02-09 09:06

An international expedition to one of Asia's most isolated jungles has discovered a virtual "lost world" of new species and giant flowers as well as rare mammals that were unafraid of humans, organizers said.

The first photographic record of a new species of Smoky honeyeater, discovered on the Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition to the Foja Mountains of Papua province, Indonesia. [AFP]

Scientists were stunned to find dozens of new species and resolved a century-old ornithological mystery, said environmental group Conservation International, which organized the December 2005 trip.

The astonishing array of untouched biodiversity was found in the Foja Mountains in the Indonesian-administered western part of the island of New Guinea.

Experts from the United States, Indonesia and Australia found species that had never been described before, including frogs, butterflies, plants and an orange-faced honeyeater, the first new bird found on the island in more than 60 years.

"Its as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth," said Bruce Beehler, vice president of Conservation International's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation.

"The first bird we saw at our camp was a new species. Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance."

He said researchers were able to simply pick up two long-beaked echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal that is little known.

In addition to making the first photos of a male Berlepschs six-wired bird of paradise, the expedition has also found a new large mammal so far undetected in Indonesia -- the golden-mantled tree kangaroo, formerly known from only a single mountain on the eastern Papua New Guinean side of the island.

This undated photo released by Conservation International shows what is believed to be a new species of treefrog. [AP]

Berlepschs six-wired bird of paradise was first described in the late 19th century through specimens collected by indigenous hunters from an unknown location on New Guinea, scientists said.

The species had been the focus of several subsequent expeditions, but until now, nobody knew exactly where its homeland was.

The newly-discovered honeyeater, the first new bird discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939, has a bright orange face-patch with a pendant wattle under each eye, the group said.

Other discoveries included what may be the largest rhododendron flower on record -- almost six inches (15 centimeters) across -- along with more than 20 new frogs and four new butterflies.

The mating dance by the Berlepschs bird of paradise, performed to impress a female, was observed on the second day of the month-long expedition.

According to the scientists, it 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 expedition took place almost 25 years after US geographer Jared Diamond surprised the scientific world in 1981 with his discovery of the homeland of the golden-fronted Bowerbird in the same mountain range.

This time, scientists captured the first ever photographs of the golden-fronted bowerbird displaying a tower of twigs and other forest materials it builds for the mating ritual.

The discoveries have led researchers to conclude that more than 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of old growth tropical forest in the Foja Mountains remain untouched by humans.

The mountains feature the largest essentially pristine tropical forest in Asia and an important region for biodiversity conservation, Conservation International said.