‘Lost World’ of wildlife found in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Describing it as the discovery of a “Lost World,” conservation groups and Indonesia 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 first bird we saw at our camp was a new species,” he added. “Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance. We were able to simply pick up two Long-Beaked Echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal that is little known.”

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.

“There was not a single trail, no sign of civilization, no sign of even local communities ever having been there,” said Beehler, adding that two headmen from the Kwerba and Papasena tribes, the customary landowners of the Foja Mountains, accompanied the expedition.

“They were as astounded as we were at how isolated it was,” he said from Washington, D.C. “As far as they knew, neither of their clans had ever been to the area.”

New bird, flower
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 facepatch.

“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.

Wayne Takeuchi / Conservation International This new species of rhododendron was discovered on the island.

The team captured the first photos of a male Berlepsch’s Six-Wired Bird of Paradise, named for the wiry strands 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.

Bachelor pad
The scientists also took the first photos of the Golden-fronted Bowerbird displaying its bachelor pad to females as part of a mating ritual. The pad, known as a bower, is a tower of twigs and other forest materials. The bowerbird was hanging up blue forest berries to attract females.

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.

The scientists also found a tiny microhylid frog less than a half inch long and five new species of palm.

The scientists visited in the wet season, which limited the numbers of flying insects. “Any expedition visiting in the dry season would probably discover many more butterflies,” he said.

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