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Feel the force: Tube-nosed bat which bears striking resemblance to Yoda discovered as scientists find hundreds of
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Feel the force: Tube-nosed bat which bears striking resemblance to Yoda discovered as scientists find hundreds of new species
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:37 PM on 6th October 2010
A tube-nosed fruit bat with an appearance reminiscent of the Star Wars Jedi Master Yoda has been discovered in a remote rainforest.
The bat, along with an orange spider and a yellow-spotted frog are among a host of new species found in a region of Papua New Guinea.
More than 200 animals and plants were revealed for the first time after two months of surveying in the rugged and little-explored Nakanai and Muller mountain ranges last year.
A nyctimene tube-nosed fruit bat (left) is one of the exotic discoveries
made by scientists in Papua New Guinea
Looks familiar: The creature bears more than a passing resemblance to the Star Wars Jedi Master Yoda
The findings included two mammals,
24 species of frog, nine plants, nearly 100 new insects including
damselflies, crickets and ants, and around 100 spiders.
A
white tipped-tail mouse, at least one ant and several of the crickets,
or katydids, are so different from other known species they each
represent an entirely new genus, the scientists said.
They were uncovered by two
scientific teams co-ordinated by Conservation International's rapid
assessment programme, in partnership with Papua New Guinea's Institute
for Biological Research and conservation organisation A Rocha
International.
The teams explored different
altitudes of the forest-cloaked Nakanai mountains, which host cave
systems and some of the world's largest underground rivers, and the
Muller range, accessing the remote areas by plane, dinghy, on foot and
even by helicopter.
Incredible find: An orange spider, so different it has its own new genus, was one of the star discoveries of the project
A pink-eyed Caedicia, one of the 42 individuals of the leaf katydids (subfamily Phaneropterinae) in the Muller Range mountains of Papua New Guinea, found by scientists Piotr Naskrecki and David Rentz
In the Nakanai surveys, scientists discovered a beautiful yellow-spotted frog found only high up in the mountains, the mouse with the white-tipped tail and the tiny 2cm frog which calls for a mate in the afternoon - unlike most frogs in the area which call at night.
In the Muller range, researchers found what they described as a 'spectacular variety' of insects, spiders and frogs.
One of the newly-discovered katydids has exceptionally long, spiny hind legs which it uses to jab at anything that threatens it, one new species has pink eyes and another has emerald-green patterning.
Leeanne Alonso, Conservation
International's rapid assessment programme director said the
discoveries made in both surveys were incredibly significant.
Newly-discovered: A mouse with a long white-tipped tail was among hundreds of new species found by scientists in remote areas of rainforest
Barely discernible: This tiny, well-camouflaged long-nosed frog's size is illustrated by a scientist's finger
A member of the Litoria genimaculata group, a frog with extremely variable colour patterns and distinct yellow spots in the groin, found in the in the Muller Range mountains
'While very encouraging, these discoveries do not mean that our global biodiversity is out of the woods,' she said.
'On the contrary, they should serve as a cautionary message about how much we still don't know about Earth's still hidden secrets and important natural resources, which we can only preserve with co-ordinated, long-term management.'
Dr Martin Kaonga, interim director of science and conservation at A Rocha International, said: 'It's very important we find these species, because it's only when you know what species exist in an area that you may be in a position to understand how to manage that given area.'
Beautiful blooms: A newly discovered rhododendron (left) and the striking Nepenthes bokorensis, found on Cambodia's Bokor Hill
He also said species may have uses, for example as medicines, and that there was a need to raise understanding among local people of the value of the wildlife found in their forests.
Meanwhile, several new discoveries in South-East Asia’s Mekong river are also causing a stir.
A fish with curving vampire fangs, a gecko that looks as if it's wearing lipstick and a carnivorous plant more than 7m high may sound like creatures from a nightmare but they are real.
They are just three of 145 new species found in the area in 2009 and highlighted in a WWF International report issued today, ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, this month.
A female Protobothrops trungkhanhensis found in northern Vietnam
A cricket-chirping frog (LeptolalaxApplebyi) is seen in the Quang Nam province of Vietnam
The diversity of the region, so rich that an average of three new species were discovered each week last year, also highlights the need for action to ensure these new finds survive, WWF International said.
Among the animals highlighted in New Blood: Greater Mekong New Species Discoveries 2009’ is the Dracula minnow, with bulging eyes and two sharp fangs curving from its low-slung jaw. Luckily, the fish only grows to a maximum of 16.7 mm.
More attractive by far is the lipstick gecko, barely big enough to perch on a finger, with a dark barred pattern across its lips suggestive of cosmetics.
Danio tinwini, a spotted Danio fish found in Myanmar
Other featured creatures include a fangless snake, a frog that chirps like a cricket, and a pitcher plant that traps insects and grows to a height of over seven metres.
‘This rate of discovery is simply staggering in modern times," said Stuart Chapman, Conservation Director of WWF Greater Mekong, in a statement.
‘Each year, the new species count keeps going up, and with it, so too does the responsibility to ensure this region's unique biodiversity is conserved.’
The bare-faced bulbul (left), is known to live in the sparse, deciduous
forests in central Laos, while the Murina eleryi (Eleryi's tube-nosed bat), is found in northern Vietnam
The report said these discoveries highlight the Greater Mekong's immense biodiversity but they also pinpoint the fragility of the region's diverse habitats and species.
The WWF report cited the likely local extinction of the Javan rhino in Vietnam as one tragic indicator of the decline of biodiversity in recent times.
The Greater Mekong region covers Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.
The Coluberoelaps nguyenvansangi, a rare a dwarf fossorial snake found in southern Vietnam
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NCJRS | Internet Safety
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Internet Safety
Computer interconnectivity has produced enormous benefits but has also enabled criminal activity that exploits this interconnectivity for financial gain and other malicious purposes, such as Internet fraud, child exploitation, identity theft, and terrorism (Cybercrime: Public and Private Entities Face Challenges in Addressing Cyber Threats, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2007). The Internet can give identity thieves, hackers, and scammers online access to your computer, financial and personal information and more (Stop.Think.Click: 7 Practices for Safer Computing, OnGuard Online, 2007). Additionally, today's mobile devices are well integrated with the Internet and have far more functionality than mobile phones of the past. They are increasingly used in the same way as personal computers, potentially making them susceptible to similar threats affecting PCs connected to the Internet (Cyber Threats to Mobile Devices, U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, 2010).
For youths, the Internet often serves as a positive and powerful arena for socializing and learning. However, the use of the Internet also brings about risks to their safety, including the dangers of sexual solicitation, online harassment and bullying, and exposure to illegal content (Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies: Final Report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008). By discussing responsible socializing and communicating, parents — regardless of whether they are technologically savvy — can help their kids make better decisions about online behavior (Net Cetera: OnGuardOnline.gov’s Internet Safety Campaign for Children – A Report to Congress, Federal Trade Commission, 2010).
Efforts to address cybercrime include activities associated with protecting networks and information, detecting criminal activity, investigating crime, and prosecuting criminals (Cybercrime: Public and Private Entities Face Challenges in Addressing Cyber Threats, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2007). Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched the Stop. Think. Connect. Campaign, a national public awareness effort to guide the nation to a higher level of Internet safety by challenging the American public to be more vigilant about practicing good “cyber hygiene.” (National Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2010).
In recognition of National Internet Safety Month (June) and National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October) and for use throughout the year, NCJRS presents this compilation of resources on the topic. Please select a page from the listing below or from the box at the right under the "Internet Safety" heading:
Links from the NCJRS Web site to non-Federal sites do not constitute an endorsement by NCJRS or its sponsors. NCJRS is not responsible for the content or privacy policy of any off-site pages that are referenced, nor does NCJRS guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of information. NCJRS is also not responsible for the use of, or results obtained from the use of, the information. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from non-Federal sites.Read more at www.ncjrs.gov
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