Gallery: 200 New Species of Frogs, Spiders, Mammals and More Discovered
Copyright Piotr Naskrecki01katydid-2
In just two months of searching through a remote, mountainous rainforest in Papua New Guinea, scientists discovered 200 new species of animals and plants, including spiders, frogs, insects and mammals. The surveys were done in 2009 in the Nakanai Mountains on the island of New Britain, which the country has nominated for World Heritage status. The new species could offer a boost to that effort. “While very encouraging, these discoveries do not mean that our global biodiversity is out of the woods," Leeanne Alonso of Conservation International said in a press release Oct. 5. "On the contrary, they should serve as a cautionary message about how much we still don’t know about Earth’s still hidden secrets.” Some of the newly discovered species are truly spectacular, such as the pink-eyed beauty above, one of 20 leaf katydids found in the surveys. Within the relatively small sample of 42 individuals of the leaf katydids in the Muller Range mountains, scientists Piotr Naskrecki and David Rentz found at least 20 new species. We've got some of the most beautiful, strange and interesting of the new species in this gallery, along with a few very rare ones that hadn't been seen in the area before. *Captions are adapted from Conservation International, which coordinated the surveys in partnership with Papua New Guinea’s Institute for Biological Research and A Rocha International, with funding from the Hans Wildorf Foundation.* *Image: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International*
02tube-nosed-fruit-bat
Tube-Nosed Fruit Bat -------------------- This is a previously seen but still undescribed species endemic to Papua New Guinea. This tube-nosed fruit bat *Nyctimene sp.* from the Muller Range mountains does not yet have a name but has been found in other parts of New Guinea. It is likely restricted to hill forests on the island. Fruit bats are important seed dispersers in tropical forests. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/?attachment_id=37982) *Images: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International*
03litoria
*Litoria* Frogs --------------- __Above:__ A beautiful member of the *Litoria genimaculata* group, this newly discovered frog has extremely variable color patterns and distinct yellow spots in the groin. These colorful frogs were surprisingly difficult to spot during Conservation International's September 2009 assessment, in the lush foliage along small rain forest streams in the Muller Range mountains where they live. Males were most frequently spotted when they uttered a very soft ticking sound to attract females in the vicinity. __Below:__ This potentially new species of frog was discovered in Papua New Guinea (DNA analysis pending). Living 30 meters above the ground in the forest canopy, this large bright green frog was more often heard than seen in the Muller Range mountains, Papua New Guinea. At night males proclaimed their presence with loud, gutteral croaking sounds high above the camp much to the frustration herpetologists Stephen Richards and Chris Dahl. Finally, a local tree-climber proudly delivered a handsome male to them. It was the only individual seen during the survey and almost certainly new to science. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/?attachment_id=37981) *Images: Stephen Richards, Conservation International*
04opossum
Feather-Tailed Possum --------------------- This previously seen but still undescribed species endemic to Papua New Guinea was observed by researchers in September 2009. This cute possum, *Distoechurus sp.*, was attracted to a light-trap put up by entomologists to catch night-time insects at around 1600 meters elevation in the Muller Range mountains. It may have been attempting to catch and eat moths. This animal is only known from this site and a nearby mountain, where mammalogist Ken Aplin found it in 1985. Genetic analysis carried out after the Muller Range RAP finally proved the distinctness of these populations from all others. It still does not have a name. The possum family *Acrobatidae* is an ancient one, with fossils known from the early Miocene of northern Australia, but their more recent history is a mystery. Nothing much is known about the ecology of *Distoechurus* but the structure of its tongue suggests a diet that includes nectar. *Image: Stephen Richards, Conservation International*
05spider1
*Anelosimus* Spider ------------------- A new species of *Anelosimus* from the Nakanai Mountains of New Britain, one of 4 new species of this genus, previously not documented from New Guinea, was discovered in the two expeditions. The new species include both solitary and subsocial species that seem to have diversified within New Guinea. *Image: Ingi Agnarsson*
Copyright Piotr Naskrecki06katydid2
*Mossula* Katydid ----------------- This is one of five new species of this genus discovered during Conservation International's September 2009 survey of the Muller Range. It has an especially interesting defense mechanism: Its hind legs are exceptionally large and spiny, and when threatened it holds them vertically above their head and tries to jab you with the spines (very painful). *Image: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International*
07montane-mouse
Montane Mouse ------------- This undescribed species of montane mouse was documented during the Rapid Assessment Program biodiversity survey in the Nakanai Mountains, Papua New Guinea in April 2009. This beautiful long-tailed mouse was captured at the high elevation site (1590m above sea level). Although it resembles the prehensile-tailed tree mice of New Guinea this remarkable new species has no close relatives and represents an entirely new genus. The new mouse has rather narrow feet and forward-directed incisors that may be used for digging and carrying soil, suggesting that it might be a burrower and live most of its life at or near the forest floor. It is unusual in having a long, pure white tail tip that distinguishes it from all other mice in the area. *Image: Stephen Richards, Conservation International*
08long-nosed-frog
*Choerophryne* Frog Stephen Richards of Conservation International traced the soft scratching call of this tiny, long nosed frog into a steep muddy gully in New Guinea's remote Muller Range during a scientific expedition in Sep. 2009. Small enough to sit comfortably on a thumb-nail and hidden from view under a tangle of roots in pouring rain, this undescribed frog of the genus *Choerophryne* nearly eluded the team altogether. Its position given away by one cricket-like call too many, this strange species subsequently turned out to be new to science. *Image: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International*
unknown09ant1
*Pheidole* Ant -------------- These tiny, spiny ants were common foragers on the forest floor at mid elevation (1600m) in the Muller Range, in Papua New Guinea. The large majors have heads that are several times the size of the workers' heads. The huge mandibles are controlled by powerful muscles, which allow them to crush food that the workers bring back to the nest. This species was among the first to discover food items, such as crumbs, on the forest floor, and quickly recruited many workers and majors to carry away their bounty. The distinct spines on these beautifully shiny ants are thought to defend them against predators. *Image: Andrea Lucky*
10katydid3
*Mossula* Katydid ----------------- This new species of *Mossula*, found in the Muller Range of Papua New Guinea in September 2009, has a dark emerald coloration that Piotr Naskrecki, had never observed in katydids. *Image: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International*
11batrachylodes-frog
*Batrachylodes* Frog -------------------- This tiny frog, measuring just 2 cm long, was the most exciting herpetological discovery of the Nakanai survey. It belongs to a group of frogs previously only known from the Solomon Islands, and its discovery in the wet montane forests of New Britain was a complete surprise. Unlike most of his relatives this little frog did not call at night, preferring to advertise for females late in the afternoon, particularly after the drenching tropical storms experienced on most days by the team. *Image: Stephen Richards, Conservation International*
12platymantis
*Platymantis* Frog ------------------ Among the 20 new frogs discovered during Conservation International's two surveys is a striking, yellow-spotted species of the genus *Platymantis*. This attractive frog was found only at the highest elevations surveyed in the Nakanai Mountains in April 2009. Males called from small bushes in Bamboo thickets so dense that it took many hours to cut a path just a few meters off the main trail in order to track down their soft calls. This new species belongs to a group of frogs that lay their eggs on land or in the trees where they hatch directly into little froglets, and they have no tadpole stage. This breeding strategy is of immense benefit to frogs in places like the Nakanai Mountains where, despite the high rainfall, surface-water is very scarce because it drains quickly underground to join streams and rivers that flow through underground caves. *Image: Stephen Richards, Conservation International*
