Note: this topic is from 9/08/2009. Thanks Red Badger.
Posted on 09/08/2009 5:21:46 AM PDT by Red Badger
A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea. 'A giant woolly rat never before seen by science' Link to this audio
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.
The discoveries are being seen as fresh evidence of the richness of the world's rainforests and the explorers hope their finds will add weight to calls for international action to prevent the demise of similar ecosystems. They said Papua New Guinea's rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% a year.
"It was mind-blowing to be there and it is clearly time we pulled our finger out and decided these habitats are worth us saving," said Dr George McGavin who headed the expedition.
The team of biologists included experts from Oxford University, the London Zoo and the Smithsonian Institution and are believed to be the first scientists to enter the mountainous Bosavi crater. They were joined by members of the BBC Natural History Unit which filmed the expedition for a three-part documentary which starts tomorrow night.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Very impressive. Thanks,for posting.
So much for the utility of evolution ~ in this case unless it makes it easier for them to migrate elsewhere, or fly out of there, or resist the effects of molten rock, evolution itself is a less than meaningful adaptation.
1st rule of evolution: Do not make your home inside a volcano........
ping!........
Unless, of course, you are just starting out and still have a really good anti-radiation thing going PLUS you can take the heat!
So once again Lester Dent writing under the name of Kenneth Robeson was prophetic in his writings when he wrote the story “Land of the Lost” for the Doc Savage pulp.
I don’t know when Lester Dent wrote his tome, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote “Lost World” in 1912..................
Thanks, cool stuff.
Note to those of you who forgot to read the article: The volcano is EXTINCT.
Another fine example of island biogeography - in this case, a double “island.” An inaccessible crater on a fairly remote island. Resulting in, as evolution predicts, greater diversity and unique species.
A beautiful thing.
Or Three Mile Island.
I’ve been on Three Mile Island and inside the plant. I can’t, for the life of me, understand why any sane person would build a nuclear power plant in the middle of a river that is known for flooding every now and then................
There is no such thing as a “extinct” volcano........................
Agree in california the have a plant near a fault line what could go wrong.
We have one in Florida in THE KEYS!........................
i believe it was right before Kong. is that 29 or 39?
Note: this topic is from 9/08/2009. Thanks Red Badger.
“Land of Terror” was the second Doc Savage issue, so it would have been 1933.
Loved those as a kid, I still have all the Bantam Reprints out in the shed.
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