A scientific expedition into a treacherous mountain range on the island of New Guinea has collected the first photographic evidence confirming the survival of a rare egg-laying mammal. The team also found dozens of unidentified insect species, as well as spiders, amphibians and even a tree-dwelling shrimp.
This rediscovered mammal, known as the Attenborough long-beaked echidna, had “the quills of a porcupine, the nose of an anteater and the claws of a mole,” said James Kempton, a biologist at the University of Oxford. Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia’s Papua province. Slightly smaller than a domestic cat, many details about this critically endangered mammal remain a mystery.
“In my opinion, these are some of the most special animals in the world” said Kristofer Helgen, an Australian mammologist who was not involved in the expedition.
This species is one of five living monotremes, a rare group of primitive mammals that includes the platypus and three other echidna species. All five species lay eggs and nurse their young with milk through pores in their skin, as they do not have breasts and have noses that detect the movements and electrical currents of their prey.
Researchers also found an unusual species of shrimp, slightly larger than grains of rice, in a forested area toward the top of the Cyclops Mountains. The expedition’s chief entomologist, Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou, who works at the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History, said these crustaceans were found everywhere, including trees, moss, rotting logs and even under rocks.
“It’s a very strange creature,” Davranoglou said, adding that it can jump about a meter into the air to escape predators.
There are about nine other species of land shrimp that live along the coast.
The researchers placed 80 camera traps at various elevations in June and July and collected 14 photos and four videos of the echidnas. And it wasn’t until the last day of the expedition that they realized they had seen the echidna. Results were uploaded to bioRxiv before being submitted to a journal for peer review.
There are more than 2,000 “lost species of plants and animals” worldwide that have not been scientifically recorded for more than a decade. Kempton said knowing whether these species still exist is vital because human activity is accelerating species extinctions. This is especially true for evolutionarily distinct species, such as monotremes, he added.
“These five species are the sole guardians of 200 million years of evolutionary history,” Kempton said. “Preserving this unique and fragile evolutionary history is extremely important.”.
Researchers also found an unknown cave system. It contained spiders, blind crickets and a large whip scorpion that were new to science, Davranoglou said. The team also found at least three new amphibian species in the surrounding forest.
“I truly hope and believe that this will be a catalyst for strong protection of the Cyclops Range.”Iain Kobak, co-founder of Yappenda, a foundation in Papua, said:
MOTHER DOUGLAS. NEW YORK TIMES
Source: Exame
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