Species Kucing Baru Ditemukan di Indonesia

Lingkungan Hidup

Species Kucing Baru Ditemukan di Indonesia
Oleh : Wahyu Ari Wicaksono

22-Mar-2007, 14:14:26 WIB - [www.kabarindonesia.com]

Para ilmuwan di Swiss mempublikasikan bahwa macan dahan yang ditemukan di Borneo dan Sumatra adalah spesies baru. Binatang yang bersembunyi di hutan tropis ini sebelumnya dianggap spesies yang sama dengan macan dahan yang hidup di daratan utama Asia Tenggara.

Berita mengenai adanya temuan tersebut dipublikasikan beberapa minggu setelah dirilisnya laporan WWF yang mengabarkan bahwa para ilmuwan berhasil mengidentifikasikan tidak kurang dari 52 spesies satwa dan tumbuhan baru di Borneo dalam periode satu tahun saja. WWF meyakini dengan adanya temuan-temuan baru yang berulang kali seperti itu semakin jelas betapa pentingnya perlindungan habitat dan spesies dari pulau nomor tiga terbesar di dunia tersebut.

Para peneliti di Institut Nasional Kanker Amerika Serikat mengatakan perbedaan antara macan dahan yang ada di Kalimantan dengan yang ada di Asia Tenggara perbandingannya setara dengan perbedaan yang ada antar spesies kucing besar lainnya semacam singa, harimau, macan tutul dan macan kumbang. Mereka meyakini bahwa populasi di Borneo adalah deviasi dari populasi yang ada di daratan utama Asia sekitar 1,4 juta tahun yang lalu.

“Hasil penelitian genetik secara jelas menunjukkan bahwa macan dahan di Borneo harus dianggap sebagai spesies berbeda,” kata Dr Stephen O'Brien, Kepala Laboratorium Keragaman Genom, Institut Kanker Amerika Serikat. “Tes DNA menemukan kira-kira ada 40 perbedaan genetik antara kedua spesies tersebut.”

Hasil studi genetik ini juga didukung oleh riset lainnya yang menelaah pola dan corak warna kulit macan dahan yang disimpan di museum, yang dikoleksi dari berbagai lokasi geografis.

“Pada waktu kita mulai membandingkan kulit macan dahan di belahan Asia Tenggara dan yang ditemukan di Borneo, semakin jelas bahwa kita sedang membandingkan dua spesies yang berbeda,” Dr. Andrew Kitchener, dari Departmen Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Museum Nasional di Skotlandia.. “Cukup mencengangkan bahwa tidak seorangpun menyadari perbedaan-perbedaan tersebut.”

Macan dahan Borneo memiliki tanda ‘gelap’, beberapa ciri-ciri lain sekitar tanda gelap itu yaitu, bulu yang keabu-abuan, dan sirip loreng ganda. Semuanya lebih gelap daripada spesies yang ada di daratan utama Asia Tenggara. Kulit macan dahan Borneo biasanya mempunyai corak berawan yang lebih besar, lebih sedikit dan pucat, serta adanya tutul-tutul dengan kecenderungan bulu kecoklatan dan sebagian loreng ganda.

“Siapa bilang tanda-tanda pada macan tutul tidak dapat berubah? Sejak lebih dari seratus tahun kita terus mencari binatang ini dan tidak pernah membayangkan keunikannya,” kata Stuart Chapman, WWF International Coordinator untuk Heart of Borneo programme. “Kenyataannya, predator utama di hutan Borneo ini sekarang dinyatakan sebagai spesies berbeda sehingga semakin menguatkan pentingnya konservasi kawasan Jantung Borneo ini.”

Macan dahan adalah predator terbesar di Borneo, terkadang besarnya hampir sama dengan panther ukuran kecil, dan tercatat memiliki gigi taring terpanjang sebesar ukuran tubuh kucing. Rusaknya habitat di mana mereka hidup adalah ancaman utama. Habitat terakhir berupa hutan luas bagi macan dahan Borneo ini adalah Heart of Borneo, yaitu areal sekitar 220.000 km2, wilayah pegunungan - dengan luas sekitar lima kali ukuran Swiss - tertutup oleh hutan tropis khatulistiwa di tengah-tengah pulau.

Dengan mempertimbangkan kondisi hutan di Borneo, jumlah populasi macan dahan diperkirakan berkisar antara 5.000-11.000 ekor. Total jumlah yang ada di Sumatra sekitar 3.000-7.000 ekor. Kepala Pusat Penelitian Biologi Indonesia - LIPI, Dr. Dedy Darnaedi menambahkan, “Sekali pun begitu, diperlukan studi lebih lanjut untuk mendapatkan data populasi lebih baik dan perlu komunikasi lebih lanjut dengan Museum Nasional di Skotlandia untuk membandingkan laporan-laporan yang ada sekarang.”

Bulan lalu di Bali, para menteri dari tiga Negara- Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia dan Malaysia - menandatangani Deklarasi bersejarah untuk melindungi dan mengelola Jantung Borneo secara berkelanjutan. Hal ini menjadikan wilayah tersebut sebagai prioritas konservasi di panggung internasional.

Sumber foto: www.kompas.com

52 Spesies Baru Ditemukan di Hutan Kalimantan

52 Spesies Baru Ditemukan di Hutan Kalimantan

JAKARTA, SELASA--Dalam kurun waktu satu setengah tahun terakhir, para ilmuwan berhasil mengidentifikasi sekitar 52 spesies hewan dan tumbuhan baru di Pulau Borneo (Kalimantan). Penemuan yang diuraikan dalam laporan World Wildlife Fund (WWF) itu meliputi 30 jenis ikan yang unik, dua jenis katak pohon, 16 jenis jahe, tiga jenis pohon, dan satu jenis tumbuhan berdaun lebar.

"Semakin kita cari, semakin banyak yang kita temukan," ujar Stuart Chapman, Koordinator Internasional WWF Program Heart of Borneo. Penemuan ke-52 spesies itu saja hanya berlangsung antara bulan Juli 2005 hingga September 2006.

Banyak temuan mengagumkan di antara spesies yang baru ditemukan. Antara lain seekor katak pohon dengan mata hijau terang yang mencolok.

Sedangkan di Borneo yang menjadi bagian Malaysia, rawa-rawa asam dan aliran air lambat berwarna hitam ternyata menjadi tempat tinggal bagi paedocypris micromegethes, ikan mungil yang panjangnya hanya sekitar 0,8 cm.

Ikan yang namanya berarti anak-anak dalam bahasa Yunani ini jauh lebih kecil dibanding semua jenis hewan bertulang belakang, kecuali sepupunya sendiri, yakni ikan berukuran 0,7 cm yang hidup di Sumatra.

Juga ditemukan enam jenis ikan Cupang (Aduan), termasuk satu jenis ikan yang sangat cantik dengan pola warna hijau-kebiruan yang berwarna-warni indah. Yang juga unik adalah sejenis ikan lele dengan gigi menonjol dan perut yang memudahkan untuk menempel pada batu.

Ikan lele yang memiliki pola warna tubuh menarik ini dinamai glyptothorax exodon, terkait bentuk gigi tonggosnya yang tetap terlihat walau ikan ini mengatupkan mulutnya. Sedangkan alat penghisap di perutnya memungkinkan ia untuk menempel di batuan ketika menghadang derasnya arus Sungai Kapuas.

Dari jenis tumbuhan, jenis jahe-jahean yang ditemukan sangat banyak hingga melebihi dua kali lipat jumlah spesies Etlingera yang telah ditemukan hingga saat ini. Selain itu, jenis-jenis pohon dari Borneo bertambah lagi oleh tiga spesies baru dari genus Beilschmiedia.

ist.

lele bergigi tonggos yang ditemukan di aliran Sungai Kapuas

Beberapa spesies yang baru ditemukan ini terdapat di kawasan "Heart of Borneo" sebuah wilayah pegunungan seluas 220 ribu kilometer persegi, yang ditutup oleh hutan hujan tropis di tengah Pulau Kalimantan. Namun WWF memperingatkan bahwa habitat yang luas tersebut saat ini terus terancam oleh konversi hutan untuk dijadikan kebun karet, kelapa sawit dan hutan tanaman industri sebagai bahan kertas. Menurut hasil penelitian organisasi konservasi global, sejak 1996, penebangan hutan di Indonesia telah meningkat rata-rata dua juta hektar tiap tahun dan untuk saat ini hanya separuh dari hutan asli Kalimantan yang masih tersisa,

"Area pedalaman yang jauh dan sulit dijangkau, yang merupakan bagian dari kawasan "Heart of Borneo" adalah salah satu benteng terakhir dunia untuk ilmu pengetahuan dan penemuan banyak spesies baru. "Kita tinggal menantikan kejutan yang berikutnya," Chapman menambahkan. " Selain itu hutan ini juga penting sebagai wilayah sumber mata air bagi sungai-sungai utama di pulau ini, dan juga bertindak sebagai suatu "sekat bakar" alami terhadap masalah kebakaran yang sudah membinasakan dataran rendah tahun ini."

Pada pertemuan Konvensi Keanekaragaman Biologi (UN Convention on Biological Diversity) yang berlangsung pada bulan Maret 2006 di Curitiba, Brazil, ke tiga Pemerintahan yang memiliki wilayah di Pulau Kalimantan - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia dan Malaysia- menyatakan komitmen mereka untuk mendukung suatu prakarsa untuk memelihara dan melestarikan keberlangsungan "Heart of Borneo". Saat ini diharapkan agar ketiga negara tersebut akan memfinalisasi suatu deklarasi bersama sebagai langkah global dari kepentingan mendesak untuk menempatkan "Heart of Borneo" dalam prioritas konservasi

ist.

Ikan cupang spesies baru yang diberi nama Betta uberis

Pulau Kalimantan merupakan salah satu dari dua tempat di bumi- satu lainnya adalah Pulau Sumatra - di mana ditemukan spesies-spesies yang terancam punah seperti orangutan, gajah dan badak hidup berdampingan. Kehidupan spesies liar lainnya yang terancam di Kalimantan antara lain macan dahan, beruang madu, dan Owa-owa endemik. Pulau Borneo merupakan rumah bagi 10 spesies primata, lebih dari 350 spesies burung, 150 reptil dan ampibi serta 15,000 tumbuhan.

Sebuah laporan dari WWF yang diluncurkan tahun lalu - Borneo dunia yang hilang: Penemuan Species baru di Borneo (April, 2005) - menunjukkan bahwa antara tahun 1994 dan 2004 sedikitnya 361 jenis yang baru telah ditemukan. Jumlah ini artinya rata-rata ditemukan tiga spesies baru per bulan dalam area yang luasnya sedikit dua kali lebih besar dari Jerman. Jumlah ini mencakup 260 serangga, 50 tumbuhan, 30 ikan air tawar, 7 kodok, 6 kadal, 5 kepiting, 2 ular dan seekor katak. Laporan tersebut mengungkapkan bahwa masih terdapat ribuan lebih spesies yang belum dipelajari.(*)

Sumber: BBC
Penulis: Wah

A Haas/WWF Katak pohon yang ditemukan di Borneo ini diyakini sebagai spesies baru. Katak ini diberi nama Rhacophorus gadingensis.
	BERITATERKAIT DITEMUKAN, PIRANHA DAN 12 SPESIES ... TEMUAN 52 SPESIES BARU PERKAYA ...

http://www.kompascetak.com/ver1/Iptek/0612/20/105654.htm

The WCS Southern Highlands Conservation Program

The WCS Southern Highlands Conservation Program

The Southern Highlands Conservation Program (SHCP) was started by WCS in 2000 to conserve important upland habitats and species across southwest Tanzania. The Highlands lie between Lakes Nyasa/Malawi and Tanganyika on the junction of the eastern and western arms of the Great Rift Valley. Sites of particular interest are plateau grasslands, montane forests and crater lakes including Kitulo Plateau, Mt Rungwe, Livingstone Mts, Mbisi, Mporoto and Mbeya Range.

The Livingstone escarpment within Kitulo National Park viewed from the summit of Mt Rungwe. Photo: Noah Mpunga / WCS The Poroto Three-horned Chameleon (Chamaeleo fuelleborni) is one of the rarest chameleons on the continent, globally restricted to just four sites in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. Reaching a length of 22 cm, the males of this arboreal species are highly territorial, using their horns to fight for females. They give birth to as many as 15 live young (Photo (c) Tim Davenport / WCS) Bustani ya Mungu - God's garden. Satyrium and Habenaria orchids on Kitulo Plateau. Photo: Tim Davenport / WCS

With a staff of 20, the SHCP carries out a variety of research, protected area management support, and community conservation initiatives. Successes include bringing the international trade in orchids to light, involvement in the gazettement of Kitulo Plateau as a new and innovative national park, and comprehensive biodiversity and socio-economic surveys of Mt Rungwe, Kitulo and other unexplored areas. An environmental education component reaches thousands of people targeting schools and village environment committees. The SHCP provides support to District and Regional Governments as well as Tanzania National Parks. Indigenous tree nurseries have been developed in Rungwe, Sumbawanga and Mbeya, and over 150,000 seedlings have been raised and planted. The Program also works with local NGOs in tourism development, awareness raising, fuel efficiency and capacity building. The unique flora and fauna of the Southern Highlands are being characterised through biodiversity surveys of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. The endemic and highly endangered Abbott’s Duiker is the focus of a novel conservation strategy targeting hunters, and the distribution, threats and status of all carnivore species are being monitored. Ecological research of important habitats are identifying the key threats to them. Furthermore, in-depth socio-economic studies are helping to determine natural resource use by communities across the region.

The WCS Southern Rift Program

The Southern Rift Program is a new regional initiative building on current WCS projects including the Southern Highlands Conservation Program (SHCP) in Tanzania and the Mt Mulanje Biodiversity & Monitoring Project in southern Malawi. Conservation work in the Mozambique Mts and the Nyika National Park in northern Malawi are being planned. Regarded biologically as ‘globally outstanding’, the Southern (or Nyasa) Rift begins at the junction of the Eastern and Western (Albertine) Rifts in southwest Tanzania. It extends southward through Malawi and central Mozambique.

Through the management of these projects and the development of additional ones, the Southern Rift Program aims to assist in the conservation of important habitats and species across the region.













http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0519-new_monkey.html

New monkey discovered in Tanzania
A NEW SPECIES OF MONKEY IS DISCOVERED IN TANZANIA: THE FIRST IN AFRICA FOR OVER 20 YEARS
WCS Release on mongabay.com
May 19, 2005

Africa’s first new species of monkey for over 20 years has been discovered in the remote mountains of southern Tanzania.

	The Highland Mangabey. Photo by Dr Tim Davenport. The Highland Mangabey is the first new monkey species discovered in Africa in more than 20 years. Its natural habitat is threatened by logging, hunting and unmanaged resource extraction. If you are interested in making a contribution to help protect this new species and its unique habitat, please contact Dr. Davenport.

Called the “Highland Mangabey” (Lophocebus kipunji), this long-haired forest primate was first discovered by conservation biologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on the flanks of the 2961 m (10,000 ft) volcano Mt. Rungwe and in the adjoining Kitulo National Park. Remarkably, this highly secretive animal was later also found by another team working independently more than 350 km (230 miles) away. The discovery is described in the leading journal Science.

“This discovery proves that there is still much to learn about the more remote and less well-known areas of Tanzania, and Africa as a whole”, said Dr Tim Davenport who directs the WCS Southern Highlands Conservation Program, and who led the team of Noah Mpunga, Sophy Machaga and Dr Daniela De Luca who found the monkey. “Having been so involved in the creation of the Park and the conservation of Mt. Rungwe, it has been very exciting for us to help reveal more of their secrets. The real challenge now though, is to try and conserve them,” he added.

The new arboreal mangabey is brown, with a head and body length of about 90 cm (3 ft). The monkey occurs as high as 2450 m (8,000 ft) in Kitulo and on Mt Rungwe, where temperatures often fall below freezing; its long coat is probably an adaptation to the cold. The taxonomic name of the species, Lophocebus kipunji, recognizes the monkey’s local

The Highland Mangabey. Photo by Dr Tim Davenport.

Kinyakyusa name (pronounced kip-oon-jee) used by a handful of hunters around Mt. Rungwe. Indeed, the monkey has long been known by the hunters who climb into the mountains to hunt. However, these days it seems that only the older generation are aware of the animal. The Highland Mangabey is extremely rare and critically endangered, with an estimated total population of between 500 and 1,000 animals. According to Davenport the Southern Highland forests, including those of Mt. Rungwe and Kitulo, are highly degraded by illegal logging, and without prompt action the animal’s future is uncertain.

So how was the monkey discovered? It was during interviews with hunters in early 2003 in villages around Mt Rungwe, that Mpunga first heard rumours about a shy monkey known as Kipunji.

	Dr Tim Davenport

Davenport and Mpunga assumed at first that this was the Sykes monkey or one of the many spirit animals that are so much a part of Wanyakyusa culture. However, along with Machaga and De Luca, they began to investigate further, both in the villages at the foot of the mountains, and in the forest above. Finally, they first saw an unusual monkey in May 2003, but because of the terrain, thick secondary forest and the animal’s highly cryptic nature, subsequent sightings were infrequent and poor. It was not until December 2003, during work in the contiguous Livingstone Forest (now part of the new Kitulo National Park), that the team clearly observed the monkey at closer quarters, and Davenport recognized it as a new species of mangabey.

Eight months later in July 2004, the same species was also found in Ndundulu Forest in the Udzungwa Mountains by biologist Trevor Jones, while working on a research project for the University of Georgia’s Dr Carolyn Ehardt. The project was part-funded by a grant from the WCS Research Fellowship Program. Jones was later joined in Ndundulu by Ehardt and Conservation International (CI)’s Dr Tom Butynski. The two separate teams learned of each other’s work in October 2004 and joined forces to write the description in Science.

	Highland Mangabey habitat. Montane forest of the Livingstones and Mt Rungwe. Photo: Ben Hayes / WCS.

It is noteworthy that Mpunga and Machaga - senior conservation biologists with the WCS Southern Highlands Conservation Program - are the first Africans to describe a species of African monkey. “We hope that this discovery will further highlight the conservation importance of the Southern Highlands and Tanzania,” said Mpunga. “As well as encourage more Tanzanians to get actively involved in conservation,” added Machaga.

The Highland Mangabey is characterized by a long, erect crest of hair on its head, elongated cheek whiskers, an off-white belly and tail, and an unusual call termed a ‘honk-bark’ by Davenport. Indeed, it was this unique call - recorded in Rungwe-Livinsgtone by the WCS team - which definitively established the mangabey as a new species.

Map of Rungwe-Livinsgtone region.

The monkey is known to occur in about 70 km2 of Rungwe-Livingstone in montane forest from 1750-2450m. It also occurs in about 3 km2 of Ndundulu in submontane forest from 1300-1750m. In Rungwe-Livingstone, the WCS team has so far identified 10 groups and just three groups are known from Ndundulu.

The threats to the Highland Mangabey are considerable. Logging, hunting and unmanaged resource extraction are common in the Rungwe-Livingstone forests. The narrow forest corridors linking Mt Rungwe to Livingstone, and joining the northern and southern sections of Livingstone are all degraded. Without intervention these forests will be fragmented, resulting in isolated subpopulations of the mangabey. Indeed, the easternmost animals are probably already isolated.











http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0519-new_monkey.html

Pictures of newly discovered species in New Guinea

Pictures of newly discovered species in New Guinea Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com February 6, 2006

A team of scientists led by Conservation International (CI) found dozens of new species in a survey of New Guinea's Foja Mountains. The December 2005 trip by a team of U.S., Indonesian, and Australian scientists discovered new species of frogs, butterflies, plants, and an orange-faced honeyeater, the first new bird from the island of New Guinea in more than 60 years.

The discoveries were made under CI's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) which deploys expert scientists to poorly understood regions in order to quickly assess the biological diversity of an area. The conservation organization makes RAP results immediately available to local and international decision makers to help support conservation action and biodiversity protection.

Mammal expert Kris Helgen is seen holding a golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International. More pictures below

"It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth," said Bruce Beehler, vice president of CI's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation and a co-leader of the expedition. "The first bird we saw at our camp was a new species. 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 expedition found a new large mammal for Indonesia – the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), formerly known from only a single mountain in neighboring Papua New Guinea. 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. The new species of honeyeater, the first new bird discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939, has a bright orange face-patch with a pendant wattle under each eye.

New Guinea's forests are some of the most biodiverse in the world, but they are increasingly under threat from commercial logging. However, the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea are so isolated – in the furthest reaches of the Indonesian province of West Papua - they remain relatively untouched. In other parts of Indonesia poaching is taking a heavy toll on wildlife populations.

More pictures from Conservation International:

Undescribed frog species (Albericus sp.) in New Guinea. Photo by Stephen Richards of Conservation International.		Undescribed frog species (Callulops sp.) in New Guinea. Photo by Stephen Richards of Conservation International.
Golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo by Bruce Beehler of Conservation International.		Long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) in New Guinea. Photo by Stephen Richards of Conservation International.
Mammal expert Kris Helgen is seen holding a golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International.		A possibly undescribed frog species in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International.
Berlepsch's Six-wired Bird of Paradise (Parotia berlepschi) is named for the curious wires that extend from its head in place of a crest. © CI, Bruce Beehler.		An undescribed species of honeyeater in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International.

Recent species' discovery articles

In search of Bigfoot, scientists may uncover unknown biodiversity in Malaysia 02/01/2006
Malaysian scientists are scouring the rainforests of Johor state in search of the legendary ape-man Bigfoot, supposedly sighted late last year. But they are more likely to encounter some less fantastic but unique creatures that dwell in these still unexplored ecosystems.

Bizarre rodent discovered in Southeast Asia; Oddity new to science 05/11/2005
A team of scientists working in Southeast Asia have discovered a long-whiskered rodent with stubby legs and a tail covered in dense hair. But don't call it a squirrel. Or a rat. Because it's actually more like a guinea pig or chinchilla. But not quite. In fact the new species, found in Laos by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups, is so unique it represents an entire new family of wildlife.

Mysterious carnivore found in Borneo rain forest 12/05/2005
WWF researchers may have discovered a new, mysterious carnivore species in the dense, central forests of Borneo. The animal, a mammal slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long, bushy tail, was photographed twice by a camera trap at night. This could be the first time in more than a century that a new carnivore has been discovered on the island.

Two tiny lemur species discovered in Madagascar 08/09/2005
German and Malagasy primatologists have discovered two new species of lemurs, naming one of them after Steve Goodman, a Field Museum scientist who has devoted nearly two decades to studying the animals of Madagascar.

20,000 new species of animals discovered in 2005 09/26/2005
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature expects that more than 20,000 species will be described by zoologists in 2005.

Somewhere Out There, Millions of Species Await Discovery 05/17/2005
While Planet Earth is becoming an increasingly smaller and more familiar world as every corner is explored and colonized, there remain millions of species undiscovered and undocumented. A number of significant species have been discovered in recent months, revealing humans’ huge gaps in knowledge of the world around them. As the natural world struggles to adjust to ever-encroaching development, Mother Nature continues to surprise with her miraculous secrets. Some of these newly exposed creatures include the Golden Palace Titi monkey in Bolivia, a reported fox in Indonesia, a “vampire fish” in the Amazon and a re-discovery of a thought-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States.

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0206-ng.html

Golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), Indonesia

Mammal expert Kris Helgen is seen holding a golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International.

Golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo by Bruce Beehler of Conservation International.

Golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), Indonesia [AP 2006-02-07] Description In this undated photo released by Conservation International, a golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) is seen after being discovered on Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition to the Foya Mountains in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province in December 2005. Scientists discovered a 'Lost World' in an isolated Indonesian jungle, identifying dozens of new species of frogs, butterflies and plants _ as well as large mammals hunted to near extinction elsewhere, members of the expedition said Tuesday, Feb. 7 2006. This was first record of the species in Indonesia and the second known site on earth where it is known to exist. (AP Photo/Conservation International, Bruce Beehler, HO) Source: AP - http://www.ap.org A team of scientists led by Conservation International (CI) found dozens of new species in a survey of New Guinea's Foja Mountains. The December 2005 trip by a team of U.S., Indonesian, and Australian scientists discovered new species of frogs, butterflies, plants, and an orange-faced honeyeater, the first new bird from the island of New Guinea in more than 60 years. The discoveries were made under CI's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) which deploys expert scientists to poorly understood regions in order to quickly assess the biological diversity of an area. The conservation organization makes RAP results immediately available to local and international decision makers to help support conservation action and biodiversity protection. Mammal expert Kris Helgen is seen holding a golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) in New Guinea. Photo from Conservation International. More pictures below "It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth," said Bruce Beehler, vice president of CI's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation and a co-leader of the expedition. "The first bird we saw at our camp was a new species. 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 expedition found a new large mammal for Indonesia – the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), formerly known from only a single mountain in neighboring Papua New Guinea. 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. The new species of honeyeater, the first new bird discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939, has a bright orange face-patch with a pendant wattle under each eye. New Guinea's forests are some of the most biodiverse in the world, but they are increasingly under threat from commercial logging. However, the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea are so isolated – in the furthest reaches of the Indonesian province of West Papua - they remain relatively untouched. In other parts of Indonesia poaching is taking a heavy toll on wildlife populations. Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo[1] Conservation status Endangered[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodontia Family: Macropodidae Genus: Dendrolagus Species: D. pulcherrimus Binomial name Dendrolagus pulcherrimus Flannery, 1993 The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus pulcherrimus is a species of tree-kangaroo native and endemic to montane forests of northern New Guinea. It has chestnut brown short coat with a pale belly, and yellowish neck, cheeks and feet. A double golden stripe runs down its back. The tail is long and has pale rings. Its appearance is similar to the closely related Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo. It differs from the latter by having a pinkish or lighter color face, golden shoulders, white ears and smaller size. Some authorities consider the Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo as a subspecies of Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo. The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo was discovered in 1990 by Pavel German in Mount Sapau, Torricelli Mountains region of Papua New Guinea. In addition to the Torricelli Mountains, it also occurs in the nearby Foja Mountains in Indonesia. The latter population is often reported as being discovered on an expedition in December 2005, but it was known from this mountain range before that.[2] The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo is considered as one of the most endangered of all tree-kangaroos. It is extinct in most of its original range. It is not rated by IUCN, where included as a subspecies of Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo. References ^ a b Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 60. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. ^ Flannery, T. 1995. Mammals of New Guinea. Reed Books. ISBN 0 7301 0411 7 http://animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=17957 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-mantled_Tree-kangaroo

enggang

http://www.summagallicana.it/unicorno/unicorno.htm

The Great Hornbill (Buceros Bicornis)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dbGultN3b_00f6h9OkXPog

© Jan Harteman

© Jan Harteman

© Jan Harteman
Buceros bicornis
http://www.harteman.nl/omnibus/coraciiformes/dubbeleneushoorn.html

Luzon Hornbill
(a Philippine endemic, Male)
Scientific name - Penelopides manillae

Scientific name - Buceros hydrocoraxRufous Hornbill
(a Philippine endemic)
http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/fave_hornbills

Buceros Rhinoceros,Black Bird with two large Beaks,
International Wildlife Conservation Park, Brooklyn New York.

Buceros hydrocorax

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Buceros_hydrocorax.jpg

Rhinoceros Hornbill is one of the greatest birds of a trip to SE Asia

http://www.tropicalbirding.com/tripReports/TR_Malasia-Borneo_2005.html

Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) - photo by David Behrens

http://www.birding.in/birds/Bucerotiformes/great_hornbill.htm

Rufous Hornbill Buceros hydrocorax ©Romy Ocon
http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone


Rhinocerus Hornbill Buceros rhinoceros ©Laurence Poh
http://www.laurencepoh.com/