Saturday, September 30, 2006
Brazil: Amazon explorers discover 40 new species in a 'lost world' of rainforest
From The Times, London (UK): Up to 40 new species of plants and animals, including a bird and a tree rat, have been discovered in an expedition to one of the world's last unspoilt wildernesses.
Scientists risked their lives to make the discoveries and three of them almost ended up being eaten by the wildlife they were trying to record.
Two of the team exploring the Amapa region of Brazil had to hide in a hollow tree all night as a prowling jaguar tried to find a way in, and a third had to flee a hungry cayman.
Despite their close shaves, the international research team described the unspoilt wilderness as a scientist's heaven and were ecstatic about the wildlife they encountered. Many of the animals had no fear of the scientists because the region is so remote that they had never before come across a human.
...The discoveries have yet to be verified by peer review but Enrico Bernard, of Conservation International, is confident that 27 new species have been identified. [Amazon, Explorers, Lost World, Wilderness, Evolution, Rainforest]
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More images can be found in Conservation International's own press release "New State Forest Links Diverse Ecosystems In Amapa"
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