ZOMG! HEY U GAIS! It's like TOTALLY the LOST WORLD except REAL!

[liz_marcs]

via ontd_political and The Guardian.

According The Guardian:

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.

Read more here....

This link will take you to a story about how the scientists finally got into the volcano's caldera.

You can hear an audio of the adventure here.


And also check out the awesome pictures of the new species. As a taste, check out the newly discovered king bird of paradise. Tell me that doesn't look like a phoenix.




Photograph taken by Ulla Lohmann/BBC and published in The Guardian on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.


Happy 09/09/09 everyone! Wish me luck with my Novocaine adventures, because baby needs her teeth drilled this afternoon.

Comments

[akzseinga.livejournal.com]

Whoa!



I'm a little bit surprised at how excited I'm about this.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

That is one cool-looking spider, isn't it?

I almost posted this one but I've got a few arachnophobes on my FList.

[akzseinga.livejournal.com]

It is extremely cool-looking! I don't know if I would touch it, though. Something about new species that I don't trust ;)

Also, after thinking it through, I must admit that king bird of paradise really does look like a small phoenix. And it might be the most beautiful bird I have ever seen.

[rileysaplank.livejournal.com]

Wonder whether it's missing a leg or only has seven legs by natural design?

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. This is the kind of thing I wanted to discover when I was little. (I'd still love to, truthfully!)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The first of the television series was on last night. I could cope without some of the new, enormous, insects - but the miniature parrots are cute - and the giant rat is possibly cuddly.

[komichi.livejournal.com]

The closeup of that bird's tail feather disc was just stunning. What a gorgeous bird - and you're right, it totally does look like a phoenix!

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

Wow, what amazing pictures! Really does impress upon me how much there is to discover about our world, if only we can stop ourselves from destroying it first.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I'm actually a bit ambivalent about this only because once humans find something, it doesn't tend to stay unsullied for long.

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Other than not being on fire, absolutely, yes... ; )

Good luck with the dental surgery!

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

I'd read about the rat but I hadn't seen the bird. That's ipressive.