Our World

New Species Discovered

Scientist have recently discovered many new species in an Indonesian coral reef. These expeditions were led by Conservation International. Over fifty new species were found, including 20 corals, 24 fish, and 8 mantes shrimp. The creature that is most talked-about, though, is the small bottom-dwelling epaulette shark that propelles itself by using its fins to 'walk' along the seafloor. This area, called the Bird's Head Seascape, is possibly the most biologically diverse in the world.

The new species, however, may be in trouble. Of the 1,233 species of coral reef fishes studied, at least 23 of them endemic, meaning they do not exist anywhere else. This is a problem because these coral reefs have already been victim to "bomb-fishing" and other destructive human activites that are harming the marine life. The website I linked to has many more links that go more in-depth about each of the groups of species found. The two that I used the most for this portion were:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5350666.stm
http://www.conservation.org/frontlines/2006/09180601.html

Ironically, another new speicies was discovered by scientists around the same time. This discovery was of a new bird in Northeast India. It is the first time a discovery like this has been made since 1948. Ramana Athreya made the discovery through research after sighting a pair of these unique birds 10 years prior.
http://animals.about.com/od/birds/a/newspeciesofbir.htm

posted by Anonymous @ 9/24/2006 06:48:00 PM