Dugong dugon @ Sirenia

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Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea

The Bosavi woolly rat had no fear of humans when it was discovered. Photograph: Jonny Keeling/BBC
A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea.

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.
The discoveries are being seen as fresh evidence of the richness of the world's rainforests and the explorers hope their finds will add weight to calls for international action to prevent the demise of similar ecosystems. They said Papua New Guinea's rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% a year.

"It was mind-blowing to be there and it is clearly time we pulled our finger out and decided these habitats are worth us saving," said Dr George McGavin who headed the expedition.

The team of biologists included experts from Oxford University, the London Zoo and the Smithsonian Institution and are believed to be the first scientists to enter the mountainous Bosavi crater. They were joined by members of the BBC Natural History Unit which filmed the expedition for a three-part documentary which starts tomorrow night
They found the three-kilometre wide crater populated by spectacular birds of paradise and in the absence of big cats and monkeys, which are found in the remote jungles of the Amazon and Sumatra, the main predators are giant monitor lizards while kangaroos have evolved to live in trees. New species include a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog and a fish called the Henamo grunter, named because it makes grunting noises from its swim bladder.

"These discoveries are really significant," said Steve Backshall, a climber and naturalist who became so friendly with the never-before seen Bosavi silky cuscus, a marsupial that lives up trees and feeds on fruits and leaves, that it sat on his shoulder.

"The world is getting an awful lot smaller and it is getting very hard to find places that are so far off the beaten track."

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The crater of the extinct volcano Mount Bosavi, on the New Guinea mainland

next; Scientists, cavers and wildlife film-makers have ventured inside the extinct Mount Bosavi volcano in Papua New Guinea in search of rare species

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The beautiful fruit dove

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A buff-faced pygmy parrot, found by bird expert Jack Dumbacher

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A hairy caterpillar found in the rainforest

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A jungle spider camouflaged as lichen. There are thought to be more than 5m species of insect and spiders yet to be found in the world's jungles

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An iridescent beetle found in the rainforest

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Common tube-nosed bat found by expert Alanna Maltby

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The endangered Litoria sauroni amphibian

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The Bosavi silky cuscus mammal

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The king bird of paradise. Biologist Jack Dumbacher caught one as part of his study into the diseases held in the rainforest

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The emerald green disc on the tail feather of the king bird of paradise which are used in a courtship ritual

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A striped possum, found by Muse Opiang and Gordon Buchanan, an animal which lets out a strong odour as a defence mechanism

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The black and yellow noctuid caterpillars found by George McGavin. When the caterpillars sit together like this they resemble a small snake, possibly as a defence strategy

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Fastest Mammal on Earth


Cheetahs always win.

Usain Bolt may get his share of million-dollar jackpots for being a world champ sprinter, but he's got nothing on 8-year-old Sarah. The Cincinnati Zoo's cheetah ambassador just beat the 2001 land-speed world record for mammals.

A male cheetah in South Africa covered 100 meters in 6.19 seconds. Sarah didn't beat that just once, but twice: She first clocked in at 6.16 seconds and then 6.13 seconds梬hich, by the way, bested Bolt's August sprint by more than 3 seconds. And that's from a girl who has been in captivity pretty much her whole life.

Sarah's feat helped call attention to the species' endangered numbers. According to the zoo, the spotted felines' population has dropped from 100,000 back in 1900 to about one-tenth that number. Cincinnati has been doing its part to nurture more cubs than anywhere else. Not so coincidentally, the zoo was home to another record holder: Moya, who died this past January, held the title for a year before his brother Nyana (over in South Africa) snagged

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A rare snow leopard cub, one of a pair of a brother and sister, born at the Los Angeles Zoo is shown Thursday Sept. 10, 2009 in Los Angeles. Native to remote mountains in Asia, snow leopards are extremely rare. It is estimated that only 5,000 to 7,000 snow leopards remain in the wild.

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A pair of rare snow leopard cubs, a brother and sister, born at the Los Angeles Zoo are shown Thursday Sept. 10, 2009 in Los Angeles. Native to remote mountains in Asia, snow leopards are extremely rare. It is estimated that only 5,000 to 7,000 snow leopards remain in the wild.

PengatManess

comey gilaaaaaa leopard tuh,,,
rase cam nk pelokkkkk

loversickgirl

Anjing TERBESAR


SAIZ Boomer yang tinggi membolehkan ia minum air terus dari paip di sinki dapur rumah tuannya tanpa perlu mengangkat dua kaki depan sebagaimana yang selalu dilakukan oleh anjing biasa.

Syd

Ular berkaki ditemui di Keningau


Ular berkaki dua yang ditemui penduduk di Keningau, baru-baru ini.

KENINGAU 14 Okt. - Fakta sains menyebut, ular tidak berkaki tetapi di daerah ini, lain yang berlaku apabila seorang penduduk menjumpai ular berkaki.

Ular sepanjang satu meter dan sebesar batang penyapu itu ditemui oleh Jackly Madius Lamangki di Jalan Kampung Bangau di sini ketika dalam perjalanan ke kebunnya.

Bapa saudara Jackly, Richard Raymond memberitahu, akibat takut melihat ular itu 'berjalan', anak saudaranya bertindak melanggar ular tersebut.

''Dia membawa ular yang telah mati itu ke rumah dan menunjukkan kepada kami.

''Kami amat terkejut melihat kaki ular itu terletak di bahagian tengah badan," katanya.

Dia menjelaskan, Jackly membawa bangkai haiwan tersebut pulang ke rumah untuk diawet.

Bagaimanapun, bangkai ular itu dibuang oleh ibu Jackly.

''Mujur, dia ada mengambil gambar ular tersebut bagi membuktikan kebenaran penemuan ular pelik ini," katanya.

Menurut Richard, ini merupakan kali pertama ular sedemikian rupa ditemui di daerah ini.