New entries for the Ever So Strange Animal Almanac, courtesy of Papua New Guinea

September 9, 2009 1:29 PM

"Wildlife cameraman can spend weeks or more trying to catch [a Doria's Tree Kangaroo] in the wild – and still come back with rubbish rushes. We grabbed cameras and chased after it. Chase is the wrong word. The slopes are almost vertical and thick in mud. But then, after half a mile of deep panting she was found sitting in a tree. We wedged cameraman Gordon Buchanan in a tree opposite, with me in the one next to him so I could film him in action, and then we let the cameras roll." - Producer Steve Greenwood on discovering new species while filming a BBC documentary in Papua New Guinea. The team descended into Mount Bosavi, an extinct volcano that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Kikori River Basin / Great Papuan Plateau) and explored from 30 January to 4 March 2009. As noted on PhysOrg.com: the number of new species found cannot be confirmed until the biologists have finished evaluating the finds, but they believe there may be up to 40 previously undescribed species. This includes 20 new species of insects and spiders, 16 species of frogs, a new bat, and at least three fish species. Many of the new species discovered are believed to exist only in the Mount Bosavi crater. 15 image gallery, another 10 images (some duplicates), and the world's smallest parrot is not much bigger than a human thumb (video).
posted by filthy light thief (6 comments total)

The first episode was aired last night, and if you're in the UK you can view it here. Other folks have to search around a bit.

I promise I wasn't trying to trump The Ever So Strange Animal Almanac, I had to wait the alloted time to post this and I was working on this when anastasiav's post went live.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:32 PM on September 9, 2009

Previously.
posted by kmz at 1:33 PM on September 9, 2009

Put me down for a pair of those tiny parrots. Thanks.
posted by Elmore at 1:38 PM on September 9, 2009

Previously? Dag nabit. This is a dupe.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:48 PM on September 9, 2009

Yes, it's not that I want thumb sized parrots, it's that I need them. They will live in my pockets and keep me company when I am bored.

The quaker I'm currently using for this is far too large and gets irritated when I sit down. He screams "I don't bend that way!" but I just ignore him and his crazy nonsensical bird talk"
posted by quin at 1:49 PM on September 9, 2009

Wow! Thanks! (dupe or not)
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:17 PM on September 9, 2009