Pygmy Possum

Scientists believe they have found a new undocumented mammal -- apygmy possum -- in the jungles of a remote mountain range in Indonesia's Papua province, a conservation group said. During an expedition to Papua's Foja Mountains in June, ConservationInternational (CI) and Indonesian scientists documented the Cercartetus pygmy possum, one of the world's smallest marsupials, and a Mallomys giant rat, the conservation group said in a statement. Both mammals are currently under study and are apparently new to science, it said. Scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and CI discovereddozens of new plants and animals on their first trip to the region, described as a "Lost World", in late 2005. The Foja Wilderness is part of the great Mamberamo Basin, the largestunroaded tropical forest in the Asia Pacific region. With 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of tropical forests andsome of the richest bio-diversity in the world, Papua is considered thecountry's last rainforest frontier. But it is under threat from increasedcutting and clearing for palm oil plantations as well as rampant illegallogging.

Channel: Pets & Animals
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: mihajlonet

Length: 00:54
Rating: 5.00
Views: 5203

Tags: found  in  Indonesia  is  new  possum  pygmy  species  

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