New species discovered in Papua New Guinea

<p> Vogt's forest dragon. © Nathan Whitmore<span></span> </p>
<p> Vogt's forest dragon. © Nathan Whitmore<span></span> </p>

A team from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Papua New Guinea completed rapid biodiversity surveys at four sites across the islands of Manus and Mussau in Papua New Guinea, with major results including:

  • 243 plant species recorded on Mussau Island, including 6 new to science
  • 47 butterfly species encountered on Mussau Island, 22 of which were previously unrecorded
  • 21 Odonata species documented on Manus and Mussau islands, including 9 damselflies and 12 dragonflies
  • 40 species of herpetofauna documented on Manus and Mussau islands, including 11 frogs and 29 reptiles
  • 45 bird species recorded on Mussau Island
  • 15 species of bats recorded on Mussau Island, including 10 new to the island

With support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) through our investment in the East Melanesian Islands biodiversity hotspot, WCS is establishing a foundation for long-term land-use planning and sustainable natural resource use in Papua New Guinea's key biodiversity areas on Manus and Mussau islands by undertaking baseline biodiversity assessments, participatory rural appraisal and quantitative spatial mapping.

WCS is also working to raise local communities' awareness about the degree of control they have over their environment, threats affecting their resources and the tools they have to ameliorate those threats.

Read the full report.

Survey team at Mt. Sabomu Camp. © Anon

Survey team at Mt. Sabomu Camp. © Anon

Knob-billed fruit dove. © Nathan Whitmore

Knob-billed fruit dove. © Nathan Whitmore

Long-tongued nectar bat. © Stephen J. Richards

Long-tongued nectar bat. © Stephen J. Richards

A distinctive new subspecies of Danis danis (female shown). © Chris Müller

A distinctive new subspecies of Danis danis (female shown). © Chris Müller

Established in 2000, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global leader in enabling civil society to participate in and influence the conservation of some of the world's most critical ecosystems. CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank.