Foja Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Foja Mountains are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua
, Indonesia
. The mountains rise to 2193 metres (7,194.9 ft), and have 3,000 square kilometres of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range. The Foja forest tract covers 9,712 square kilometers and is the largest unroaded tropical forest in the Asia Pacific region.
. Relative humidity
ranges from 73 to 87%. The nearest villages include: Sragafareh, Jomen, Beggensabah, Aer Mati, and Dabra.
, Podocarpus neriifolius
, Agathis labillardieri
, Calophyllum
, and Palaquium at the 1,200 meter level. Much of the area around the Foja Mountains and nearby Van Rees Mountains are too steep for conventional logging, and are considered unsafe due to their inaccessibility. Some atlases show only the Gauttier Mountains in the area, but the Foja Mountains lie at the eastern edge of that range at about 139° east
longitude.
and fauna
from the lower hills to near the summit of the range. The expedition team was co-led by Bruce Beehler
and Stephen Richards and included scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
, Cenderawasih University
, the Smithsonian Institution
, Conservation International
and other institutions. In February 2006, the expedition team released details of new species including:
The scientists documented:
The human population of the Foja Range is 300, living in the 7,500 square kilometres of low-lying forest. The 3,000 square kilometres of mountainous jungle appear to have been untouched by humans until the 2006 scientific expedition. There are no roads in the mountains, so scientists had to travel by helicopter, landing on a boggy lakebed. Six permits were needed before the 11-member team could legally enter.
sp.) approximately five times the size of a regular Brown Rat
, the second a pygmy possum (Cercartetus
sp.) described by scientists as "one of the world's smallest marsupials."
. New types of animals recorded include a frog with a long erectile
nose, a large woolly rat, an imperial-pigeon with rust, grey and white plumage, a 25 cm gecko
with claws rather than pads on its toes, and a small, 30 cm high, black forest wallaby
.
Papua (Indonesian province)
Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The mountains rise to 2193 metres (7,194.9 ft), and have 3,000 square kilometres of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range. The Foja forest tract covers 9,712 square kilometers and is the largest unroaded tropical forest in the Asia Pacific region.
Geography
The Foja mountains are cooler than the lowlands below because of their elevation, but January and July temperatures still average 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 F). The rainy season is from December to March, but the area can receive rain throughout the year. In a typical year, the range receives more than 2032 mm (80 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. Relative humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
ranges from 73 to 87%. The nearest villages include: Sragafareh, Jomen, Beggensabah, Aer Mati, and Dabra.
History
The mountains have no record of visitors prior to 1979 (Stattersfield et al. 1998), and are dominated by Araucaria cunninghamiiAraucaria cunninghamii
Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as Moreton Bay Pine, or Hoop Pine. Other less commonly used names include Colonial Pine, Richmond River Pine, Queensland Pine, Alloa, Ningwik, or Pien, the wood is sometimes called Arakaria)...
, Podocarpus neriifolius
Podocarpus neriifolius
Podocarpus neriifolius is a species of conifer in the Podocarpaceae family.It is found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam....
, Agathis labillardieri
Agathis labillardieri
Agathis labillardieri is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.-References:* Conifer Specialist Group 1998. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
, Calophyllum
Calophyllum
Calophyllum is a flowering plant genus of around 180-200 species of tropical evergreen trees in the family Calophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words καλος , meaning "beautiful", and φυλλον , meaning "leaf." Its members are native to Australasia, Madagascar, Eastern Africa,...
, and Palaquium at the 1,200 meter level. Much of the area around the Foja Mountains and nearby Van Rees Mountains are too steep for conventional logging, and are considered unsafe due to their inaccessibility. Some atlases show only the Gauttier Mountains in the area, but the Foja Mountains lie at the eastern edge of that range at about 139° east
139th meridian east
The meridian 139° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
longitude.
2005
In December 2005, scientists from the United States, Indonesia, and Australia spent a month in the Foja Range documenting floraFlora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
from the lower hills to near the summit of the range. The expedition team was co-led by Bruce Beehler
Bruce Beehler
Dr. Bruce Beehler is an ornithologist and vice-president of Conservation International's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation ....
and Stephen Richards and included scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
Indonesian Institute of Sciences
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences is the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia...
, Cenderawasih University
Cenderawasih University
Universitas Cenderawasih is a university in Jayapura, in the province Papua, Indonesia. The university is the leading educational institution in the province....
, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
and other institutions. In February 2006, the expedition team released details of new species including:
- One bird, a honeyeaterHoneyeaterThe honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
with scarlet wattles, officially described in 2007 as the Wattled Smoky HoneyeaterWattled Smoky HoneyeaterThe Wattled Smoky Honeyeater is a species of honeyeater with a sooty-grey plumage and a black bill. The most distinctive feature is arguably the extensive reddish-orange facial skin and pendulous wattle...
(Melipotes carolae). - 20 frogs
- Four butterflies
- Five palms
- A rhododendronRhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
with a white, scented flower across the NeverPeack Mountains
The scientists documented:
- The first photographs of Berlepsch's Six-wired Bird of Paradise and the Golden-fronted BowerbirdGolden-fronted BowerbirdThe Golden-fronted Bowerbird, Amblyornis flavifrons is a medium-sized, approximately 24 cm long, brown bowerbird. The male is rufous brown with an elongated golden crest extending from its golden forehead, dark grey feet and buffish yellow underparts...
, both of which were only known from a minute number of trade skins previously. - A Golden-mantled Tree-kangarooGolden-mantled Tree-kangarooThe Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo is a species of tree-kangaroo native and endemic to montane forests of northern New Guinea. It has chestnut brown short coat with a pale belly, and yellowish neck, cheeks and feet. A double golden stripe runs down its back...
(Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), believed to be near-extinct. - Western Long-beaked EchidnaWestern Long-beaked EchidnaThe western long-beaked echidna is one of the four extant echidnas and one of three species of Zaglossus that occur in New Guinea. As Tachyglossus bruijni, this is the type species of Zaglossus....
s that allowed scientists to pick them up, evidence that the area has had no human presence
The human population of the Foja Range is 300, living in the 7,500 square kilometres of low-lying forest. The 3,000 square kilometres of mountainous jungle appear to have been untouched by humans until the 2006 scientific expedition. There are no roads in the mountains, so scientists had to travel by helicopter, landing on a boggy lakebed. Six permits were needed before the 11-member team could legally enter.
2007
In December 2007, a second scientific expedition was taken to the mountain range. The expedition led to the discovery of two new species: the first being a 1.4 kg giant rat (MallomysMallomys
Mallomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek μαλλός, mallós, wool, and μῦς, mȳs, mouse/rat. These very large rats weigh between and are native to highlands in New Guinea...
sp.) approximately five times the size of a regular Brown Rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
, the second a pygmy possum (Cercartetus
Cercartetus
The genus Cercartetus is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus Burramys make up the marsupial family Burramyidae....
sp.) described by scientists as "one of the world's smallest marsupials."
2008
An expedition late in 2008, backed by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution, was made in order to assess the area’s biodiversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. New types of animals recorded include a frog with a long erectile
Erectile tissue
Erectile tissue is tissue in the body that can become erect, usually by becoming engorged with blood.-Erectile tissue in the clitoris and penis:...
nose, a large woolly rat, an imperial-pigeon with rust, grey and white plumage, a 25 cm gecko
Gecko
Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
with claws rather than pads on its toes, and a small, 30 cm high, black forest wallaby
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
.
External links
- "New species found in Papua 'Eden'", BBC News
- "In pictures: Papua's 'lost world'", BBC News
- "Scientists Discover Dozens of New Species", Yahoo! News (Link dead as of 03:39, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- "A "Lost World" Photo Gallery", CBC News (requires Flash)
- "Lost World Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species", National Geographic News