New Species Discovered by Scientists in a Remote Area of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest – What Report Says
An amphibious mouse with webbed feet and an unusual fish with a splattered head are among two new species discovered by scientists in a remote area of Peru’s Amazon rainforest.
As nbcnews reports, a 2022 expedition to Peru’s densely forested northwestern Alto Mayo region recorded at least 27 new speciesaccording to a recent report by Conservation International.
The new species are joined by another 48 species that are potentially new to science but require further analysis, the report said.
“Overall, the RAP team found extremely high levels of biodiversity that far exceeded expectations given that most study sites were located near communities and cities,” the report highlights, adding that the findings “highlight the importance of research and conservation efforts in landscapes dominated by man”.
In addition to the amphibious mouse and unusual catfish, scientists also discovered another type of mouse with tough, spiny fur, a squirrel distantly related to others known to science, as well as a new bat and several species of fish, butterflies and amphibians.
Although this is the first report in which scientists have described these species, the indigenous groups in the area who assisted the scientists in their work have extensive knowledge of many of them, said Trond Larsen, head of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program. and one of the authors of the report.
“It was really fantastic to work so closely with the Awajun people. They have extensive traditional knowledge of forests, animals and plants,” Larsen told Reuters.
The report also documents 49 species listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature – the global authority on the subject – including two types of monkeys that are threatened with extinction.
In a section describing human activities contributing to the decline of many of the rare species listed in the report, the authors wrote that “threats including deforestation, agricultural expansion and overexploitation (e.g., illegal hunting and fishing) continue in the landscape of Alto Mayo’.
Source: Skai
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