Lost World found!

[Feraud]

I thought this might interest the more adventurous among us.
From Yahoo news.

Describing a "Lost World" — apparently never visited by humans — members of the team said Tuesday they also saw large mammals that have been hunted to near-extinction elsewhere and discovered dozens of exotic new species of frogs, butterflies and palms.

"We've only scratched the surface," said Bruce Beehler, a co-leader of the monthlong trip to the Foja Mountains, an area in the eastern province of Papua with roughly 2 million acres of pristine tropical forest.

Who else is planning their next vacation to Indonesia?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Good story. Now we need to see more of what's in the ocean. I believe the ocean are the true last remaining Lost World on our world. We just have to be careful not to wipe out the sea life before we have better technology for sudying.

 

[Burma Shave]

Anybody remember the coelocanth?

I believe you're right about the ocean. Fishermen, and then scientists, found an "extinct" fish called the coelocanth (sp?) off Madagascar something like 40-50 years ago. Fish had been "extinct" for millions of years, supposedly, until they located a small school of them. And that's not the only ocean-going unknown. I don't remember if anybody's ever caught a giant squid alive, and only a couple of dead ones have been seen. But we know they exist. Makes you wonder what else is lurking down there. My money's on the Loch Ness Monster -- maybe a leftover plesiosaur?

 

[jamespowers]

I believe you're right about the ocean. Fishermen, and then scientists, found an "extinct" fish called the coelocanth (sp?) off Madagascar something like 40-50 years ago. Fish had been "extinct" for millions of years, supposedly, until they located a small school of them. And that's not the only ocean-going unknown. I don't remember if anybody's ever caught a giant squid alive, and only a couple of dead ones have been seen. But we know they exist. Makes you wonder what else is lurking down there. My money's on the Loch Ness Monster -- maybe a leftover plesiosaur?

You mean this fish here:

The story is here:
http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/coelacan.htm
Quite a catch that is for sure. There are more than a few left too.
A Plesiosaur is a possiblity there but when they catch one that will be even better.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Feraud]

Great point!
There is a book called 'A Fish Caught in Time : The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg. A very interesting read about the discovery of this living fossil. The American Museum of Natural History in N.Y. has a specimen if anyone is in town and interested in seeing this unique fish.

 

[jamespowers]

That reminds me that I was watching the discovery channel or some such channel and they captured an Architeuthis on film:

Quite an interesting story:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050926/squid.html
There was another story I saw about a team of scientists that tried to capture baby Architeuthis. They caught one and are raising it now in captivity as far as I know. I hope it is still alive.
I love crytozoology. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Burma Shave]

I had it a bit wrong

OK, so I got the spelling, the location and (arguably) the date wrong . My dad turned me on to the book you mentioned when I was a kid. He was a geology and astronomy professor (now a mechanical engineer and robotics designer) and introduced me to all sorts of interesting stuff. He even got me interested in Fedora Lounge clothing, in a backwards sorta way: He was a trombonist in college and high school, and hooked me up with big band music when I was but a tyke. From the music, it was a short step to the clothing and other vintage goodies.

 

[jamespowers]

Close enough. I knew what you were talking about. I am sure I still have that book around here somewhere as well.

Regards,

J

 

[Feraud]

How wrong could you be if we knew what you were talking about!

 

[Feraud]

Another rare coelacanth is brought up from the dark depths of the ocean.
This one lived for 17 hrs.

Ancient coelacanth caught in Indonesia Sun May 20, 5:39 PM ET


An Indonesian fisherman hooked a rare coelacanth, a species once thought as extinct as dinosaurs, and briefly kept the "living fossil" alive in a quarantined pool.

Justinus Lahama caught the four-foot, 110-pound fish early Saturday off Sulawesi island near Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world.

The fish died 17 hours later, an extraordinary survival time, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas said Sunday.

"The fish should have died within two hours because this species only lives in deep, cold-sea environment," he said. Lumingas works at the local Sam Ratulangi University, which plans to study the carcass.

The coelacanth (pronounced SEE-la-kanth) was believed to be extinct for 65 million years until one was found in 1938 off Africa's coast, igniting worldwide interest. Several other specimens have since been discovered, including another off Sulawesi island in 1998.

The powerful predator is highly mobile with limb-like fins, and it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

 

[Story]

Some mysteries are better left lost in the deep dark sea.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/13/1023864318809.html

http://www.bloopwatch.org/thebloop.html

 

[Story]

pictures!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/22deep.html

When, more than 70 years ago, William Beebe became the first scientist to descend into the abyss, he described a world of twinkling lights, silvery eels, throbbing jellyfish, living strings as “lovely as the finest lace” and lanky monsters with needlelike teeth.

“It was stranger than any imagination could have conceived,” he wrote in “Half Mile Down” (Harcourt Brace, 1934). “I would focus on some one creature and just as its outlines began to be distinct on my retina, some brilliant, animated comet or constellation would rush across the small arc of my submarine heaven and every sense would be distracted, and my eyes would involuntarily shift to this new wonder.”

 

[Mike K.]

Sometimes that Lost World is in your own backyard!!
This very rare blue treefrog was discovered not long ago on the wildlife sanctuary where I work as a biologist. It's actually a Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) with an extremely rare blue-phase genetic mutation. Basically, it never got the genes the make yellow pigments (which normally would've combined with the blue to make a green frog). The little blue frog has been quite the rage, making news around the country.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Who else is planning their next vacation to Indonesia?

Don't even joke about it. I can hear the cruise ships revving their engines as i type. And the busses for those too lazy to hike through the jungles. And the road building equipment to build the roads to carry the idle buggers. See you later, rare species.

Describing a "Lost World" — apparently never visited by humans — members of the team said Tuesday they also saw large mammals that have been hunted to near-extinction elsewhere and discovered dozens of exotic new species of frogs, butterflies and palms.

Can the Chinese "medicine" industry be far behind? Closely followed by their rare fauna-obsessed chefs. Damn these people to hell.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2088589,00.html

bk

 

[Feraud]

Can the Chinese "medicine" industry be far behind? Closely followed by their rare fauna-obsessed chefs. Damn these people to hell.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2088589,00.html

bk

That is horrible. To think people are driving species to extinction based on culinary peculiarities and silly folk remedies is terribly sad and unenlightened.

 

[Mike K.]

Don't forget that fashion kills too...
Beavers were once all but hunted out of most regions of North America to supply fur for mens felt hats.
Feathers for ladies hats contributed to a 90% decline in wading bird populations here in Florida.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

This time in Tanzania...another one caught

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070716/ap_on_sc/tanzania_rare_fish

 

[HadleyH]

Can the Chinese "medicine" industry be far behind? Closely followed by their rare fauna-obsessed chefs. Damn these people to hell.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2088589,00.html

bk

I say Amen to that! [huh]

 

[dr greg]

some hope

I did read somewhere that the rampant sales of Viagra in China were having an effect on the survival of rare wildlife, due to the fact that it was a lot cheaper to buy a pill than than the roasted or dried organs of some poor bloody bear or something clinging to survival in the shrinking jungles.

 

[Mike K.]

I did read somewhere that the rampant sales of Viagra in China were having an effect on the survival of rare wildlife, due to the fact that it was a lot cheaper to buy a pill than than the roasted or dried organs of some poor bloody bear or something clinging to survival in the shrinking jungles.

In that case I'm all for shipping mass quantities of Viagra overseas! I'm amazed at what some people think is an aphrodisiac.