A Veritable “Mind-Blowing Species Factory” Found Off Indonesian Coast

by Kimberly D. Mok
A barely-explored underwater coral reef has revealed what scientists are calling a “species factory,” due to dozens of new exotic species of fish and corals being discovered there in two recent expeditions. Though it lies in an area one tenth the size of the Great Barrier Reef, the Bird’s Head Seascape – [...]

by Kimberly D. Mok
A barely-explored underwater coral reef has revealed what scientists are calling a “species factory,” due to dozens of new exotic species of fish and corals being discovered there in two recent expeditions. Though it lies in an area one tenth the size of the Great Barrier Reef, the Bird’s Head Seascape – just off the Indonesian province of Papua – contains roughly 50 percent more reef-building coral species than its more famous counterpart. It was studied in the 1880s by Victorian explorers but remained largely overlooked until recently.

Dr Mark Erdmann of Conservation International (CI), who led the two missions, commented: “These reefs are species factories. This region is simply mind-blowing in terms of its diversity. For our surveys to uncover over 50 new species of coral, fish, and mantis shrimp in less than six weeks is unheard of in this day and age. From the perspective of marine - and especially coral reef - bio-diversity, it is unparalleled for an area of this size.”

Read the full article »