Scientists discover monster cockroaches<\/p>\n
Agence France Presse\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Monster cockroaches and dwarf crabs are among a rich and exotic
\nmenagerie of new species discovered by a team of international
\nscientists exploring caves deep inside Indonesia's teeming
\njungles.<\/p>\n
More than a dozen previously unknown types of fish, insect,
\nsnail and plant were found in a limestone cavern system in the
\nremote East Kalimantan region of Indonesian Borneo, expedition
\norganisers Nature Conservancy said this week.<\/p>\n
Scott Stanley, programme manager for the US-based ecology
\ngroup, said even rarer species could be awaiting discovery among
\nthe almost inaccessible cliffs, caves and waterfalls, but he
\nwarned their existence was under threat.<\/p>\n
"In just five weeks, the expedition team discovered numerous
\nnew species previously unknown to science. Who knows what else is
\nout there?" he said on the group's website.<\/p>\n
"If something is not done soon to protect these areas, dozens
\nof species could disappear before anyone knew they ever existed."<\/p>\n
The five-week expedition, which ended in September, saw
\nscientists dangling on ropes to access dark limestone chambers
\nwhere they were met by scuttling creatures including the huge
\ncockroach, a giant millipede and a micro-crab.<\/p>\n
"Nearly all of the insects we collected are new to science,"
\nsaid Louis DeHarveng, an entomologist of the French Academy of
\nScience who took part in the mission to Kalimantan's Sangkulirang
\nlimestone peninsula.<\/p>\n
"Sangkulirang appears to have some of the most diverse cave
\nspecies on Earth," he said.<\/p>\n
Stanley said the new finds emphasised the need to halt
\nactivities such as illegal logging, which have seen the
\ndisappearance of vast swathes of Indonesia's jungle over the past
\nfew decades.<\/p>\n
An area almost the size of Belgium is lost to unauthorised
\nfelling every year in Indonesia, driving many species to the
\nbrink of extinction.<\/p>\n
"The teams discovery of such a wide variety of plants and
\nanimals, and particularly the high number of rare species found
\nnowhere else on Earth, shows the critical need to protect this
\narea from the growing threats of logging, mining and fire,"
\nStanley said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/scientists-discover-monster-cockroaches-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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