Monday, October 28, 2013

Kyla Cakarnis-Current Event

3 species discovered in Australian rainforest

In an area referred to as the "lost world", the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, three previously undocumented species were discovered. These newly discovered species include three vertebrates which makes this discovery even more remarkable. These include a frog, leaf-tail gecko, and a golden skink. These have been living in isolation from much of the world for perhaps millions of years in a remote mountain range. Scientists have previously explored this area, however, they have not gone to the lengths this group did. This group, comprised of a National Geographic photographer and a couple other researchers, explored the plateau atop the mountains. it was shocking to the scientific comunity to find new species in an area that they thought had been searched. At this point, it would be shocking to find new species anywhere! These were not the only animals discovered, many other species were discovered but the vertebrates were the most significant. It is expected that other expeditions will happen here to perhaps discover even more about the world we thought we knew. 

This article was surprising to me. it's hard to believe there are still things on our own planet that have yet to be discovered. As a culture, many of us believe everything has been discovered. Where else is there to look? It is also interesting that while many scientists are searching other planets and galaxies for new discoveries there are still some to be made in our own backyard. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/world/australia-new-species-found/index.html?c=homepage-t&page=2

1 comment:

  1. I think it is cool to know that there are so many other things in this world that no one knows about after all of these years! We have the entire planet earth and outer space to look for new discoveries and there is no way that as humans we could possibly discover it all.

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