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    Hundreds of species never before seen in a Peruvian national park have been found during an inventory of the Amazonian forests there, according to a conservation group.

    The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today the discovery of 365 species previously undocumented in Bahuaja Sonene National Park in southeastern Peru. More than a dozen researchers inventoried the park's plant life, insects, birds, mammals and reptiles. The species found are known to exist elsewhere, but have never been seen inside Bahuaja Sonene.

    The discovery included 30 undocumented bird species, including the black-and-white hawk eagle, Wilson's phalarope and ash-colored cuckoo. The survey also found two undocumented mammals — Niceforo's big-eared bat and the Tricolored Bat — as well as 233 undocumented species of butterflies and moths. This expedition was the first time that research of this scale has been carried out in Bahuaja Sonene National Park since it was created in 1996, according to the WCS.

     

    "The discovery of even more species in this park underscores the importance of ongoing conservation work in this region," said Julie Kunen, WCS director of Latin America and Caribbean Programs. "This park is truly one of the crown jewels of Latin America's impressive network of protected areas."

    Bahuaja Sonene National Park contains more than 600 bird species including seven different types of macaw, more than 180 mammal species, more than 50 reptiles and amphibian species, 180 fish varieties and 1,300 types of butterfly.

     

    Since the 1990s, the WCS has been working in Tambopata and Bahuaja Sonene Parks in Peru, and Madidi, Pilon Lajas and Apolobamba Parks in neighboring Bolivia. The Greater Madidi Landscape of Bolivia and Peru spans more than 15,000 square miles of the tropical Andes and is considered to be the most biodiverse region on earth.

    The past decade saw a boom in new species discovered in the Amazon. On average, a new species was discovered every three days from 1999 to 2009, according to the conservation group WWF.

    Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.

     

    75 comments

    • Joel
      Joel  •  3 mths ago
      "The species found are known to exist elsewhere, but have never been seen inside Bahuaja Sonene." - Well if that's the case, then THEY AREN'T NEW SPECIES!!! Totally misleading headline.
      • Dave
        Dave 3 mths ago
        What do you expect out of a Yahoo story?
      • Joel
        Joel 3 mths ago
        And on top of that, none of them are spotted!!!
      • citizen
        citizen 3 mths ago
        I agree, yahoo is really bad with their headlines. The misleading headline has confused a lot of people. You can tell by the comments.
    • LarryK
      LarryK  •  Seattle, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      There are no new species. Just newly seen.
      • Phillip Hunter
        Phillip Hunter 3 mths ago
        That sounds quite smug and at first reading one might assume it to be true. After some reflection on the subject, how can you prove that there are no new species? If there were or are the odds are pretty good that you won't have seen them yet either.
      • Captain Jack Sparrow
        Captain Jack Sparrow 3 mths ago
        so i guess you are implying that man did walk with the dinosaurs ... no, let me refraise that ... man did swing with the dinosaurs ! no new species ? evolution then would be concidered what ? how about crossbreeding ... nothing new there either ?
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Cicero, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      Once again, Yahoo provided great photos. Not.
    • realist
      realist  •  3 mths ago
      And here in the United States, a honest politician has not yet been discovered.
      • Joseph
        Joseph 3 mths ago
        ron paul/rand paul
    • Mike
      Mike  •  Huntington, New York  •  3 mths ago
      The place with the highest concentration of new species is Walmart.
    • Bill
      Bill  •  3 mths ago
      I'm just thankful there are still unspoiled places like that on this planet. Now that we know what's there, it should be preserved by keeping humans out.
    • sam b
      sam b  •  3 mths ago
      While in the grocery store this weekend, I also discovered that vegetables that used to be grown 10 miles down the road are now imported from Peru.......
      Insane.
      • Captain Jack Sparrow
        Captain Jack Sparrow 3 mths ago
        might be due to the continental drift
      • just my opinion
        just my opinion 3 mths ago
        maybe because it's winter. Our grocers carry local produce in season, but it's always imported in the winter.
    • Joshua
      Joshua  •  3 mths ago
      These are not "new" undiscovered species. If you have any reading comprehension, they aqre saying someone has just now put down in their book that this animal also lives in this area. It's like someone just now officially recognizing that rats live in the New York sewer.
    • Dave
      Dave  •  Syracuse, New York  •  3 mths ago
      Totally misleading headline---in fact all of the 365 species were already known to us, just not seen before in that part of Peru------- these writers should be fired for misleading story lines
    • C
      C  •  3 mths ago
      did god just create them now, or have they been hiding since the flood?
    • Jus Gladii
      Jus Gladii  •  Jonesboro, Arkansas  •  3 mths ago
      The discoveries are new to us, but I imagine these creatures have been here for quite some time. It's good to see this old earth still has surprises for us!
    • A Yahoo! user
      A Yahoo! user  •  Tyler, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      Just imagine what is in the heart of the Amazon jungle that has never been found
    • Cotton
      Cotton  •  Everett, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      "Hundreds of species never before seen" would be a better title not new. There is no new, either they have been there or they have not.
    • Kngrthr
      Kngrthr  •  Great Falls, Montana  •  3 mths ago
      We got a few cuckoos in Washington too.
    • Edbott
      Edbott  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      I was in Tambopata river, is so beautiful and for me it isn't a surprise.
      My concern is this new discoveries is going to get more human predators to the area and for Bolivian and Peruvian governments will be hard to protect it.
    • Derek
      Derek  •  3 mths ago
      This is cool but i thought it meant that 365 new species were discovered that we had never recorded before not just that existing animals were found to live in peru as well
    • Anthony
      Anthony  •  3 mths ago
      Last free Species cornered in Peru. Scientists expected to add 365 new species to the list of endangered as last human free land area is uncovered.
    • CONNIE
      CONNIE  •  Champaign, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      Good news for a change.
    • Susan
      Susan  •  Washington, District of Columbia  •  3 mths ago
      Here comes the pet industry
    • SisyphusSyzygy
      SisyphusSyzygy  •  Kennewick, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in Switzerland records 20,000 new insect species every year.
     Post a comment
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