Fauna of New Guinea

The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians. New Guinea is the world's largest and highest tropical island. Even though it covers less than 0.5% of the world's land, it is home to a huge variety of living things.

About 4,624 vertebrate species live on New Guinea and in its surrounding waters. This is around 8% of all known vertebrates in the world. It includes many lizards, mammals, and especially fish. For invertebrates, butterflies are the best-studied group, with about 735 different species living on the island.

Even with so many species, New Guinea does not have many large top predators. This is because of events from long ago. There are only three main land animals that are at the top of the food chain. Two of these, the crocodile monitor and the New Guinea singing dog, mainly eat other animals. The third, the cassowary, usually eats fruit but can also hunt sometimes. In the skies, the New Guinea harpy eagle is the main bird predator. In rivers, the saltwater crocodile and the smaller New Guinea crocodile are the top hunters.

Origin

History

Papua New Guinea is a large island located north of Australia and south-east of Asia. It is part of the Australian Plate, known as Sahul, and was once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Gondwana began to break up 140 million years ago, and Sahul separated from Antarctica 50 million years ago. As it drifted north, New Guinea moved into the tropics.

Throughout Papua New Guinea's history, there have been many land connections with Australia during glaciations in various ice ages. Four of these occurred during the Pleistocene, with the last one ending 10,000 years ago. During these times, many plants and animals moved between Australia and Papua New Guinea. After the land connections ended, these species adapted to their new homes and became distinct.

Papua New Guinea also has some species from Asia. As it moved north, it came close to the Pacific Plate and many small islands. Although it never touched Asia directly (see the Wallace line), some Asian species crossed over through the islands of the Indonesian archipelago. This created a unique mix of Australian and Asian species found only in Papua New Guinea. Many of Papua New Guinea's species are found only on the island and nowhere else in the world.

History of study

A famous scientist named Ernst Mayr visited New Guinea in 1928. He worked for the American Museum of Natural History. He collected many birds and plants. He discovered and named many new types of birds and orchids. His work helped scientists learn more about animals.

Mammals

See also: List of mammals of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea has many kinds of mammals, such as monotremes, placentals, and marsupials. Monotremes are special because they lay eggs instead of having babies the usual way. The echidna is a well-known monotreme, and New Guinea has several kinds of them.

Marsupials are animals that carry their babies in a pouch. New Guinea has many marsupials, including small carnivorous ones and tree kangaroos that live in trees. Placentals include rodents and bats. Rodents in New Guinea are part of the Muridae family, and bats are very diverse, with many kinds living on the island.

Humans have lived in New Guinea for at least 40,000 years. Since then, many mammals have come to the island, either by chance or on purpose. These include wild boars, domestic dogs, and different types of rats and deer. Some of these animals have changed the natural environment and affected the native species.

Birds

Main article: List of birds of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea shares a special feature with New Zealand: birds are the most common living things there. New Guinea has many kinds of birds, with over 79 families and about 730 species. These birds can be grouped into four types: those that live and breed on land or in fresh water, seabirds, birds that travel from the north, and birds that come from the south-southeast areas like Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. There are eight special areas in New Guinea where birds live that are found nowhere else, and about 320 types of birds only live in New Guinea.

The largest bird in New Guinea is the cassowary. There are three kinds of cassowaries, and two of them—the southern and northern cassowary—can grow very tall. These birds live in jungles and along coasts, and they are very strong. Though they usually eat fruit, they can be dangerous because of their powerful legs and sharp claws.

New Guinea also has many pigeons and parrots, with some of the greatest variety in the world. The parrots here are very diverse, and the pigeons include the largest ones called crowned pigeons. There are also many small, colourful passerine birds, including the famous birds-of-paradise. These birds are known for their bright colours and special feathers.

Bowerbirds are another interesting group. They build special structures called bowers to attract mates, and they are also good at copying sounds, including those made by other animals, people, and even machines. Some birds in New Guinea, like the hooded pitohui, can be poisonous.

Most coastal and seabirds in New Guinea live throughout tropical regions. While some birds are hunted for their meat or feathers, the biggest danger to many bird species is the loss of their homes because of logging and changes in land use for farming.

Amphibians

See also: List of endemic amphibians of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea has many kinds of amphibians, mostly frogs and toads. There are over 320 known species, with more still waiting to be found. These frogs belong to six different families. Four families are native to the island, and two were brought there by humans.

The most common native family is Myobatrachidae. Tree frogs, part of the Hylidae family, are very diverse in New Guinea, with over 100 species. These frogs often lay their eggs in fast-flowing streams. Another family, Microhylidae, also has many different kinds on the island.

Reptiles

See also: List of endemic reptiles of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea has many interesting reptiles. The largest group is snakes and lizards, with about 300 different kinds. There are also turtles and crocodiles, but fewer of these.

Lizards make up most of the lizard group, with around 200 types. Many of these are skinks, with some geckos and agamids. The biggest lizard is the crocodile monitor. There are about 100 kinds of snakes, but not many of them are only found in New Guinea.

Turtles in New Guinea are almost equally split between those that live in fresh water and those that live in the sea. Six kinds of turtles live in the sea, and all of them are also found in other places. Fresh water turtles have seven kinds, three of which are only found in New Guinea. One special turtle, Parker's snake-necked turtle, lives only in the Fly River.

The saltwater crocodile is the biggest reptile in New Guinea. It lives in many places, from eastern India to northern Australia, and can be found in most rivers in New Guinea. There is also a smaller crocodile only found in New Guinea, called the New Guinea crocodile. There might be another kind of crocodile in southern New Guinea.

Fish

See also: List of endemic fish of Papua New Guinea and List of freshwater fish of Western New Guinea

New Guinea is part of the Coral Triangle, the area with the most different kinds of sea life in the world. It has over 600 types of corals and more than 2,200 types of fish that live on reefs.

In freshwater areas, there are about 375 kinds of fish. Many of these fish are special to New Guinea, and some can also be found in northern Australia. The most common families include rainbowfish, blue-eyes, gudgeons, and gobies, along with other types like Old World silverside and grunters.

The island's diverse landscapes have helped create many unique species. Large rivers such as the Fly, Sepik, and Mamberamo are full of different fish. Some lakes, like Kutubu, Ajamaru, and Sentani, also have special fish.

Freshwater crustaceans

New Guinea has many freshwater crabs and shrimps, but scientists still do not know much about them. By 2007, they had found 17 kinds of Caridina, 22 kinds of Macrobrachium, and 6 kinds of Holthuisana. Other freshwater shrimps include 2 kinds of Atya and 2 kinds of Palaemon. There are also crabs like Geelvinkia, Halicarcinus, Pseudograpsus, and others.

New Guinea has over 20 kinds of Parastacid crayfish from the group Cherax. The Paniai Lakes have the most types, including eight kinds found only there.

Insects

Main article: List of butterflies of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea is very important for studying insects. It has helped scientists learn about insects. The island has special insects that grew and changed over many years.

New Guinea has many different insect species. Some well-known insects found only in New Guinea include Ornithoptera paradisea, Ornithoptera chimaera, and Papilio weymeri, among others.