A Yoda bat and 200 other new plants and animals were recently found by researchers working in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, according to reports on Thursday. The bat was named for its resemblance to the Star Wars Jedi master Yoda.
The discoveries, which include the Yoda-like tube-nosed fruit bat along with an orange-colored spider and a thumbnail-sized yellow-spotted frog, were unveiled by the US-based environmental group Conservation International. The group found the array of animals and plants in 2009.
Twenty-four new frog species, numerous spiders and insects, and some plants were discovered in the remote forests near the Nakanai and Muller mountain ranges.
"As we flew in to land the helicopter in a montane meadow, zooming into this spectacular landscape, it was an incredible realization, knowing that no scientist has ever been there before," herpetologist Stephen Richards said in a statement.
Richards and his crew flew in a small aircraft to a remote airstrip and then traveled by dugout canoe, foot and then helicopter to get to their destination. Travel was so difficult that the team had to ship all their food and equipment to the site beforehand, the group said.
The Nakanai Mountains were recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by the government of Papua New Guinea. However, the conservation group said that more needs to be done to save the rainforests on the island nation.
"Standing on top of the Nakanai Mountains, I could see oil palm plantations extending almost to the coast," Richards said.
"It struck me just how much of the lowland forest has disappeared for oil palm. The steepness of the highlands has limited their destruction, but if people start building roads, these areas will be more accessible."
