New Hummingbird Species Discovered

A new species of hummingbird, the Gorgeted Puffleg, Eriocnemis Isabellaea, has been discovered in the Serrania del Pinche mountains of southwest Colombia.

According to ornithologists, the Gorgeted Puffleg has been discovered living in the cloud forests of southwestern Colombia. Despite its recent discovery, this stunning rare hummingbird that has violet blue plumage and iridescent green on its throat, is already endangered by the environmentally damaging illegal drugs industry.

"We were essentially following a hunch," said Alexander Cortés-Diago of the Hummingbird Conservancy in Colombia and co-discoverer of Gorgeted Puffleg. "We had heard that a new species of plant had been discovered in the region in 1994. This discovery and the isolation of the Serrania led us to believe there could also be new species of vertebrates."

According to its discoverers, the new species measures between 3.5 inches and four inches in length. The bird gets its unusual name from its enlarged, bicoloured iridescent throat patch (its "gorget") and from the appearance of having "little cotton balls above their legs," said Luis Mazariegos-Hurtado, who has spent 30 years documenting hummingbirds and founded the Colombian Hummingbird Conservancy.

The new species, which was recently given the scientific name, Eriocnemis isabellae, was confirmed by two of the world's leading specialists on the puffleg, Karl L. Schuchmann, curator of ornithology at Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig in Germany, and F. Gary Stiles of the Natural Sciences Institute at the National University of Colombia.

"The description of the species has been published in Ornitologica Neotropical, a well respected peer-reviewed journal," said Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation for the Washington-based National Audubon Society. "The description of the bird in that journal leaves no doubt that it is a very distinctive species, and will be accepted as such by the ornithological community."

The two field ornithologists who discovered the hummingbird saw it three times in 2005 while they conducted field surveys of the mountain cloud forest in the Serrania del Pinche mountains in southwest Colombia. In 2006, they returned to confirm the sighting despite the presence of leftist rebels and drug traffickers in the region. They photographed the birds in 2006, and sent the images to the Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig in Germany for confirmation.

"We immediately suspected the bird as a new species," said Andre Weller of the Brehm Fund for International Bird Conservation/Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig. "Further study has shown that this is certainly the most spectacular discovery of a new hummingbird taxon during the last decade or more."

The mountainous Serrania del Pinche region may hold other new species but their future isn't secure because of slash-and-burn farming by coca farmers in the region. This destructive method of farming, combined with the bird's small range give ornithologists cause for concern that this bird may slip into extinction. Coca is the raw material in cocaine.

"Destruction of habitat is the main threat caused by the migration of coca fields from the Caqueta and Putumayo areas to the Pacific," said Luis Mazariegos-Hurtado of the Hummingbird Conservancy in Colombia. He added that slash-and-burn agriculture is expanding in the area, and this farming technique can cause "dangerous fires that can easily burn a whole mountain."

Researchers are especially worried because the hummingbird has only been sighted on one mountain ridge. Ornithologists are asking the Colombian government to protect this area.

"To go undiscovered for so long, the bird's range must be extremely small and fragile -- hence conservation action is undoubtedly a priority for the Serrania del Pinche," said Ian Davidson of the conservation group Birdlife International.

The Gorgeted Puffleg brings to 15 the number of species in this genus, which are mostly found in Colombia. There are more than 300 species of hummingbirds in the world, nearly half of which live in Colombia. Further, Colombia is a gold mine for bird species, with more than 1,800 total native species.

"This is a discovery with mixed emotions: the indescribable happiness of finding a new hummingbird and the harsh reality that this may be one of the most endangered species outside of an unprotected area." said Luis Alfonso Ortega, co-discoverer of the hummingbird.

This undated photo release by BirdLife International on Sunday, May 13, 2007, shows the new species of hummingbird, called the Gorgeted Puffleg, Eriocnemis Isabellaea, discovered in the Serrania del Pinche mountains, southwest Colombia. The highly distinct new species is characterized by an enlarged, iridescent throat patch in males and white tufts above the legs

Source:

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/05/new_hummingbird_species_discov.php

Two New Species of Poison Dart Frogs Discovered in Colombia

December 2007. Two new species of frog have been discovered in the Central Cordillera of Colombia by Alonso Quevedo from ProAves and Oscar Gallego from Tolima University. The frogs were discovered in July, 2006, when the research team was looking for endangered bird species in the Central Mountain Range. The new frogs have been named Ranitomeya tolimense and Ranitomeya doriswansoni in recent months.

Ranitomeya tolimense is mostly yellow, and Ranitomeya doriswansoni is black and red, and has a short fifth toe.

Alonso Quevedo, President of ProAves, said ‘There is a great concern about the conservation of these frogs and of many other species of flora and fauna in this region, since there are not any protected areas here, and there is a high pressure on the ecosystems due to the expansion of coffee crops.’

The description of Ranitomeya tolimense was jointly carried out with experts Manuel Hernando Bernal and Víctor Fabio Luna-Mora, who, together with Óscar Gallego, are members of the Research Group on Zoology at the Herpetology and Eco-physiology Laboratory in Tolima University. The article was published on November 14, 2007 by Zootaxa Magazine.

The description of Ranitomeya doriswansoni was jointly carried out in 2006 with José Vicente Rueda-Almonacid, Marco Rada, Santiago J. Sánchez-Pacheco and Álvaro Andrés Velásquez-Álvarez, from Conservation International. It was also published by Zootaxa Magazine.

Source:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/colombia-frogs872.html

New species of golden frog discovered in remote region of Colombia

August 2007. A new poisonous frog was recently discovered in a remote mountainous region in Colombia by a team of young scientists supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP). The new frog, which is almost two cms long, was given the name the ‘Golden frog of Supatá.’

Originally, the young scientists thought the frog was similar to several other common species in the area. However, after scientific analysis of the frog’s characteristics, and review of their findings by experts at Conservation International, it was determined that the golden frog of Supatá is unique and only found within a 20 hectare area in Colombia’s Cundinamarca region. Colombia is one of the world’s richest countries in amphibian diversity, with more than 583 species.

Unfortunately, since this frog is a recent discovery, and endemic to only the Cunidnamarca region, little is known about it. So far, scientists say that the golden frog of Supatá belongs to a group of ‘dart fogs’ that are known to be highly venomous. In the coming months, the young scientists hope to have more information about the frog.

‘The importance of this project is not just the discovery of the new frog,’ said Oswaldo Cortes, team leader and one of the winners of the 2007 Conservation Leadership Programme awards. ‘But, most importantly, what this new discovery shows is how little we still know about our planet, and the many species that haven’t yet been discovered. This is why it is so important to work with local communities and educate them about the need for conservation.’

Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP)
The CLP, formerly known as the BP Conservation Programme, supports the vital work of a new rising generation of conservation professionals who are helping to drive practical projects addressing a wide range of global environmental issues from protecting sharks in Brazil to conservation of threatened amphibians in Colombia and endangered turtles in Cambodia to the assessment and conservation of threatened bird species in China. The deadline for 2008 CLP award applications is Nov. 23, 2007. To apply for the program, and for further detailed information on this year’s awardees and their conservation research projects, please visit www.ConservationLeadershipProgramme.org.

New species of bird discovered in Colombia

A new species of bird has been discovered in Columbia on the remote Serranía de los Yariguies range. Named the ‘Yariguies Brush-Finch’, it was found by Anglo-Colombian scientists Thomas Donegan and Blanca Huertas from ‘Fundación ProAves’. The full description can be seen in the scientific journal ‘Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club’ (Vol. 126: June 2006).

The bird is named ‘Yariguies’ after the indigenous people who previously inhabited the mountains where the bird was discovered. The bird is a large and colourful finch with black, yellow and red plumage. The area where the bird was found is very isolated and inaccessible; sp the researchers arrived by helicopter on an isolated peak more than 10,000 ft. above sea level.

The expedition was funded by the BP Conservation Awards scheme, an on-going commitment to the environment by BP. In 2006 27 winning teams from 21 different countries were awarded with support totalling $475,000. The awards support the important work of a new generation of conservation professionals.

The BP Conservation Programme is a partnership between BP, BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. For more information about year's winning projects, visit http://conservation.bp.com.