my species

i heard on the news earlier that new species of wildlife had been discovered in new guinea. this, of course, sparked my interest, because i'd always wondered if there were others of my own kind out there. unfortunately, my hopes were dashed yet again. i remain the one and only retarded cross between a monkey and a martian - with defects, no less.


A smoky honeyeater. Photograph: Bruce Beehler/ Conservation International/AP. courtesy http://guardian.co.uk

back to my point. according to guardian.co.uk, a team of 13 reasearchers from all over the place spent a month surveying more than a million hectares in Papua New Guinea - specifically in the Foja Mountain region. OK, one month in a jungle surveying the area... one month of testing the soil, recording rain levels, collecting shit samples - joy to the world.

anyway, these 13 people identified about 40 different species and predict that there are a hell lot more out there to find. ah~ all hope of finding my lost brothers and sisters is not lost. but according to the news, the area has a human population of a whopping 300 people!!! how amazing.

now we ask ourselves... how is it that so many new species have never been identified? have they just evolved or are they just really pro at hide-and-seek? and why is the population level so low? is it because the area sucks? OR....*cue sinister music* are the supposed 'new' species not as innocent as they look. i mean, hypothetically, humans MAY have discovered these species, only to be eaten way before they got back to blabber excitedly to their families about the giant squirrel they just saw.

and new species are discovered quite frequently, apparently. all over the world too. a new species of whale was discovered in japan [what's with the japanese and whales?? it's like, some sort of obsession]. and this new species of spider was discovered just two years ago in california [so don't worry, jon, it can't hurt you here in australia].

courtesy http://cnn.com. isn't this spider gorgeous? stop squirming, jon.

and btw, sarah, amongst the 40 species of new wildlife discovered in new guinea, 20 of them were different types of frogs. i know, it's lovely, isn't it. anyway, scientists discover new species but the thing is, who the hell apart from the scientists themselves could tell the original species from the variation?? a whale is a whale, a spider is a spider. ok, to be fair, some of them looks really different [e.g. the orange spider] but other times...

can you tell the difference between the two apes? the one on the bottom is the 'original' mountain gorilla. the one up top was discovered.


and no, the gorilla may bear a startling resemblance to me, but we are not of the same species. gorillas are slightly hairier and more mature. kim has the maturity of a stunted mushroom, as some of you may already know. but maybe there's a point in all these new species. all to do with sustainability of the planet, as economics teachers would say. so scientists.. i urge you.. discover more species. preferably edible ones.