Foja Mountains

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The Foja Mountains west of the port city of Jayapura, the capital of Papua
province.
The Foja Mountains (Foja Range, Foya Mountains) (Indonesian Pegunungan Foja) are
located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains
rise to 2,193 metres (7,195 ft), and have 3,000 square kilometres of old growth
tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range. The Foja forest tract covers
9,712 square kilometers and is the largest unroaded tropical forest in the Asia
Pacific region.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 History
2.1 Ecological discovery
2.1.1 2005
2.1.2 2007
2.1.3 2008
3 References
4 External links
Geography[edit]
The Foja Mountains are cooler than the lowlands below because of their elevation,
but January and July temperatures still average 20 to 30 C (68 to 86 F). The
rainy season is from December to March, but the area can receive rain throughout
the year. In a typical year, the range receives more than 2,032 mm (80.0 in) of
precipitation. Relative humidity ranges from 73 to 87%. The nearest villages
include Sragafareh, Jomen, Beggensabah, Aer Mati, and Dabra.

History[edit]
The mountains have no record of visitors prior to 1979 (Stattersfield et al. 1998),
and are dominated by Araucaria cunninghamii, Podocarpus neriifolius, Agathis
labillardieri, Calophyllum, and Palaquium at the 1,200 meter level. Much of the
area around the Foja Mountains and nearby Van Rees Mountains are too steep for
conventional logging, and are considered unsafe due to their inaccessibility. Some
atlases show only the Gauttier Mountains in the area, but the Foja Mountains lie at
the eastern edge of that range at about 139 east longitude.

Ecological discovery[edit]
2005[edit]
In December 2005, leena krenena from the United States, Indonesia, and Australia
spent a month in the Foja Range documenting flora and fauna from the lower hills to
near the summit of the range. The expedition team was co-led by Bruce Beehler and
Stephen Richards and included scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences,
Cenderawasih University, the Smithsonian Institution, Conservation International
and other institutions. In February 2006, the expedition team released details of
new species including

One bird, a honeyeater with scarlet wattles,[2] officially described in 2007 as the
wattled smoky honeyeater (Melipotes carolae).
20 frogs
Four butterflies
Five palms
A rhododendron with a white, scented flower across the NeverPeack Mountains
The scientists documented

The first photographs of Berlepsch's six-wired bird of paradise and the golden-
fronted bowerbird, both of which were only known from a minute number of trade
skins previously.[3]
A golden-mantled tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), believed to be near-
extinct.
Western long-beaked echidnas that allowed scientists to pick them up, evidence that
the area has had no human presence
The human population of the Foja Range is 300, living in the 7,500 square
kilometres of low-lying forest. The 3,000 square kilometres of mountainous jungle
appear to have been untouched by humans until the 2006 scientific expedition. There
are no roads in the mountains, so scientists had to travel by helicopter, landing
on a boggy lakebed. Six permits were needed before the 11-member team could legally
enter.

2007[edit]
In December 2007, a second scientific expedition was taken to the mountain range.
The expedition led to the discovery of two new species the first being a 1.4 kg
giant rat (Mallomys sp.) approximately five times the size of a regular brown rat,
the second a pygmy possum (Cercartetus sp.) described by scientists as one of the
world's smallest marsupials.[4]

2008[edit]
An expedition late in 2008, backed by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences,
National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution, was made in order to
assess the areas biodiversity. New types of animals recorded include a frog with a
long erectile nose, a large woolly rat, an imperial-pigeon with rust, grey and
white plumage, a 25 cm gecko with claws rather than pads on its toes, and a small,
30 cm high, black forest wallaby.[5]

References[edit]
Jump up ^ Lost Worlds Of West Papua Reveal More Surprises. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
Jump up ^ Salleh, Anna (2006-02-08). 'Lost world' may be Earth's last. Australian
Broadcasting Corporation.
Jump up ^ Clover, Charles (2006-02-08). Paradise found. The Daily Telegraph.
Jump up ^ Giant Rat Discovered in 'Lost World'. AOL News. 2007-12-18.
Jump up ^ Smith, Bridie. (18 May 2010). New species found in lost world of Papuan
mountains.. The Age.
External links[edit]
New species found in Papua 'Eden', BBC News
In pictures Papua's 'lost world', BBC News
A Lost World Photo Gallery, CBC News (requires Flash)
Lost World Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species, National Geographic News
Coordinates 236'S 13905'E

Categories Mountain ranges of IndonesiaLandforms of Western New GuineaBiodiversity

hotspotsLandforms of Papua (province)
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This page was last edited on 12 April 2017, at 0100.
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