Earth Mars Comparison

Beautiful Night

Sunrise

This beautiful sunrise photo also came from Cindy!

Orange spider

 I. Agnarsson / Courtesy of Conservation International

This new spider species from the genus Anelosimus was found in the Nakanai Mountains of New Britain, one of four new species of this genus not previously documented from New Guinea.

Surprising find

 Stephen Richards / Courtesy of Conservation International

This tiny frog, measuring just an inch long, was the most exciting herpetological discovery of the Nakanai Rapid Assessment Program survey in Papua New Guinea. It belongs to a group of frogs previously only known from the Solomon Islands, and its discovery in the wet montane forests of New Britain was a complete surprise. Unlike most of his relatives this little frog did not call at night, preferring to advertise for females late in the afternoon.

Playing possum

This cute little feather-tailed possum was attracted to a light-trap put up by entomologists to catch nighttime insects at around a mile of elevation in the Muller Mountains. It may have been attempting to catch and eat moths. This animal is only known from this site and a nearby mountain, where it was discovered in 1985. The species still does not have a name.

Proud, loud and green

Stephen Richards / Courtesy of Conservation International

Living 100 feet above the ground in the forest canopy, this large bright green frog was more often heard than seen in Papua New Guinea's Muller Range. At night, males proclaimed their presence with loud, guttural croaking sounds high above the camp - causing much frustration among the visiting scientists. The expedition's local tree-climber proudly delivered a handsome male to the researchers.

Hard-to-get ant

Andrea Lucky / Courtesy of Conservation International

Scientists found only two specimens of this super spiny ant species, which represents an entirely new genus of ants.The workers were found in the canopy of a fallen tree at mid-elevation. Conservation International entomologist Andrea Lucky suspects that these types of ants live up high in trees. As a result, they're hard to reach and therefore little-studied.