200 new species found in rainforests

A MOUSE with a long white-tipped tail, a tiny frog, an orange spider and a white-flowered rhododendron are among the species discovered in remote mountain rainforests of Papua New Guinea, conservationists said.

More than 200 new species of animals and plants were found for the first time during two months surveying in the rugged and little-explored Nakanai and Muller mountain ranges last year, Conservation International said.

The findings included two new mammals, 24 species of frog, nine new plants, nearly 100 new insects including damselflies, crickets and ants, and around 100 spiders.