123 Quirky New Species Found in Borneo

World Wildlife Fund hails success of conservation project
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2010 7:24 AM CDT
123 Quirky New Species Found in Borneo
This flame-colored Borneo snake has an aggressive disposition and a painful bite, zoologists warn. It has been named "Kopstein’s bronzeback" in honor of a late Austrian snake expert.   (WWF/Gernot Vogel)

A color-changing flying frog, a slug that fires "love darts" into potential mates during courtship, and the world's longest insect are among the 123 new species discovered in central Borneo over the last three years. The World Wildlife Fund has issued a report on the amazing finds to mark Earth Day and celebrate the success of a project to conserve the "Heart of Borneo" region, NBC reports.

Scientists say untold numbers of species still remain to be found in the remoter parts of the rainforest region Charles Darwin called "one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself." The WWF warns, however, that it will be a huge challenge to continue preserving the area—which is split between Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia—by protecting it from loggers and developers.
(More Borneo stories.)

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