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An expedition with Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program conducted a species survey of Peru’s Alto Mayo landscape in 2024
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The expedition recorded more than 2,000 species during its 38-day survey
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Of the recorded creatures, 27 species are new to science
A scientific expedition aimed at preserving the well-known animals of Peru’s Alto Mayo landscape discovered 27 new species in need of protection.
In 2024, Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) launched a 38-day survey of the Alto Mayo landscape – ‘a complex mosaic of ecosystems and communities, including indigenous areas, villages and towns’ that stretches from the Andes to the Amazon, according to the organization.
Trond Larsen, Ph.D, the expedition’s scientific leader, tells PEOPLE that the mission was “to assess and monitor biodiversity and ecosystem health in this area.”
Trond is a “conservation ecologist, but also an explorer and naturalist at heart.” He is also senior director of biodiversity and ecosystem science at Conservation International and leads the organization’s Rapid Assessment Program.
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“For more than a decade, Conservation International has been working with the Awajún people and local communities in Alto Mayo to reduce deforestation by supporting sustainable livelihoods, such as the sale of medicinal tea and vanilla, and sustainable agriculture with cocoa and coffee beans” , Trond explains. the collaboration that led to his recent expedition.
“These efforts now culminate in a vision for establishing a conservation corridor across the Alto Mayo landscape connecting the more degraded areas with existing protected areas,” he adds. “This will help preserve Alto Mayo’s unique biodiversity while ensuring people continue to receive the benefits of nature they depend on.”
Ronald Diaz
A semi-aquatic mouse new to science found during a scientific expedition in the Alto Mayo landscape
Before constructing this corridor, Conservation International needs to know “where the most important species live, especially those that are new to science, rare or in danger of extinction.”
Trond’s expedition went to the Alto Mayo landscape to fill these ‘knowledge gaps’ so that the corridor can develop a land use plan that supports biodiversity conservation, agricultural sustainability and habitat connectivity in the wider region.
During the expedition’s five-week survey, scientists recorded more than 2,000 species, a “shocking” number for a “human-dominated” area of the Peruvian rainforest. Even more unexpected, of the hundreds of species documented, 27 were new to science, including four new mammals, eight fish, three amphibians and ten butterfly species. In addition, “48 species are potentially new to science pending further study, and at least 49 species are threatened with extinction,” Trond said.
Trond Larsen
A new species of salamander found in the Alto Mayo landscape
“Our team was very surprised by the extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity we encountered, especially the number of species that are new to science. While the discovery of new invertebrates, such as insects, is quite common, the discovery of so many vertebrates is , including new mammals, amphibians and fish, was shocking,” shares the expedition leader.
The ecologist admits he has a favorite among the newly discovered species.
“My personal favorite, and also the most unusual, is the blob-headed fish,” says Trond.
The creature is a type of armored catfish, distinguished from other armored catfish by the “large, bulbous speckled ‘blob’ extending from the tip of its head.”
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Other new species discovered for science during the expedition include a new type of bat, an amphibious mouse, a climbing salamander and a squirrel.
“While this fish is known to the local indigenous Awajun people, it is completely new to scientists, and the function of this bizarre blob-like structure remains a mystery,” Trond adds.
Ronald Diaz
A new species of dwarf squirrel
“The scientific experts continue to study the newly discovered species in more detail, and eventually each species will be formally ‘described’ and named, and the details published in a scientific journal,” he says of what’s next for the new animals.
Conservation International is working with the regional government and local communities to restore areas of the Alto Mayo landscape that are critical to the animals recorded by the expedition.
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According to Trond, the Alto Mayo landscape is the most “densely populated and human-influenced” landscape in which RAP has worked.
The ‘shocking and unexpected’ discovery of so many new species and the overall ‘tremendous diversity’ of the Alto Mayo landscape show RAP and Conservation International that populated areas ‘largely ignored’ by scientists can still be full of natural life.
Trond’s next RAP expedition will take place in northeastern Bolivia in the first half of 2025. Visit www.conservation.org to learn more about Conservation International and how the organization is protecting nature.
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