Tag Archives: Papua New Guinea

First female to row the Pacific Ocean solo (three stages)

British rower Roz Savage is the first woman to cross the Pacific Ocean single-handed, completing her epic journey on board her vessel Brocade in three stages: San Francisco, California, USA, to Waikiki, Hawaii, USA, in 99 days from 25 May to 1 September 2008; Hawaii to Kiribati in 104 days from 24 May to 6 September 2009; Kiribati to Madang, Papua New Guinea, in 46 days from 18 April to 3 June 2010.

Largest bowers built by bowerbirds

The bowerbirds of Australia and New Guinea are famous for the elaborate courtship bowers constructed and decorated by the males in order to attract females for mating purposes. The largest bowers are those of the Vogelkop gardener bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata) from New Guinea. These elaborate structures are conical and hut-like in appearance, some 160 cm (5 ft 2.99 in) across and 100 cm (3 ft 3.37 in) high, with an entrance normally propped up by a pair of column-like sticks, as well as a front Continue reading →

Largest butterfly

The largest known butterfly is the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea. Females may have a wingspan exceeding 28 cm (11 in) and weigh over 25 g (0.9 oz).

Largest species of cave-dwelling bat

The largest cave-dwelling bat is Bulmer’s fruit bat (Aproteles bulmerae), native to Papua New Guinea. Adult females have a wingspan of around 1 m (3 ft 3 in), and weigh approximately 600 g (21 oz). It was known to science only from 9,000-year-old fossils until 1977, when some modern-day preserved specimens were unexpectedly uncovered in a museum. Living specimens were later discovered in a huge cave within western Papua’s Hindenburg mountain range.