Mt. Bangeta, Papua New Guinea Photograph by David Olson   Southeastern Asia: Eastern Papua New Guinea Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   6,400 square miles (16,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of Hawaii Relatively Stable/Intact

· The Huon Highlands
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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The Huon Highlands

The centerpiece of this rugged ecoregion is the Finesterre Mountain Range, which plunges deeply to the sea to form one of the most dramatic landscapes on earth. This range, like the other mountain ranges of the Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea, is isolated and remote, providing its birds, mammals, and other animals with a safe haven in which to live.

Special Features

Because of New Guinea’s complex geologic history, this ecoregion contains a mix of siltstone, volcanic material, limestone, and other types of rock. The Finisterre Range in particular consists of one steep ridge of limestone. Vegetation is primarily tropical rain forest, with some tropical montane rain forest and limestone forest. As you move from the hill forests to the upper reaches, the canopy becomes more even and the shrub layer more dense. The higher peaks contain some ecologically fragile alpine areas.

	Unlike other kangaroos, whose tails are thick at the base and taper to a thin point, the Huon tree kangaroo and other tree kangaroos have tails that are long and cylindrical like a monkey’s. They are used for balancing while climbing through the trees. This species often has a dark stripe down the back of its otherwise chestnut-colored body.

Wild Side

The Finisterre Range, representing a full third of the ecoregion, contains more mainland endemic mammals than any similar-sized area in Papua New Guinea. These montane forests harbor 81 mammal species, including six that are endemic or near-endemic to the ecoregion. These include the Huon tree kangaroo, Menzie’s mouse, New Guinea rat, mouse-like long-tailed melomys, and the incredible Papuan long-beaked echidna, also called a spiny anteater. The emperor bird-of-paradise is endemic to this ecoregion, while four other bird species, the Huon astrapia, Huon melidectes, spangled honeyeater, and Wahnes’ parotia, are near-endemic. Yet the true breadth of bird species in the ecoregion is still largely unknown.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion’s natural habitat remains largely intact. However, certain highland and hill tracts are threatened by development. The southern part of the ecoregion and the Buweng Timber Rights Purchase have already experienced some loss of native forest. No study has ever been conducted to determine whether the existing network of protected areas adequately protects all of this ecoregion’s habitats.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.