Scientists have identified 52 new species of plants and animals in the past year on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, including a catfish with an adhesive belly and 16 types of ginger, the conservation group WWF said.

"The more we look, the more we find," said Stuart Chapman, international coordinator for the study. "These discoveries reaffirm Borneo's position as one of the most important centers of biodiversity in the world."

Many of the discoveries were made in the so-called Heart of Borneo, a 220,000-square-kilometer (85,000-square-mile) mountainous region covered with equatorial rainforest in the center of the island, the report published today said.

They include 30 unique fish species, two tree frog species, three new types of trees and one large-leafed plant species, the report said.

Scientists discovered the world's second smallest vertebrate, a species of fish measuring 8.8 millimeters in length that is found in the acidic blackwater peat swamps of the island. It is only slightly larger than a 7.9 millimeter-long fish found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the report said.

WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, said there are probably other undiscovered species in Borneo, which is divided between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

WWF warns that the rainforest habitat continues to be threatened with clearing for rubber, oil palm and pulp production. Today, only half of Borneo's original forest-cover remains.

Author: Ed Johnson
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/

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