Biodiversity knowledge is widely heterogeneous across the Earth's biomes. Some areas, due to their remoteness and difficult access, present large taxonomic knowledge gaps. Mostly located in the tropics, these areas have frequently experienced a fast development of anthropogenic activities during the last decades and are therefore of high conservation concerns. The biodiversity hotspots of Southeast Asia exemplify the stakes faced by tropical countries. While the hotspots of Sundaland (Java, Sumatra, Borneo) and Wallacea (Sulawesi, Moluccas) have long attracted the attention of biologists and conservationists alike, extensive parts of the Sahul area, in particular the island of New Guinea, have been much less explored biologically. Here, we describe the results of a DNA-based inventory of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrate communities, which was the objective of a multidisciplinary expedition to the Bird's Head Peninsula (West Papua, Indonesia) conducted between 17 October and 20 November 2014. This expedition resulted in the assembly of 1005 vertebrate DNA barcodes. Based on the use of multiple species-delimitation methods (GMYC, PTP, RESL, ABGD), 264 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were delineated, among which 75 were unidentified and an additional 48 were considered cryptic. This study suggests that the diversity of vertebrates of the Bird's Head is severely underestimated and considerations on the evolutionary origin and taxonomic knowledge of these biotas are discussed.

中文翻译：

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通过 DNA 条形码探索鸟头半岛（印度尼西亚、西巴布亚）的脊椎动物群

生物多样性知识在地球上的生物群落中具有广泛的异质性。一些地区由于地处偏远且难以进入，存在巨大的分类学知识缺口。这些地区主要位于热带地区，在过去几十年中经常经历人为活动的快速发展，因此受到高度保护。东南亚的生物多样性热点是热带国家面临的利害关系的例证。虽然巽他兰（爪哇、苏门答腊、婆罗洲）和华莱士（苏拉威西、摩鹿加）的热点长期以来一直吸引着生物学家和环保主义者的注意，但对萨胡尔地区的广大地区，特别是新几内亚岛的探索却少得多生物学上。在这里，我们描述了基于 DNA 的水生和陆生脊椎动物群落清单的结果，这是 2014 年 10 月 17 日至 11 月 20 日期间对鸟头半岛（印度尼西亚西巴布亚）进行的多学科考察的目标。这次考察收集了 1005 个脊椎动物 DNA 条形码。基于使用多种物种定界方法（GMYC、PTP、RESL、ABGD），划定了 264 个分子操作分类单元（MOTU），其中 75 个未鉴定，另外 48 个被认为是神秘的。这项研究表明，鸟头脊椎动物的多样性被严重低估，并讨论了对这些生物群的进化起源和分类学知识的考虑。这次探险组装了 1005 个脊椎动物 DNA 条形码。基于使用多种物种定界方法（GMYC、PTP、RESL、ABGD），划定了 264 个分子操作分类单元（MOTU），其中 75 个未鉴定，另外 48 个被认为是神秘的。这项研究表明，鸟头脊椎动物的多样性被严重低估，并讨论了对这些生物群的进化起源和分类学知识的考虑。这次探险组装了 1005 个脊椎动物 DNA 条形码。基于使用多种物种定界方法（GMYC、PTP、RESL、ABGD），划定了 264 个分子操作分类单元（MOTU），其中 75 个未鉴定，另外 48 个被认为是神秘的。这项研究表明，鸟头脊椎动物的多样性被严重低估，并讨论了对这些生物群的进化起源和分类学知识的考虑。