Archbold Expedition to New Guinea (4th : 1953)

Dates

• Existence: 1953

Summary

Abstract:

The Fourth Archbold expedition to New Guinea took place between March and November of 1953. As part of the series of Archbold Expeditions to that area, it aimed to continue the efforts to "study the relationships of the plants and animals in New Guinea, Malaysia, and Australia" (1, 1954, p. 240) focusing on the previously uncollected region of Eastern Papua New Guinea and the D'Entrecasteaux islands. The expedition was led by botanist Leonard Brass of the Archbold Biological Station and financed by Archbold Expeditions, the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and the United States Office of Naval Research. The scientific staff included Hobart Van Deusen of the AMNH Department of Mammals as mammalogist and Geoffrey M. Tate, manager of the Archbold Expeditions office at AMNH, as general zoological collector.

Chronology:

1953-03

The expedition party arrives in Papua New Guinea, does preliminary reconnaissance and staffing work, and travels to camp at Menapi on the Cape Vogel Peninsula.

1953-04

Collecting near Menapi.

1953-05-1953-07

Leaves Menapi to work toward Mt. Dayman; reaches highest peak May 17, collects in camps at multiple altitudes on Mt. Dayman.

1953-07-1953-08

Collects along the Gwariu River and Peria Creek.

1953-09

Samarai; prepares for next stage of expedition and Tate enters hospital.

1953-09-1953-10

Collected on Goodenough Island.

1953-11

Returned to Samarai and from there to New York.

Biographical Note

The expedition commenced in March 1953 when Leonard Brass arrived in Papua to complete preliminary work and a reconnaissance of the target areas of exploration, specifically Mount Dayman in the Maneau Range. Because the region to be explored was remote, supplies and equipment had been shipped months earlier in anticipation of the arrival of the scientists (2, 1953, p. 191). Brass was shortly joined by Van Deusen and Tate. With the hiring of transport manager Kenneth Wynn and workers, including nine full-time native assistants and porters, the expedition began (3, 1954, p. 240). They traveled primarily by sea and land. They first sailed to the Cape Vogel Peninsula and established a base camp at Menapi, from which they began collecting. For a few weeks in April the group was also joined by botanist R. D. Hoogland. In May and throughout June and July they explored and collected extensively around Mount Dayman in the Maneau Range from a series of camps at varied altitudes. In August the group descended, collecting along the Gwariu River and then returned to Samarai. For the last leg of the expedition, they crossed the bay to the D’Entrecasteaux island group, where they collected extensively at Goodenough Island. At the end of the expedition Van Deusen accompanied Tate home by way of Australia and London, while Brass remained in Papua New Guinea to complete any arrangements before flying home eastward over the Pacific. The full collection of about 98,000 plant and animal specimens was deposited at the Museum in March of 1954 (5, 1954, p. 56). This sizable and faceted selection of specimens added to the rich resources already provided through the other Archbold Expeditions and was valuable for scientific research, contributing significantly to the deeper understanding of the biological life of the New Guinea region. Particularly notable species included the spiny anteater, giant tree rats, fruit bats and cicadas (6, 1954, p. 240). Nearly 3500 plants were given to the Arnold Arboretum for identification and study, and the expedition provided ectoparasite specimens for study by the Army Medical Service (7, 1953, p. 83). Prior to the expedition, an agreement was reached that in exchange for permissions and assistance, the Administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea would eventually receive duplicates of many of the plant and animal specimens. Faunal collections were received by the American Museum of Natural History for distribution to the appropriate departments. In total, 1954 mammals, 91 birds, 1645 reptiles and amphibians and 145 fishes were collected, as well as over 80,000 insects and spiders, 750 mammal ectoparasites, a few dozen anthropological items, as well as a photographic record of nearly 3000 images (8, 1953, p. 150). In addition to the primary collections, a group of fungal specimens was collected by Brass and given to Chas. Pfizer and Company for antibiotic research, and some plant material was given to the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Florida (9, 1953, p. 150).

SOURCES (1) American Museum of Natural History, "Fourth Archbold Expedition," Natural History 63, no. 5, 1954.

(2) American Museum of Natural History, "Fourth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea sets out," Natural History 62, no. 4, 1953.

(3) American Museum of Natural History, "Fourth Archbold Expedition," Natural History 63, no. 5, 1954.

(4) L. J. Brass, "Results of the Archbold Expeditions No. 75: Summary of the Fourth Archbold Expedition (1953)," Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 111, article 2, 1956.

(5) American Museum of Natural History, 85th Annual Report. New York: AMNH, 1954.

(6) American Museum of Natural History, "Fourth Archbold Expedition," Natural History 63, no. 5, 1954.

(7) L. J. Brass, "Results of the Archbold Expeditions No. 75: Summary of the Fourth Archbold Expedition (1953)," Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 111, article 2, 1956.

(8) Ibid.

(9) Ibid.

Places

• Papua New Guinea (Associated Country) -- Date: 1953    
  • Note: Expedition site
• Milne Bay (Other) -- Date: 1953    
  • Note: Expedition site
• newCape Vogel Peninsula (Other) -- Date: 1953    
  • Note: Expedition site
• newMount Dayman (Other) -- Date: 1953    
  • Note: Expedition site
• Goodenough Island (Other) -- Date: 1953    
  • Note: Expedition site

Topics

• AMNH Expeditions

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