Bewani Mountains


The Bewani Mountains form a mountain range in northwestern Papua New Guinea. Together with the Torricelli Mountains and Prince Alexander Mountains it forms the North Coastal Range of Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at 1,960 m.
The Bewani languages and various other Papuan languages are spoken in the region.

Geology

The Bewani-Torricelli-Prince Alexander Mountains, are presumed to have been formed as an island arc in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene.

Ecology

As with other mountain ranges in Papua New Guinea, the Bewani Mountains are home to many rare species of fauna and flora and is highly biodiverse. The black sicklebill is a threatened species which is known from a few localities in the Bewani and Torricelli mountains. Fiwo, a subspecies of the tenkile tree-kangaroo, is thought to be endemic to the Bewani Mountains. Two frog species described in 2000/2001, Cophixalus bewaniensis and Choerophryne longirostris, are so far only known from the Bewani Mountains.