View source for Torricelli Range

{{Short description|Mountain range in Papua New Guinea}}
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The '''Torricelli Mountains''' are a [[mountain range]] in [[Sandaun Province]], north-western [[Papua New Guinea]]. The highest peak in the range is [[Mount Sulen]] at 1650 meters. The [[Bewani Mountains]] are located to the west, and the [[Prince Alexander Mountains]] are located to the east. To the north, the mountains slope down to the [[Pacific Ocean]], and to the south lies the basin of the [[Sepik River]]. The mountains are named after the Italian physicist and mathematician [[Evangelista Torricelli]] during the German colonial period.

Dozens of [[Torricelli languages]] are spoken within this mountain range.<ref name="Foley-Sepik">{{cite book |last=Foley |first=William A. |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=197–432 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}</ref>

==Ecology==
The portion of the range above 1000 meters elevation is home to the [[Northern New Guinea mountain rain forests]] [[ecoregion]], which also extends across portions of the neighboring ranges. The slopes below 1000 meters are part of the [[Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests]].<ref>{{WWF ecoregion |id=aa0116 |name=Northern New Guinea mountain rain forests|accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref>

Two of the most endangered [[mammals]] in the world, [[Tenkile|Scott's tree-kangaroo]] (''Dendrolagus scottae'') and [[golden-mantled tree-kangaroo]] (''Dendrolagus pulcherrimus''), live in the mountains' [[rainforest]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.seacology.org/projects/individualprojects/PNG_torricelli2006.htm |title=Seacology Islands Project |accessdate=2007-01-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102182333/http://www.seacology.org/projects/individualprojects/PNG_torricelli2006.htm |archivedate=2007-01-02 }}</ref>  Discovered in 1981, the critically endangered [[northern glider]] (''Petaurus abidi'') occurs exclusively in an area of less than 100&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in the Torricelli Mountains.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Leary, T. |author2=Wright, D. |author3=Hamilton, S. |author4=Singadan, R. |author5=Menzies, J. |author6=Bonaccorso, F. |author7=Salas, L. |author8=Dickman, C. |author9=Helgen, K. |date=2016 |title=''Petaurus abidi'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T16726A21959298 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T16726A21959298.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{WWF ecoregion|name=Northern New Guinea montane rain forests|id=aa0116}}
* {{cite news |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/logging-threats-loom-over-tree-kangaroo-refuge-in-papua-new-guinea/ |title=Logging threats loom over tree kangaroo refuge in Papua New Guinea |last=Cannon |first=John |work=Mongabay |date=25 January 2023}}

{{Mountain ranges of New Guinea}}

[[Category:Mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea]]

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