Scientists have discovered a "treasure trove of new species" including a frog with a "Pinocchio-like" nose in a remote section of Indonesian rainforest in Southeast Asia.
The male tree frog, whose pointed nose was seen to inflate when calling, was one of dozens of new species found on an expedition to the Foja Mountains in the Papua province of Indonesia in New Guinea Island, organized by Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP).
Leanne Alonso, director of RAP, told CNN: "It's a frog which goes up trees and lays its eggs on undersides of leaves. Its nose is probably inflating to call females. Usually frogs inflate under the throat when they call."
The frog, along with new species of mammals, insects, a reptile and birds were discovered on a 2008 expedition but have only recently been verified.
They include a "blossom bat" which feeds on rainforest nectar, a new type of small tree-mouse and a black and white butterfly related to the common monarch.
Scientists also discovered the world's smallest wallaby, a pair of new imperial pigeons with "rusty, whitish and gray" feathers, a giant woolly rat and a "gargoyle-like" gecko with yellow eyes.
The Foja Mountains are home to 300,000 square hectares of pristine rainforest which is "a profound species generator" and a "critical carbon-sink for the planet," says Conservation International (CI).
"The area is probably holds the highest number of species we haven't found yet. It's so isolated, and every time we go there we find new species," Alonso said.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/biodiversity.new.species.foja/index.html?hpt=C2
