Weird new discoveries from Lost World

We may think we've seen it all when it comes to wildlife, but we haven't.

There are still plenty of creatures you won't find in any zoo or aviary or animal collection.

An expedition to the Foja mountains of western New Guinea, a remote, untouched part of Indonesia which is one of the least disturbed areas in the whole Asia-Pacific region, uncovered a range of creatures believed to be new to science.

An expedition to Foja in 2007 produced two new mammals, a pygmy possum and a giant rat, yet a subsequent exploration a year later produced an even richer haul of new species, whose pictures were unveiled for the first time yesterday.

The group includes several new mammals, a reptile, an amphibian, no fewer than 12 insects and the remarkable discovery of a new bird.

More specifically, they include a bizarre spike-nosed tree frog; an oversized, but notably tame, woolly rat; a gargoyle-like gecko with yellow eyes; a tiny forest wallaby, the smallest member of the kangaroo family in the world; and a new species of imperial pigeon.

Other discoveries included a new blossom bat, which feeds on rainforest nectar, a small tree-mouse, a flowering shrub, and a black and white butterfly related to the monarch of North America.

Rising to more than 2000m, the Foja mountains encompass an area of more than 3000sq km of unroaded, undeveloped and undisturbed rainforest and were dubbed "The Lost World" when news of the first expedition was released.

The subsequent expedition proved that they were even richer in wildlife than scientists had suspected.

"While animals and plants are being wiped out across the globe at a pace never seen in millions of years, the discovery of these absolutely incredible forms of life is much needed positive news," said Dr Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at the United States wildlife charity, Conservation International, and a participant on the expedition.

- INDEPENDENT