Strange new creatures found in Queensland's 'lost world' forest
Scientists from James Cook University and National Geographic were dropped by helicopter in March this year into a remote mountain range on Cape Melville to explore a pristine rainforest strewn with huge black granite boulders.
A leaf-tail gecko, a golden-coloured skink and a boulder-dwelling frog are three of the new species discovered in a "lost world" in northern Queensland, Australia.
Scientists from James Cook University and were dropped by helicopter in March this year into a remote mountain range on Cape Melville to explore a pristine rainforest strewn with huge black granite boulders.
Within days the team had discovered three highly distinct new vertebrate species - believed to have been isolated for millions of years - and a host of other species that may be new to science.
The Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko () measures 20cm in length and is believed to be a relic from a time when rainforest was more widespread in Australia.
The species' name translates as "exceptional", "extraordinary" or "exquisite", in reference to its unusual form and the distinctiveness of its features.
The golden-coloured Cape Melville shade skink () is also restricted to moist rocky rainforest on the plateau. It is long-limbed too, but unlike the gecko is active by day, running and jumping across the mossy boulders - the species' name "saltus" means "leaping".
