"Pinocchio Frog" from the Lost World

Place found:  Foja Mountains(Papua province, Indonesia)
Discoverer: Paul Oliver(Australia)

(Photo: Tim Laman/National Geographic)

     This Pinocchio-like tree frog species was discovered by fortunate accident when it hopped into a Foja Mountains camp kitchen and perched on a bag of rice, where herpetologist Paul Oliver of Australia's University of Adelaide spotted it. Oliver was unable to find another of these frogs, and suspects that they stay mostly in the treetops.


     The Foja Mountains(Indonesia's 'lost world') are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. Prior to 1979, there was no records of visitors. Much of the area around the Foja Mountains and nearby Van Rees Mountains are too steep for conventional logging, and are considered unsafe due to their inaccessibility.

     No roads lead to the interior of the Foja Mountains, which rise over 3,281 feet and require a helicopter to access. Paul Oliver calls the new "Pinocchio" frog "one of the most remarkable frog discoveries" from the region "and clearly the most distinctive."
     
     The male frog's nose, the scientists were surprised to discover, points upward when the animal's calling and hangs flaccid when it's not. "Exactly what it is for, no one really knows for sure," Oliver said.