A 'Lost World' With Three New Species Discovered in Remote Australia

A team of researchers has discovered three vertebrate species new to science. These creatures have stayed isolated for millions of years on Australia's Cape York Peninsula.

The lost world was discovered by researchers during a James Cook University-National geographic expedition to Cape York Peninsula in north-east Australia. The rare vertebrates discovered include a bizarre looking leaf-tail gecko, a golden-colored skink and a boulder-dwelling frog.

The exploration, conducted at the uplands of the range of Cape Melville- an isolated rainforest island in the midst of hot dry forest- yielded incredible findings. Apart from the distinct new vertebrate species, they also discovered a host of other fascinating species that have remained unknown to science.

"Finding three new, obviously distinct vertebrates would be surprising enough in somewhere poorly explored like New Guinea, let alone in Australia, a country we think we've explored pretty well", said Dr Conrad Hoskin from James Cook University. "These species are restricted to the upland rainforest and boulder-fields of Cape Melville. They've been isolated there for millennia, evolving into distinct species in their unique rocky environment."

The main find was the leaf tailed gecko that grows to the size of 20 cm. These primitive looking geckos are Gondwanan remnants from a period when rainforest was widespread in Australia. Named as 'Saltuarius eximius' (translates into exceptional, extraordinary or exquisite), the leaf tailed gecko is different from all relatives. It has been named based in its unusual features such as  huge eye, long tail, slender body and limbs. The gecko was found hidden in the boulders and hunts in the night on rocks and trees. This highly camouflaged gecko sits motionless head down waiting to hunt mainly insects and spiders.

"The second I saw the gecko I knew it was a new species. Everything about it was obviously distinct", said Dr Hoskin.

Patrick Couper, Curator of Reptiles and Frogs at the Queensland Museum, and collaborator on the gecko's description, said "That this gecko was hidden away in a small patch of rainforest on top of Cape Melville is truly remarkable. What makes it even more remarkable is that two other totally new vertebrates were found at the same time....."

Another vertebrate discovered the golden coloured skink named as Saproscincus Saltus (Saltus=leaping) mainly limits itself to the moist rocky rainforest on the plateau. It has long limbs and stays active during the day and stays on mossy boulders for catching its insects.

The third boulder-dwelling frog was named Cophixalus petrophillus, which limits itself to the boulder fields of Cape Melville. The species name means rock loving. The frog is found in the depths of the labyrinth of the boulder-field during the dry seasons as condition there remains moist and cool.

"You might wonder how a frog's tadpoles can live in a 'hollow' boulder-field with no water sitting around. The answer is that the eggs are laid in moist rock cracks and the tadpoles develop within the eggs, guarded by the male, until fully-formed froglets hatch out. As for the gecko, its eyes are very large - once again an adaptation for life in the dimly lit boulder-piles. This frog lives most of its life deep in the boulder-fields where it is dark, cool and moist, and only comes to the surface when it rains." Dr Hoskin said.

The study is published in the journal Zootaxa.