High atop a rocky crag, inaccessible by traditional means, lies a lush Australian rainforest — a hidden wild largely untouched by man. There, for millions of years, life has been carrying on in complete isolation. Finally, this year, a small team of scientists has gained access to this valley, discovering the secrets of a lost world.
We're not pitching you the plot of the next Syfy Original Movie. This time, the story is real. Scientists have actually discovered a lost world, tucked away in a remote corner of northern Australia. They've even discovered at least three distinct new vertebratespecies, never before seen by human eyes.
Cape York rainforest is a national park on the coast of the Coral Sea. The reason it went unexplored until now was that scientists really only discovered its existence through satellite imagery. From below the plateu, the area is entirely surrounded by piles of stones the size of school buses. It's these stones that have kept not only human explorers out, but all manner of natural influence as well. The giant stones have trapped in moisture and deflected fires and other animals for at least three million years.
In order to surmount the massive natural barrier, Dr. Conrad Hoskin and a team from National Geographic had to be choppered in. Once their feet were on the ground, Hoskin and his troop began to understand how unique of a place they had found. Over the course of a four-day trek through the hidden forest, Hoskin cataloged the discovery of a boulder-dwelling toad, a leaf-tailed gecko, and a golden-colored skink, all previously unknown to science.
"This is a truly wild place, so hard to get to, on an amazing misty plateau of rainforest on top of large black boulder fields." — Hoskin
Of the three new species, the leaf-tailed gecko is garnering much of the spotlight. When examined at the Queensland Museum, the curator there declared the gecko to be the strangest new species he had seen come across his desk in all his 26 years as a professional. While they may not be aliens or giant, rideable bees living at the center of the Earth, these new creatures are proof positive that you can never be sure what the future will bring. PHOTOS
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