Nose Extensions, Mating Rituals, and New Discoveries

On Monday, May 17th, 2010, Conservation International announced the discovery of at least a dozen new species of creatures. The discoveries were all made in the Foja Mountains of New Guinea, a region otherwise known as the “Lost World”.

The region gets its name, “Lost World”, because it is nearly inaccessible and has been left undisturbed over time, leaving life in the Foja rain forest to evolve without unnatural influences.

One of the newly discovered creatures, the Pinnochio frog, was found by complete accident as it hopped into the camp kitchen and perched atop a bag of consumables.

Although this was the only one spotted, it is believed that the species lives in the forest canopy.

The frog is called Pinocchio because of the extension on its snout, a feature that no one has figured a use for, other than a mating signal as the extension stands straight up when it is “calling” and hangs flaccid when it is not.

If the existence of this frog had been discovered by anyone but a scientist, it is quite possible that the word “mythical” may have been tagged to it forever.

But, then again, maybe it isn’t big enough to called a cryptid.

Does size matter in cryptozoology?

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