<p><strong>This tube-nosed fruit bat is just one of the roughly 200 species encountered during two scientific expeditions to <a id="e7jw" title="Papua New Guinea" href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/papua-new-guinea-guide/">Papua New Guinea</a> in 2009—including a katydid that "aims for the eyes" and a frog that does a mean cricket impression, <a id="jh01" title="Conservation International announced late Tuesday" href="http://www.conservation.org/pngspecies">Conservation International announced late Tuesday</a>.</strong></p><p>Though seen on previous expeditions, the bat has yet to be formally documented as a new species, or even named. Like other fruit bats, though, it disperses seeds from the fruit in its diet, perhaps making the flying mammal crucial to its tropical rain forest ecosystem.</p><p>In all, the expeditions to Papua New Guinea's Nakanai and Muller mountain ranges found 24 new species of frogs, 2 new <a id="u550" title="mammals" href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/">mammals</a>, and nearly a hundred new <a id="ekyy" title="insects" href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/">insects</a>. The remote island country's mountain ranges—which have yielded troves of new and unusual species in recent years—are accessible only by plane, boat, foot, or helicopter.</p><p>(Also see <a id="nku0" title="pictures of new species from Papua New Guinea&amp;squot;s &quot;Lost World.&quot;" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/photogalleries/100517-new-species-lost-world-foja-science-pictures/">pictures of new species from Papua New Guinea's "Lost World."</a>)<br><br><em>—Rachel Kaufman</em></p>

A Nose for Fruit

This tube-nosed fruit bat is just one of the roughly 200 species encountered during two scientific expeditions to Papua New Guinea in 2009—including a katydid that "aims for the eyes" and a frog that does a mean cricket impression, Conservation International announced late Tuesday.

Though seen on previous expeditions, the bat has yet to be formally documented as a new species, or even named. Like other fruit bats, though, it disperses seeds from the fruit in its diet, perhaps making the flying mammal crucial to its tropical rain forest ecosystem.

In all, the expeditions to Papua New Guinea's Nakanai and Muller mountain ranges found 24 new species of frogs, 2 new mammals, and nearly a hundred new insects. The remote island country's mountain ranges—which have yielded troves of new and unusual species in recent years—are accessible only by plane, boat, foot, or helicopter.

(Also see pictures of new species from Papua New Guinea's "Lost World.")

—Rachel Kaufman

Photograph courtesy Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International

Pictures: Tube-Nosed Bat, More Rare Species Found

A bat with trumpet-like nostrils and a katydid that "aims for the eyes" are among the hundreds of species recently seen in Papua New Guinea.

Read This Next

Why did humans evolve to blink?
52-million-year-old bat skeletons are the oldest ever found

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet