New Guinea isn't known much to westerners, but it's a veritable gold mine to the world's scientists. Co-habited by Papua New Guinea to the east and Indonesia to the west, New Guinea is the largest tropical island on earth, covering less than half a per cent of the globe but sheltering a remarkable six-to-eight per cent of its species.
And, over more than a decade, the spectacular island has delivered. The World Wildlife Fund recently announced the discovery of more than 1,000 new species between 1998 and 2008, each more remarkable than the last. Here are just a few of the WWF's amazing finds from New Guinea.

Paryphantopsis misimensis
Nine new snails were among the 1,000-plus species found in New Guinea, including this bright yellow type, known as Paryphantopsis misimensis. Found in Papua New Guinea, this stunning snail was seen crawling in the Louisiade Archipelago and the Owen Stanley Ranges.
Varanus macraei
One of the most striking finds by WWF's scientists was this monitor lizard, a black-and-blue/turquoise reptile discovered on tiny islands off the Vogelkop Peninsula of Papua in Indonesia. Found in 2001, the monitor lizard is capable of reaching a metre in length as an adult.
Chilatherina alleni
New Guinea boasts some of the world's most beautiful freshwater fish, and seven new rainbow fish species were found off the island's coast between 1998 and 2008. This fish, known as Allen's rainbow fish, presumably after the photographer that captured it, features nearly all shades of the colour spectrum.
Chrysiptera cymatilis
Discovered in the waters of Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, this blue fish was found among the pristine reefs off the coast of the island. The Chrysiptera cymatilis was one of 33 new fish species found in the oceans surrounding New Guinea over the decade beginning in 1998.
Delias durai
Many butterflies and moths are known to New Guinea - including the largest butterfly in the world, the giant Queen Alexandra Birdwing, with a wingspan of up to 30 cm - but none are as newly-discovered as the Delias durai, this spectacular invertebrate species. The white, yellow and red butterfly was spotted in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia.
Cyrtodactylus irianjayaensis
Five snakes, 37 lizards and a soft-shelled turtle were discovered in New Guinea between 1998 and 2008, an impressive roll call that includes this Giant Bent-Toed Gecko. The brown lizard (among the 37 found lizards: 17 skinks, 12 geckos, five forest dragons and three monitor lizards) was first seen in Indonesian New Guinea in 2001.
Melipotes carolae
After landing a helicopter in the misty, sacred Foja Mountains in Indonesia's Papua Province, scientists quickly found this Wattled Smoky Honeyeater, whose beautiful orange face had never been documented before. One unique feature of the Honeyeater: it made no noise. Scientists never recorded the bird making a sound, which likely helped it avoid discovery until it was found in November, 2005.
Litoria dux
A wonderfully monochromatic amphibian, this green tree frog's name (Litoria dux) comes from the Latin "dux," meaning leader. Scientists found the green frog, with its bright red iris, on the northern side of the Huon Peninsula, a 16,500 square kilometre area of montane and lowland forest.
Spilocuscus wilsoni
New Guinea has the highest diversity of tree-dwelling marsupials in the world, according to the WWF. This blue-eyed spotted cuscus, a small possum endemic to Papua in Indonesia, was found in 2004; by the WWF's figures, one new mammal species is discovered each year on overage in New Guinea.
Orcaella heinsohni
When scientists spotted this snub-fin dolphin off the south coast of New Guinea in 2005, they originally thought it to be part of the Irrawaddy species subset. But after studying the marine mammal more, it was found the Orcaella heinsohni had unique colouration, skull, fin and flipper measurements, which made it the first new dolphin species recorded for at least 30 years.