February 20, 2009--The first major foray into the "lost forest" of Mozambique's Mount Mabu has revealed a mind-boggling diversity of wildlife and plants.

In 2005, researchers using Google Earth pinpointed "undulating green patches" in the southeast African country (above). Scouting trips confirmed that the patches were forests as-yet unexplored by modern-day scientists.

In the fall of 2008, an international team of 28 researchers hiked into the wilderness, where they found a new species of snake, a rarely seen orchid, and more than 500 plant specimens.

(See more pictures of new species, including a cyanide millipede and a huge spider.)

"Even today we cannot say we know all of the world's key areas for biodiversity--there are still new ones to discover," said expedition leader Jonathan Timberlake, a botanist with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K.

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