Google Earth discovery led to 3 new butterfly species and a new snake

In 2005, conservation scientist Julian Bayliss was searching Google Earth for mountainous green areas in northern Mozambique when he noticed a large, unexplained patch of forest. The image suggested that the high-elevation area might receive enough rainfall to support an important ecosystem, but the forest was not properly mapped or widely known outside nearby communities. After reconnaissance trips to Mount Mabu, Bayliss and his colleagues confirmed that the green patch was a vast, largely untouched rainforest. In October and November 2008, a 28-scientist expedition entered the forest and documented remarkable biodiversity, including three previously unknown butterfly species and a new species of snake.