Around 115 latest species discovered by scientists from The Mekong River in Southeast Asia region.
This brings the overall variety of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians discovered within the region between 1997 and 2016 to 2,524.
According to WWF, the illegal wildlife trade stretches from Asia to Africa resulting from greater demand generated by tourists from China and Vietnam who go to markets resembling Mong La in Myanmar and Boten in Laos searching for products resembling ivory, rhinoceros horn or tiger body parts
On Tuesday (December 19), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced that: crocodile lizard, snail-eating turtle AND The horseshoe bat is amongst 115 latest species discovered by scientists from the Mekong River region in Southeast Asia in 2016.
Scientists from several research institutes discovered a brand new species, including 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles, 88 plants and three mammals in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, Efe news reports.
The latest discoveries include two-mole species and a colourful frog present in northern Vietnam, in addition to a long-bodied, bold-striped black-and-brown rusticad present in a Cambodian river.
The Guardian added more information concerning the latest species documented within the report as follows:
• Mountain horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus monticolus), present in the mountainous forests of Laos and Thailand. It took 10 years to find out that it was a brand new species, with a horseshoe-shaped face called a nose.
• The Vietnamese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus vietnamensis), which lives in freshwater and forest habitats of southern China and northern Vietnam. It is threatened by habitat destruction, coal mining and pet collecting. As few as 200 individuals may remain in Vietnam. A comic book book character was created to clarify to children the importance of protecting it.
• A snail-eating turtle (Malayemys isan) was discovered in a market in northeastern Thailand. Environmentalists say it’s threatened by infrastructure resembling dikes and dams and will subsequently be protected under Thai law.
• Two moles (Euroscaptor orlovi and Euroscaptor kuznetsovi) were discovered in a network of streams and rivers in northern Vietnam. It is believed that they will maintain a stable population and escape poachers because they live underground in protected areas.
• The vividly coloured frog (Odorrana mutschmanni) is threatened by cement mining and road construction. WWF has said the frog’s karst forest home needs latest protection.
• Loach (Schistura kampucheensis) from Cambodia with characteristic black and brown stripes on its elongated body.
• A frog and 4 plant species from Myanmar that’s opening as much as scientific research and hopes it may very well be home to tons of of undiscovered species.
This brings the overall variety of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians discovered within the region between 1997 and 2016 to 2,524.
“More than two new species a week and 2,500 in the last 20 years demonstrate how critically important the Greater Mekong is to global biodiversity,” Stuart Chapman, WWF Greater Mekong regional representative, said in an announcement.
“While threats to the region are many, these discoveries give us hope that species from the tiger to the turtle will survive.”
Among the threats, Chapman pointed to coal mines and the development of dams and roads that threaten the “survival of natural landscapes” and lead to the illegal animal trade, which could lead to species disappearing before they’re discovered.
Source: Various, incl Guardian AND http://www.newsx.com/offbeat/115-new-species-found-sutheast-asias-mekong-river-world-wildlife-fund
