Vietnam accounts for half new species discovered in Greater Mekong region

Vietnam accounts for 87 of the 163 new species of animals and plants discovered in the Greater Mekong region, according to a report recently released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

A new frog measuring less than 3 cm long, which took 10 years to be confirmed as a new species, a rainbow-headed snake, a dragon-like lizard and a newt that looks like a "Klingon from the movie Star Trek" are four of the 163 species discovered, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday.

The WWF report, titled Species Oddity, documents the work of hundreds of scientists who discovered nine amphibians, 11 fish, 14 reptiles, 126 plants and three mammals in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The discoveries also include a bat found in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with thick and woolly fur on its head and forearms, a rare banana species from Thailand, a tiny frog from Cambodia and a gecko with pale blue spotted skin and piercing dark eyes that was found hiding among the remote mountains of Laos.

This brings the total new species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and amphibians discovered in the region to 2,409 since the WWF began compiling new species reports in 1997.

"The Greater Mekong region is a magnet for the world's conservation scientists because of the incredible diversity of species that continue to be discovered here," Jimmy Borah, wildlife program manager at WWF-Greater Mekong, said.

The Greater Mekong region is under intense development pressure from mines to roads to dams, threatening the survival of the natural landscapes that make it so unique.

Poaching for meat and the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade puts additional pressure on the region's wildlife, meaning many species could be lost before they are even discovered.

"Vietnam is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the region, and the discovery of 87 new species shows that there are still more amazing discoveries to unlock. But we are currently faced with a huge demand for wildlife for consumption in Vietnam," Van Ngoc Thinh, country director of WWF-Vietnam, said. Endit