In 2016 more than a hundred new animals and plants discovered in Mekong region

Photo source: news.mongabay

In the Mekong region in Southeast Asia, scientists discovered 115 new species in 2016. These include a crocodile lizard, a freshwater turtle and two moles, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The organization mentions in the report the discovery of three new mammal species, eleven reptiles, eleven amphibians, two fish species and 88 plant species in the Mekong, an area with enormous species richness. Every year many new (animal) species are found here.

That also happened in 2016. One of the highlights is the observation of a Vietnamese crocodile lizard, which is found in the south of China and the north of Vietnam. According to researchers, there are probably barely two hundred specimens in the wild, and the species is therefore immediately seriously threatened.

Photo source: wikipedia Chinese crocodile lizard

The three newly discovered mammal species also include two moles: Euroscaptor orlovi and Euroscaptor kuznetsov. In addition, five new frogs were named, all living in the north of Vietnam. In total, 65 of the 115 new species were discovered in that country. Animals were also named in Thailand (33), Laos (15), Cambodia (7) and Myanmar (5).  The new terrapin Malayemsys isan was not discovered in the wild according to the WWF, but on a market in Thailand. There a merchant told him that he had captured the reptile somewhere in the Mekong.

With the new discoveries, more than 2500 new species have been described in the Mekong since 1997, on average more than two species a week.

Want to know more personal things about me? follow me on




Love & Kiss 

Shavida

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Goelong Goelong Surinamese pancakes

African Fashion Week Amsterdam 2015

For the second time in history, scientists are transmitting communications to extraterrestrials.