Find more than 1,000 new species in the Mekong Subregion

According to a report recently published by WWF, among 1,068 newly discovered species in the Mekong Sub-region from 1997 to 2007, there is the world's largest huntsman spider with stride up to 30 centimeters and a cyanide-like centipede.
> Strange animals in the Mekong Subregion

While most species are found in vast forests and undeveloped wetlands, several other species were first found at locations that surprised many of us. The Lao rock mouse, thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago, was discovered by scientists at a local food market, while the Thai pitviper was found sliding through rafters. of a restaurant in Khao Yai National Park.

A snake found in the Mekong Subregion.Photo: WWF.

'This area is just like what I was when I was a child I read in the stories of Charles Darwin,' said Dr. Thomas Ziegler, head of the Cologne Zoo, Germany. 'It is a great feeling to be able to go to places that have never been discovered and recorded its biodiversity for the first time . so mysterious and beautiful.'

Species discovered, highlighted in the above report, include 519 species of plants, 279 species of fish, 88 species of frogs, 88 species of spiders, 46 species of lizards, 22 species of snakes, 15 species of mammals, 4 species birds, 4 species of turtles, 2 species of salamanders and one toad.

Species of polyps are found in the Mekong sub-region.Photo: WWF.

The Mekong sub-region has six countries sharing the flow of the Mekong River including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan province. It is estimated that thousands of invertebrate species have been found in recent times, further confirming the region's inherent biodiversity.

'It can't be any better,' said Stuart Chapman, WWF Program Manager in the Mekong sub-region. 'We think that such large-scale findings are only available in history books. This once again confirms the role of the Greater Mekong Sub-region on the map of the world's biodiversity areas. '

The report also emphasizes economic development and environmental protection to go hand in hand to ensure livelihoods and poverty eradication, as well as to ensure the survival of species and natural habitats of the Subregion. Mekong River.