BANGKOK (Reuters) – A devil-horned newt, drought-resilient bamboo and a monkey named after a volcano have been amongst 224 new species found within the Better Mekong area in 2020, a conservation group mentioned on Wednesday, regardless of the “intense menace” of habitat loss.
The discoveries listed in a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) embrace a brand new rock gecko present in Thailand, a mulberry tree species in Vietnam, and a big-headed frog in Vietnam and Cambodia that’s already threatened by deforestation.
The 224 discoveries underlined the wealthy biodiversity of the Mekong area, which encompasses Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and was testomony to the resilience of nature in surviving in fragmented and degraded pure habitats, WWF mentioned.
“These species are extraordinary, lovely merchandise of tens of millions of years of evolution, however are below intense menace, with many species going extinct even earlier than they’re described,” mentioned Ok. Yoganand, WWF-Better Mekong’s regional lead for wildlife and wildlife crime.
The realm is house to a number of the world’s most endangered species, liable to habitat destruction, ailments from human actions and the unlawful wildlife commerce.
A United Nations report final 12 months mentioned wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia was creeping again after a brief disruption from coronavirus restrictions, which noticed international locations shut borders and tighten surveillance.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Modifying by Martin Petty)
Supply: KFGO
