Over 100 new species discovered in Mekong basin

Scientists have confirmed a total of 115 newly discovered species in the Mekong River basin in 2016 after a lengthy vetting process, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They include 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles, 88 plants and three mammals.

A Vietnamese ‘crocodile lizard’ and a Thai turtle found on sale in a local market are among the new species discovered in the ecologically diverse but threatened Mekong basin last year, researchers said December 19.

Each year, scientists announce scores of new species discovered in the region, which includes Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, as well as China’s Yunnan Province, where at least two news species were found in Mount. Gaoligong along the Lancang river, upper reach of the Mekong.

But there are fears that many more species could die out before they are found in a region whose jungle and river ecosystems are increasingly threatened by roads, dams and a thriving illegal wildlife trade.

The drainage area the Mekong river, which snakes down from the Tanggula mountain ranges on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and empties into the South China Sea at the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh, is among the most biodiverse in the world.

“While the global trends are worrisome, and the threats against species and their habitats here in the Mekong region are massive, these new species discoveries give us enormous hope,” said WWF’s Lee Poston.

Adapted from Xinhua, The Nation reports