Monday May 22, 2023
Radio Free Asia —
An aggressive color-changing lizard, a poisonous snake named after a goddess in Chinese mythology and an orchid that looks like a muppet among hundreds of unique species of plants and animals newly discovered in the lower Mekong region in the past two years, a new report released on Monday said.
Hundreds of scientists from across the globe discovered 175 new species in 2021 and 205 in 2022 in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to the report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
“These remarkable species may be new to science, but they have survived and evolved in the Greater Mekong region for millions of years, reminding us humans that they were there a very long time before our species moved into this region,” said K. Yoganand, WWF-Greater Mekong regional wildlife lead.
“We have an obligation to do everything to stop their extinction and protect their habitats, and help their recovery.”