Scientists have discovered 36 new species in Vietnam out of 126 newly identified species in the Greater Mekong region in 2011, a report recent said.
The ruby-eyed green pit viper or Trimeresurus rubeus found in forests near Ho Chi Minh City
The Worldwide Fund for Nature announced its Extra Terrestrial report on December 18.
Among the ten species highlighted in the report is the aptly named Beelzebub tube-nosed bat, a diminutive but demonic-looking creature known only from Vietnam.
Beelzebub’s bat, like two other tube-nosed bats discovered in 2011, depends on tropical forest for its survival and is especially vulnerable to deforestation. In just four decades, 30% of the Greater Mekong’s forests have disappeared.
"While the 2011 discoveries affirm the Mekong as a region of astonishing biodiversity, many new species are already struggling to survive in shrinking habitats,” said Nick Cox, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong’s Species Programme.
A new ‘walking’ catfish species, scientifically known as Clarias gracilentus, was discovered in freshwater streams on the Vietnamese southern island of Phu Quoc. Such catfish can move across land using its pectoral fins to stay upright while it wiggles forward with snake-like movements.
A new species of tree frog discovered in the high-altitude forests of northern Vietnam has a complex call that makes it sound more like a bird than a typical frog. While most male frogs attract females with repetitive croaks, Quang’s tree frog spins a new tune each time. Its two calls are different with each call mixing clicks, whistles and chirps in a unique order.
When it comes to frogs in the genus Leptobrachium, the eyes have it. Among its more than 20 species, there is a remarkable variety of eye colouration. Leptobrachium leucops or Yin and Yang frog, discovered in 2011 in the wet evergreen and cloud forest in southern Vietnam, is distinguished by its striking black and white eyes.
A staggering array of 21 reptiles was also newly discovered in 2011, including the ruby-eyed green pit viper or Trimeresurus rubeus in forests near Ho Chi Minh City. This new jewel of the jungle also winds its way along the low hills of southern Vietnam and through eastern Cambodia’s Lang Bian Plateau.
The report also identified other species found in Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, including a dazzling miniature fish or Boraras naevus) in southern Thailand; a pearly, rose-tinted fish from the carp family in central Laos.
Extra Terrestrial spotlights 10 species newly identified by science, among the 82 plants, 13 fish, 21 reptiles, 5 amphibians and 5 mammals all discovered in 2011 within the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia that spans Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan.
Since 1997, an incredible 1,710 new species were newly described by science in the Greater Mekong.