WWF Identifies 163 New Species in the Mekong Region

The WWF issued a list that included psychedelic gecko and a fanged frog with a taste for birds, in its recent list of previously unknown species, all found within the Greater Mekong Region. The list includes 100 new plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, two mammals and one bird.The Greater Mekong Region consists of the countries through which the Mekong River flows: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province of China. With 16 eco-regions — areas defined by shared ecological features and animal communities — the Greater Mekong has more protected spaces than anywhere else on mainland Asia, according to the WWF.

The diverse species and habitats of the Greater Mekong region continue to face a wave of growing threats, including habitat loss, infrastructure development, and unsustainable and illegal natural resource use. As a consequence as little as 5% of the region’s natural habitats remain intact. Climate change is compounding these threats.

According to the WWF report, Climate change is having a significant impact on the Greater Mekong’s biodiversity. The region is experiencing more frequent and damaging extreme climate events such as droughts and floods. In addition climate change is responsible for; altering the availability of freshwater; limiting species ranges; and changing the timing of migration and flowering. Combined with non-climate threats, these changes gravely threaten many of the region’s unique species – including some of the newly discovered species reported on the list.