1,000+ New Species Discovered In Greater Mekong
December 15, 2008
More than 1,000 new animal species have been discovered in the Greater Mekong since 1997. Some of those new species to join our knowledge database include the world’s second known striped rabbit species, a huntsman spider that measures as big as a plate, and a hot pink millipede that excretes cyanide through it’s body. These are coming from a report made public by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
The Greater Mekong is more than 600,000 kilometers of rainforest and wetlands that lie along the Mekong River. The Mekong River runs through Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. New species in the area have been discovered at the rate of two per week for the past 10 years.
The discoveries documented in the WWF report First Contact in the Greater Mekong include 519 plants, 15 mammals, 89 frogs, 279 fish, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 4 birds, 4 turtles and 2 salamanders.
That’s some pretty amazing stuff. The article lists the huntsman spider as one of the most curious of the new discoveries. It only lives in caves and can be up to 30 cm. across. I would have to disagree with their ‘curious’ judgement. The hot pink cyanide excreting millipede gets my vote. A drop of cyanide can kill you in a matter of seconds. I don’t think I would want to walk up on one of those suckers, or find it hiding in my tent. Then again, I probably wouldn’t be camping in the Mekong jungle either.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under Wildlife |
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