234 new species
Vampire animal and quickly discovered invisible lizard
December 16, 2024 – 9:14 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The researchers see a vampire in a rat hedgehog. Against the right background, a lizard is almost impossible to see: it looks amazingly like a stone.
Last year, scientists recorded 234 previously undescribed vertebrate and plant species in Southeast Asia's Mekong region. In a new report, the environmental foundation WWF presents the work of hundreds of experts who discovered 173 vascular plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and 3 mammals in around twelve months.
Among the new species there are a few quite strange phenomena. For example, the researchers were excited about a lizard that can hardly be seen because it camouflages itself so well. However, she needs rocks as a background: in front of them, the ten centimeter long animal is hardly noticeable at all.
The lizard Laodracon carticola, which “could star in 'Game of Thrones'” given its stony appearance and resonant name, as the WWF writes, was discovered in the karst massifs of Khammouan Province in central Laos. So far, scientists have only managed to catch two male specimens.
They assume that the distribution area is limited to a narrow region. The lizard is described as an entirely new genus, having “a strikingly swollen tail base with enlarged scales on the dorsal and ventral sides.”
Another animal reminded researchers of a vampire because of its sharp fangs. The animal Hylomys macarong, which is one of the small rat hedgehogs and has soft fur, was named after the Vietnamese word Ma ca rong for vampire.
Also found: a green-black pit viper (Trimeresurus ciliaris), whose marbling gives the WWF the impression that it has long eyelashes. A leafless orchid (Chiloschista quangdangii) discovered at a market, which is probably already threatened by overexploitation. A type of ginger whose root smells like mango. An ornamental fish that is one of the loaches and is already common in the trade among aquarists, but has not yet been scientifically described. And a black mole that weighs just eight grams, making it one of the ten lightest land mammal species in the world.
Stefan Ziegler, the Asia expert from WWF Germany, assessed the significance of the discoveries: “Although these species were only described by scientists last year, they have been living in the unique habitats of the Mekong region for many millennia,” he said. With many of the species already at risk of extinction due to human activity, WWF is calling on governments in the region to strengthen protection of these rare creatures and their habitats.
The Greater Mekong Region's wildlife is under severe pressure from habitat loss and degradation, illegal wildlife trade, climate change, pollution and invasive species. The region around the mighty Mekong River includes the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
