Creatures Found And Lost Before Scientists Can Record Them
BANGKOK: Scientists identify a new species every two days in the
Greater Mekong region, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a
report detailing this year’s unusual finds, such as a leaf
warbler and a self-cloning lizard. But the conservation group
said some species could disappear before they are recorded
because of human pressures in south-east Asia, described in the
report as “one of the last frontiers” for discoveries. More than
200 species were newly recorded last year in the Greater Mekong,
which includes Thailand, Laos and the south-western Chinese
province of Yunnan. Some such as the snub-nosed monkey found in
Burma’s remote Kachin state, were known to local people but
never previously identified by scientists. A species of all-
female lizard, which reproduces via cloning without the need for
males, was spotted by a scientist by chance on a menu in a
Vietnamese restaurant (Click here for the full story). A
spokeswoman for WWF Greater Mekong, Sa