Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Greater Mekong's species spectacle

Piyawan Niyomwan)David Redfield)Somsar Panha)

Conservation group WWF says that more than 1,000 species new to science have been recorded in South-East Asia's Greater Mekong region over the past decade. These include 22 snake species, including this green pitviper (Trimeresurus gumprechti). ... The Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) was first recorded by scientists at a food market in Laos. Remarkably, researchers say this species is the sole survivor of an ancient group of rodents understood to have died out 11 million years ago. ... The "dragon millipede" (Desmoxytes purpurosea) was first described in 2007 by scientists in Thailand. Researchers suggest the bright colouring acts as a warning to would-be predators, as the millipede has glands that produce cyanide as a defence mechanism. ....

More pics on BBC including a large and aggressive scary spider I didn't want to have to look at so much. Freaky. Very green snake, eh?

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