BANGKOK — A gecko with leopard-like stripes on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds were among 163 new species discovered last year in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, an environmental group said Friday.
WWF International said that in 2008 scientists discovered 100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, 2 mammals and 1 bird species in the region. That is in addition to the 1,000 new species catalogued there from 1997 to 2007.
This photo taken Jan. 1, 2008, released by The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) shows a Khorat big-mouthed frog, known by its scientific name Limnonectes megastomias at an unknown location in Thailand.
"After millennia in hiding these species are now finally in the spotlight, and there are clearly more waiting to be discovered," said Stuart Chapman, director of the WWF Greater Mekong Program.
Researchers working for WWF warned that the effects of climate change, including an upsurge in droughts and floods, threaten the diverse habitat that supports these species.
"Some species will be able to adapt to climate change, many will not, potentially resulting in massive extinctions," Chapman said in a statement. "Rare, endangered and endemic species like those newly discovered are especially vulnerable because climate change will further shrink their already restricted habitats."
Among the stars in this new list was a fanged frog in eastern Thailand. Given the scientific name Limnonectes megastomias, the frog lies in wait along streams for prey including birds and insects. Scientists believe it uses its fangs during combat with other males.
Another unusual discovery was the leopard gecko found on Cat Ba Island in northern Vietnam. Goniurosaurus catbaensis has large, orange-brown cat-like eyes, and leopard stripes down the length of its body.
Lee Grismer, of La Sierra University in California, said he found the gecko and was "engrossed" in capturing it "when my son pointed out that my hand was on a rock mere inches away from the head of a pit viper."
"We caught the snake and the gecko and they both proved to be new species," he said.
Other new species found were a tube-nosed bat named Murina harpioloides that lives in southeastern Vietnam and a new bird species called the Nonggang babbler found in the karst rainforest on the Chinese-Vietnamese border, an area of limestone fissures, sinkholes and underground streams.
Experts said a range of factors contributed to the upsurge in new species including better access to regions that have seen decades of war and political unrest and governments stepping up spending on research to protect and identify plants and animals.
The discoveries have been published in peer-reviewed journals and the WWF simply compiled the findings to publicize what it says could otherwise go unnoticed.
The WWF called for efforts to ensure the new species are protected, by preserving their habitat and the river networks that are a foundation of the region's ecosystem.
New species discovered in the Greater Mekong at risk of extinction due to climate change
WWF 25 Sep 09;
Greater Mekong - A bird eating fanged frog, a gecko that looks like it’s from another planet and a bird which would rather walk than fly, are among the 163 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region last year that are now at risk of extinction due to climate change, says a new report launched by WWF ahead of UN climate talks in Bangkok.
During 2008 alone, scientists identified these rare and unique species within the jungles and rivers of the Greater Mekong, including a bird eating fanged frog that lies in streams waiting for prey, one of only four new species of musk shrew to be described in recent times, and a leopard gecko whose “other world” appearance – orange eyes, spindly limbs and technicolour skin – inspired the report’s title Close Encounters.
Such is the immense biodiversity of this region that some discoveries such as the tiger-striped pitviper were made by accident.
“We were engrossed in trying to catch a new species of gecko when my son pointed out that my hand was on a rock mere inches away from the head of a pitviper! We caught the snake and the gecko and they both proved to be new species,” said Dr Lee Grismer of La Sierra University in California.
Close Encounters spotlights species newly identified by science including 100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, 2 mammals and a bird, all discovered in 2008 within the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia that spans Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan.
The reluctant flyer, Nonggang babbler, was observed walking longer distances than flying. It would only use its wings when frightened.
“After millennia in hiding these species are now finally in the spotlight, and there are clearly more waiting to be discovered,” said Stuart Chapman, Director of the WWF Greater Mekong Programme.
But no sooner are these new species discovered than their survival is threatened by the devastating impacts of climate change, the report warns.
Recent studies show the climate of the Greater Mekong region is already changing. Models suggest continued warming, increased variability and more frequent and damaging extreme climate events.
Rising seas and saltwater intrusion will cause major coastal impacts especially in the Mekong River delta, which is one of the three most vulnerable deltas on Earth, according to the most recent International Panel on Climate Change report.
“Some species will be able to adapt to climate change, many will not, potentially resulting in massive extinctions,” said Chapman.
“Rare, endangered and endemic species like those newly discovered are especially vulnerable because climate change will further shrink their already restricted habitats,” he said.
Often these newly discovered species are highly dependent on a limited number of species for their survival. If they respond to climate change in a way that disrupts this closely evolved relationship it puts them at greater risk of extinction.
Over the next two weeks, government delegates will meet in Bangkok, Thailand, for the next round of UN climate change talks in the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit this December, where the world is scheduled to agree on a new global climate treaty.
“The treasures of nature are in trouble if governments fail to agree a fair, ambitious and binding treaty that will prevent runaway climate change,” said Kathrin Gutmann, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the WWF Global Climate Initiative.
“Protecting endangered species and vulnerable communities in the Greater Mekong and elsewhere around the world depends on fast progress at the UN talks in Bangkok - a hugely important conference that can lay the groundwork for success at the Copenhagen Climate Summit this December.”
Download the report on the WWF website.
Climate change threatens rare species in Mekong: WWF
Thin Lei Win, Reuters 25 Sep 09;
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Climate change is threatening 163 rare species discovered only last year in the Greater Mekong region, conservation group WWF said Friday.
Events such as frequent droughts and floods plus a rise in sea levels spell danger for species in what WWF called in a report "one of the world's last biological frontiers," a region spanning Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan province.
"Forecasts for the Greater Mekong region show that climate change will dramatically alter ecosystems," Geoffrey Blate, WWF's regional climate change coordinator, told Reuters.
"Species most at risk are those with the least physiological tolerance to changes in temperature and precipitation, and those species with narrow or very restricted habitats."
Among the rare new species identified as vulnerable in the "Close Encounters" report are a bird that would rather walk than fly, a frog with fangs and a leopard-striped gecko with orange eyes.
Their habitats and the food they need for survival are often already restricted and climate change is expected to worsen the situation, according to the WWF.
It said many would not be able to adapt to climate change, "potentially resulting in massive extinctions."
With a diverse geography and climate zones, the Mekong is home to over 320 million people and numerous rare species, including the deer-like saola and the world's largest huntsman spider with a leg span of 30 cm (12 inches).
(Editing by Alan Raybould)