Greater Mekong region in the past decade, including a spider as big as
a dinner plate, the World Wildlife Fund said .A rat thought to have
become extinct 11 million years ago and cyanide-laced, shocking pink
millipede were among creatures found in what the group called a
"biological treasure trove".The species were all found in the rain
forests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand,Vietnam and the southern Chinese
province of Yunnan. One species of pit viper was first noted by
scientists after it was found in the rafters of a restaurant at the
headquarters of Thailand's Kho Yai national park in 2001.The new
species highlighted in the report includes 519 plants, 279 fish, 88
frogs, 88 spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, four birds, four
turtles, two salamanders and a toad an average of two previously
undiscovered species a week for the past 10 years. The report warned,
however, that many of the species could be at risk from development,
and called for a cross-border agreement between the countries in the
Greater Mekong area to protect it.
The Hindu, 18th December 2008
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