By Omotayo Edubi
A monkey with ghostly white circles around its eyes is among 224 new species listed in the World Wildlife Fund’s latest update on the greater Mekong region.
The conservation group’s report, released Wednesday, highlights the need to defend the rich biodiversity and habitats in the region, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
The species listed were found in 2020 but last year’s report was delayed.
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The monkey is called the Popa langur, for it lives on the sheer hillsides of the extinct Mt. Popa volcano in Myanmar.
It was the only new mammal. There are also dozens of newly identified reptiles, frogs and newts, fish and 155 plant species, including the only known succulent bamboo species, found in Laos.
The Mekong region is a biodiversity hotspot and home to tigers, Asian elephants, saola,an extremely rare animal also called the Asian unicorn or spindlehorn and thousands of other species.
Including this latest list, scientists have identified more than 3,000 new species in the region since 1997, the WWF said.
Scientists used measurements and samples from museum collections to compare and identify key differences with features of the newly discovered animals and plants, the report said.
