145 new species recorded in Mekong region

These finds demonstrate "the Greater Mekong's immense biodiversity" and "the fragility of this region's diverse habitats and species," the Cambodia Daily quoted the WWF as saying.

Of the new species, just three were found in Cambodia, while 58 were found in Thailand. The Mekong river region spans the area from Burma to China's southern Yunnan province to Vietnam.

All three species found in Cambodia were plants, including the carnivorous Nepenthes bokorensis, which can grow up to 7 meters long and whose red, insect-trapping pitchers can themselves grow to 25 cm. Although recently "discovered" by scientists on Bokor Hill in Kampot province, it was already known locally. Its roots have traditionally been boiled and given to pregnant women to ease their pains, Daily reported.

Scientists are petitioning to add Nepenthes bokorensis to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because development on Bokor Hill puts the species at risk of extinction, according to the WWF.

The frog that sounds like a cricket was heard, then found, in Vietnam's Quang Nam province, while the tiny fish with fangs, which only grows to a maximum of about 17 mm, was found in a small stream in Burma.

Between 1997 and 2008 an incredible 1,231 species were discovered by science across this region alone, according to WWF. Enditem Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version.