New species in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong region are already facing threats from habitat degradation and illegal wildlife trade
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A new WWF report has revealed 234 new species were discovered by scientists in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia in 2023 – ranging from tiny shrew moles to bright orange crocodile newts.
In total, 173 plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fishes and three mammals were found in the research.
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Notable species include a soft-furred hedgehog with sharp fangs, a luminous green pit viper, and a camouflaged karst dragon lizard, which is part of a genus never seen before. Lightweight shrew moles were also discovered, weighing in at just eight grams, making them within the top 10 lightest species of terrestrial mammals on Earth.
A range of plant species also featured in the new report, including a ginger species with roots that smell like mangos and a leafless orchid.
However, these newly-discovered species are already being threatened with extinction due to habitat degradation from rising sea levels and deforestation. So vast are the impacts of deforestation that forest cover in the Greater Mekong has dropped from 55 per cent in the early 1970s to just 34 per cent today.
Along with this, the pressures of illegal wildlife trade throughout the region mount and further jeopardise the future viability of these species. In Vietnam alone, an estimated 3,700-4,500 tonnes of wildlife products (excluding insects and birds) are traded and consumed each year.
These pressures impacting wildlife in the region, combined with the new species discovered, have prompted scientists to now call for local governments to strengthen protective measures of the rare creatures – from promoting sustainable forestry to limiting areas to which poachers and wildlife traders can enter.
‘These new findings remind us of the extraordinary diversity and inventiveness of nature which can provoke a childish wonder and delight in us all,’ said WWF-UK’s special advisor Mark Wright. ‘Sadly, it is also a timely reminder of the extreme jeopardy that so many of these species and habitats face, and what we risk losing if urgent and committed action is not taken.’
‘We urgently need governments to recognise the value of nature and commit to halting and reversing its destruction by 2030.’
A biodiversity hotspot
In total, 3,623 species of vascular plants and vertebrate animals have been described in the Greater Mekong region since 1997, a vast area – 200 million acres in size – stretching across six countries: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
At the centre of the region lies the Mekong River, the world’s largest fishery which has a fish biodiversity second to that of the Amazon. Species that frequent these waters include the last remaining populations of the Irrawaddy dolphin, along with the Mekong giant catfish and giant freshwater stingrays.
