New-Animal Hotbed

Scientists find more than 1,000 new animal and plant species in Southeast Asia

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Discoveries in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been a dream come true for scientists.

Researchers found or identified 1,068 species of life between 1997 and 2007. That's an average of two new species a week.

WWF International (formerly the World Wildlife Fund) announced these astonishing findings last week in its "First Contact in the Greater Mekong" report.

"It doesn't get any better than this," Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, said. "We thought discoveries of this scale were confined to the history books. This reaffirms the Greater Mekong's place on the world map of conservation priorities."

Among the discoveries are the world's largest huntsman spider, which has a footlong leg span, and a hot-pink millipede that secretes the poison cyanide. A frog with green blood and turquoise bones and a bright green pit viper (see photo) were also found in the region.
 
Several new mammal species were also discovered, including the Annamite Striped Rabbit. New mammal discoveries are considered rare in modern-day science.

(Map: Jim McMahon)

Most of this life was found in largely unexplored jungles and wetlands in areas around the Mekong River. It's the 12th longest in the world and flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of southern China.

Scientists also found rare animals living among humans. The Siamese Peninsula pit viper was spotted in the rafters of a restaurant in the Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. And in a food market, researchers found the Laotian rock rat, thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago.

"It is a great feeling being in an unexplored area and to document its biodiversity for the first time," said Dr. Thomas Ziegler, curator at the Cologne Zoo in Germany.

But the finding of these news species also brings new conservation and preservation challenges.

According to the WWF, mining, overfishing, poaching, and illegal logging threaten the habitat of these new species. Economic development in the Greater Mekong region will also complicate matters. More than 150 large hydroelectric dams are being planned there.

The WWF report calls for both local and international governments to work together to preserve these new species without hurting their economies.

"Economic development and environmental protection must go hand in hand," Chapman said.

Visit MSNBC's slideshow for more images of the new living things found in the Greater Mekong region.

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