Posted on 09/26/2009 10:46:30 AM PDT by JoeProBono
A bird-eating frog, a technicolour gecko with orange eyes and a bird that flies only when it is frightened are among dozens of new species discovered in an ecologically fragile part of Asia. Researchers in the Greater Mekong area of South-East Asia also found a tiger-striped pitviper, a new wild banana and, even rarer, two new types of mammal, a report for the wildlife charity WWF says.
However, conservationists fear that the discoveries, many of which are unique to small areas of jungle, river or mountains, are under threat from destructive development and climate change. The most colourful of the finds is the Cat Ba leopard gecko, described as “a creature that appears to be from another world”.
Large, dark orange eyes are set in a head decorated with a marble pattern, while its body is covered with leopard-like swirls, which scientists believe may provide camouflage in the forest. The rare gecko, confined to one small island in northern Vietnam, is already thought to be endangered.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
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