This brings the total number of vascular plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals described in the Greater Mekong region since 1997 to 3,389. “These remarkable species may be new to science, but they had survived and evolved in the Greater Mekong region for millions of years, reminding us – humans – that they were there a very long time before our species moved into this region,” said K. Yoganand, WWF-Greater Mekong regional wildlife lead. This is the latest in a series of reports highlighting new discoveries in the Greater Mekong region. Last year, WWF also reported on 25 different primate species out of 44 found in Việt Nam called the Greater Mekong home. Deforestation, habitat degradation and hunting driven by the wildlife trade have forced many primates in the Greater Mekong to the brink of extinction.
