G’day to you! See any weird or unexplained wonders on your way over there today? Boy, there are some strange critters in the world, aren’t there? Pour yourself a mug, snag a muffin, and I’ll tell you about some oddities we have here in Asia. For example, Dracula fish, a bald songbird and a seven-metre (23 feet) tall carnivorous plant are among several unusual new species found in the Greater Mekong region.
Other new finds among the 145 new species include a frog that sounds like a cricket and a "sucker fish", which uses its body to stick to rocks in fast flowing waters to move upstream, according to conservation group WWF. Better watch that one. It could be related to ambulance-chasing lawyers!
With fangs at the front of each jaw, the Dracula minnow is one of the more bizarre new species found recently in the Mekong River region, which comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province. Discovered in a small stream in Myanmar, it is largely translucent and measures up to 1.7 centimetres long. Wait a minute…that could be blood-sucking lawyer-related, too!
It is not yet known whether the species is endemic to a single ecosystem within Myanmar, or spread throughout the region as a whole. I’m not about to go sticking my hand into any ponds to find out!
Other bizarre discoveries include the Bare-Faced Bulbul bird, which is bereft of feathers on the face and side of the head and has pale blue skin on the rear of the head and around the eyes. It lives in sparse forest on limestone karsts in central Laos.
Among newly recorded plants, the Nepenthes bokorensis plant, found in southern Cambodia, has a climbing length of up to seven metres, with pitchers that trap ants and other insects for food.
"The rate of discovery in the Mekong is almost without equal globally," WWF regional conservation director Stuart Chapman told AFP.
"That's attributed to the enormous geographical and climatic range within the region, going from high altitude to dense tropical forests through to some of the richest freshwater in the world," he said.
"Undoubtedly this region is one of the richest in terms of its biodiversity, but it's also one of the most threatened." The Greater Mekong region is home to some of the planet's most endangered wild species including tiger, Asian elephant, Mekong dolphin and Mekong giant catfish, said the World Wide Fund For Nature.
Nong and I haven’t done as much exploring as we’d like to but we’re threatening to visit Nong’s youngest sister, Nak, who works for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) about four hours drive from here and close to the Myanmar border. On the way we pass through Kanchanburi, home of the famous Bridge on the River Kwai. I’ve walked across it and ridden on the Death Railway. The scenery on the other side of Kanchanaburi is quite ‘specky’ as well. Waterfalls, hot springs, resorts overlooking winding misty rivers with swinging bridges crossing them and a National Park with neat caves and relics from when the Japanese were building the railroad.
By now, you should be ready for another cup of coffee, huh? Can I tempt you with a dunker? Better scoff it down before the bare-faced, bald-headed Bulbul gets hold of it!
See ya!
Bob
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