A monkey with white circles around its eyes joins the 224 new species listed in the World Wildlife Fund’s latest report on the Mekong Region in Asia. The Popa langur species was found in 2020 and it lives on the steep hillsides of the extinct Mount Popa volcano in Myanmar. The report from the conservation group highlights the need to conserve the rich biodiversity and habitats in the region.
There are dozens of newly identified reptiles, frogs, newts, fish, and 155 plant species. The Mekong region includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. The area is a biodiversity hotspot and is home to tigers, Asian elephants, and saola which is a rare animal also known as Asian unicorn or spindlehorn.
Since 1997 the WWF said it has identified more than 3,000 new species in the region. The report explained that scientists used measurements and samples from museum collections to identify key features in newly discovered species. The Popa langur is a candidate to be listed as a critically endangered species on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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