New species, hope for biodiversity?
If we talk a lot about extinction, we discover nearly 18,000 new species each year. Their survival will depend on our efforts to preserve their ecosystem.
Popa’s langur monkey, discovered in 2020, takes its name from the extinct volcano Mount Popa, located in central Myanmar. Its population is estimated at around a hundred specimens.
AFP/THAUNG WIN/GERMAN PEIMATE CENTER
Its name is Popa’s langur. This mischievous little monkey, with black eyes rimmed in white, was photographed in the Burmese forests. It and 224 new species were discovered in 2020 in the Greater Mekong region, straddling Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The WWF report published in early 2022 presents around thirty reptiles, around ten amphibians and fish, more than 150 plants. The researchers were fascinated by a colorless cave fish and an iridescent snake whose scales do not overlap, both bizarre animals that express the extreme richness of this region.