New Animal and Plant Species Found in Vietnam

According to news from the World Wildlife Fund, a group of scientists have discovered 11 new species of plants and animals in Vietnam. The discoveries were mostly confined in the remote region of Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam. The area where the species were found is known as the "Green Corridor".

Among those discovered was a new snake species. The new snake was described as a white-lipped keelback. The snake has a yellow-white stripe along its head and generally lives near streams. With a body that can grow to as long as 30 inches, the scientists found out that the snake feed on a diet of frogs and other small animals.

Also discovered were tow new butterfly species and five orchid varieties. Since 1996, a total of eight butterfly species have been discovered in the Thua Thien Hue which already has earned a reputation among scientists as a special place for discovery.

Some of the orchids discovered, meanwhile, exhibit unique characteristics. Three of the new orchid species were basically leafless, which is quite unusual for orchids. Also unique is one orchid that blooms a black flower and can survive in low light. The other one is an arum, which produces yellow flowers surrounded by funnel-shaped leaves.

In the last 40 years, the rain forests of Vietnam has continue to surprise scientists around the world. If you could remember that way back in 1966, Prof Vo Quy found a new species of pheasant in Ha Tinh Province which is near the Laos border. The pheasant is now known as Vo Quy's Pheasant or Vietnamese Fireback or the Hatinhensis Pheasant.

Also in the 1970s, two new species emerged from the forests of Vietnam. The first one belonged to the family of the giant Muntjac deers and the other one was a new specie of ox.

In recent years more species of deers belonging to the Muntjac or barking deer family were found residing in the forests of Vietnam. There were three different types of muntjac found in Vietnam since 1990. One was found in 1992, one in 1994, another one in 1997, and a final one was announced in 1998.

Another large mammal discovered in the forests of Vietnam is the Sao La also known as the Vu Quang ox. The ox, in fact, is one of the world's rarest mammals and can only be found in the country. This fores dwelling ox show some similarities with the Arabian or African oryx.

Despite the discoveries of the new species of plants and animals in Vietnam, they forests of Vietnam continue to be depleted and destroyed through illegal logging, hunting and development. So even before scientists are given enough time to study these new species, they are already listed as threatened species.