The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) has discovered several new species in the eastern Himalayas, including a new species of monkeys. The region is becoming widely recognized by researchers for its outstanding biodiversity.
Altogether, researchers have discovered more than 200 new species of plants and animals in the region over the past six years.
The Burmese snub-nosed monkey is one of many recently discovered species in the region. The monkey is known for its excessive sneezing on rainy days. It keeps its head down between its legs in order to prevent water from running into its upturned nose. Researchers say that it’s easy to find the monkey in bad weather because of its sneezing.
The monkey has been nicknamed “snubby” by Researchers.
Other new species of animals include a “Dracula” fish, nicknamed the Dracula minnow, and a new frog that has eyebrows resembling horns. The Dracula minnow received its nickname because of its unusually large fangs at the front of its jaws. The fish was found in large numbers in a small stream.
The frog with horn-like eyebrows is known as the megophrys ancrae. Most of its living area is unprotected by the government, making it prone to habitat destruction.
The region of the eastern Himalayas covers areas from northern India, through Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, as well as a small portion of Myanmar’s far north.
While the region is known for its biological riches, many of its species are becoming endangered. The Burmese snub-nosed monkey is most likely to be considered to be critically endangered once it receives its official classification.
Other threatened animals in the region include the Asian elephant and the one-horned rhinoceros.
The animals in the region are mostly being harmed by the effects of tourism, water pollution, illegal hunting, fishing, the construction of dams and logging.
The WWF hopes that its report of new discoveries will bring attention to the region and convince people to take greater measures to protect the environment in the future.
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