Flying Frog discovered in the Himalayas

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*Flying frog among 353 new Himalayan species: WWF*

 

*By Claire Cozens (AFP) – 6 hours ago*

 

*KATHMANDU — A flying frog, the world's smallest deer and the first new

monkey to be found in over a century are among 350 new species discovered in

the eastern Himalayas in the past decade, the WWF said Monday.*

 

*But the environmental group said the vital habitats of the mountain range

were facing growing pressures from unsustainable development in the region,

which spans Nepal, China, India, Bhutan and Myanmar.*

 

*In a report released here, it said climate change, deforestation,

overgrazing by domestic livestock and illegal poaching and wildlife trading

threatened one of the biologically richest areas of the planet.*

 

* " In the last half-century, this area of South Asia has faced a wave of

pressures as a result of population growth and the increasing demand for

commodities, " said the report, " The Eastern Himalayas -- Where Worlds

Collide. " *

 

* " Only 25 percent of the original habitats in the region remain intact. For

the unique species of the Eastern Himalayas, this means that today 163 are

considered globally threatened, " it said.*

 

*The WWF said 353 new species were discovered in the region between 1998 and

2008, among them a red-footed tree frog known as a " flying frog " because its

large webbed feet allow it to glide when falling.*

 

*Another new species was a kind of caecilian, a limbless amphibian that

resembles a giant earthworm and lives underground -- a significant discovery

because caecilians are among the planet's least-studied creatures.*

 

*Other highlights were the world's smallest deer -- a miniature muntjac

standing just 60-80 centimetres (25-30 inches) tall that was found in

northern Myanmar -- and the first new monkey species to be discovered in

over a century.*

 

*The WWF said the new species of macaque was one of the highest-dwelling

monkeys in the world, living in India's Arunachal Pradesh state at between

1,600 and 3,500 metres (5,000 and 11,500 feet) above sea level.*

 

*Among the 242 new plant varieties discovered was an ultramarine blue flower

found by two intrepid Chinese botanists who descended into a gorge in Tibet

that is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in places.*

 

*The WWF described the rare bloom as " dramatic in both colour and form " and

said its colour changed with the temperature, making it particularly

remarkable.*

 

*The eastern Himalayas is home to 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species

and nearly 1,000 bird species, and is the last place on earth where the

greater one-horned rhino can still be found.*

 

* " This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile

nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts

of climate change are reversed, " said Tariq Aziz, leader of the WWF's Living

Himalayas initiative.*

 

*The report's findings come as world leaders prepare to gather in Copenhagen

in December to reach agreement on a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto

Protocol.*

 

* AFP. All rights reserved.*