Himalaya Expedition Reveals Numerous New Species

Following a ten-year study conducted in the most remote regions of the Himalaya Mountains, scientists finally announced the results this week. According to the official numbers, at least 350 new species were discovered living on the mountain, including plants, insects, fish, mammals, birds and invertebrates. The region that was studied in this investigation covers areas in Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Tibet (China). Among the most interesting is a flying frog, which can glide proficiently, a miniature deer that is no taller than 80 centimeters, as well as a new species of venomous pitviper.

The new report was released by the World Wildlife Federation, and includes fairly detailed descriptions of the new species. Experts mention that 16 types of amphibians and 16 types of reptiles were recently discovered, in addition to some 244 species of plants, two new mammals, about 60 invertebrates, 14 fish and two birds. All of these plants and animals were discovered mostly in the Eastern areas of the Himalayas, which are notoriously hard to get to and also very rugged. In spite of just visiting the ecosystem, experts believe that global warming may already be endangering it.

“The good news of this explosion in species discoveries is tempered by the increasing threats to the Himalayas’ cultural and biological diversity. This rugged and remarkable landscape is already seeing direct, measurable impacts from climate change and risks being lost forever,” warns the director of the WWF’s Eastern Himalayas Program, Jon Miceler. Further surveys of these areas of the mountain range could in the future yield even more new, uncatalogued species, the researchers believe. It may be that the new animals were just the “tip of the iceberg” as far as biodiversity in the region goes.

The new flying frog that amazed researchers is a very peculiar amphibian. It features oddly-developed feet, which are webbed, and thus allow it to make use of air currents. This enables the frog, when jumping off a higher leaf, to control air currents, as well as its direction, and to safely glide to wherever it needs to go. The miniature deer, called the leaf deer, reaches a maximum height of 80 centimeters, and weighs in at an average of just 11 kilograms. Both creatures represent perfect adaptations to the environment they live in, LiveScience reports.