A survey in a remote region of Vietnam has discovered 11 species previously unknown to science (press release). The survey of the ‘Green Corridor’ also yielded 10 other species that may also be new – explaining why the Times hails 21 new species and Reuters, AFP, the Guardian, the Saigon Times, and Reuters again hail 11. “You only discover so many new species in very special places, and the Green Corridor is one of them,” said Chris Dickinson, WWF’s Chief Technical Adviser in the area. “Several large mammal species were discovered in the 1990s in the same forests, which means that these latest discoveries could be just the tip of the iceberg.”

The new species include a snake, two butterflies, five orchids, and three other plants, according to the WWF, which made the announcement today (although these animals were actually discovered between 2005 and 2006). Of the orchids, three are leafless and live on decaying matter.

Pictures

New snake species, white-lipped keelback / Raoul Bain / WWF Greater Mekong

New butterfly from the genus Zela / Alexander Monastyrskii

Rare leafless orchid / Leonid Averyanov / WWF Greater Mekong

As yet unnamed aspidistra / Leonid Averyanov / WWF Greater Mekong

Main image: rainforest in the Green Corridor, Annamite Mountain Range, Vietnam / Leonid Averyanov / WWF Greater Mekong