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Pit viper, flying snake and geckos among new species uncovered in Cambodian caves
Survey of 64 caves in Battambang Province found new species including a turquoise pit viper and flying snake amid threats from habitat destruction, Fauna & Flora Cambodia reported.
- Researchers in northwestern Cambodia uncovered new-to-science species, including a turquoise pit viper, a flying snake, several geckos, two micro-snails and two millipedes, in a report published Monday.
- Cambodia's karst terrains, about 9% of the country at 20,000 square kilometers, host isolated caves with unique ecosystems largely unknown to science.
- Fieldwork in 2024 identified the striped Kamping Poi bent-toed gecko Cyrtodactylus kampingpoiensis with four evolving populations, while the turquoise pit viper and three unnamed gecko species remain under formal description.
- Researchers are seeking protective status for karst habitats as threats from cement extraction, overtourism, hunting, logging and wildfires endanger globally threatened species like the Sunda pangolin and green peafowl.
- Safety constraints like avoiding large bat colonies, some holding up to one million bats, limited the Fauna & Flora team’s night searches across sharp, rocky terrain, so much biodiversity remains to be uncovered.
17 Articles
17 Articles
A Turquoise Viper that Detects Heat, Geckos and Snails: Study Reveals New Species in Cambodian Caves
An EU-funded expedition studied 64 caves over almost two years in Cambodia. The result: 26 new species, including a blue-green snake — and increasingly threatened ecosystems.
Eleven New Animal Species Discovered In Cambodia's Cave Systems
Blue viper snake. Credit: Dikyedarling / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 A scientific survey of cave systems in western Cambodia has uncovered 11 new animal species, highlighting the rich and largely unexplored biodiversity of the country’s limestone landscapes, researchers said. Survey reveals hidden cave ecosystems The discoveries were made during a large study led by the conservation group Fauna & Flora, in collaboration with Cambodia’s envi…
A vast exploration in the caves of Battambang, Cambodia, led to the discovery of several species in an exceptional underground ecosystem, according to the researchers.
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