An area stretching across Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet, and China is home to 350 previously unknown species discovered in the past 10 years. One of those is a 100 million year old gecko, the oldest species of gecko ever discovered, that predates the mass extinction of the dinosaurs by 35 million years.
Along with that is a tiny deer called the muntjac, 60 by 80cm tall, and weighing about 24 pounds. Biologists originally thought that it was a juvenile of a previously known species of deer, but DNA test confirmed otherwise. Don’t forget an air-gliding frog that can soar through the air, and would probably be a good protagonist for a superhero comic.
Problem is, climate change is seriously threatening this place, which could be lost forever, and soon. The region is home to about 10,000 plant species, 300 mammals, almost 1,000 birds, and 270 types of fish. The region is also home to the one-horned rhino, and has the biggest population density of Bengal tigers on the planet.
The reason nobody found these species until 10 years ago is that it’s so inaccessible and mountainous that biological surveys have been impossible. There are still huge swaths of the area that haven’t been explored yet.
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