New species in Mekong area ..........

A carnivorous plant in the Kampot province, a small fish with vampire fangs, and a frog that sounds like a cricket ( Leptolalax applebyi) were among 145 new species discovered last year in the Greater Mekong area.

Three were found in Cambodia, while 58 were in Thailand. The Mekong river region spans the area from Burma to China's southern Yunnan province to Vietnam.

The three species in Cambodia were plants, including the carnivorous Nepenthes bokorensis, which can grow up to seven metres. Its red, insect-trapping pitchers can touch 25 cm. Though a recent “discovery” by scientists, in the Bokor Hill in Kampot province, it is known locally. Its roots are boiled as a concoction to ease body pain.