New species found in the Himalayas!

New species found in the Himalayas!

Most of us hate the rainy days but the Burmese snub-nosed monkey often spends rainy days with its head down between its knees because otherwise the water runs into its upturned nose and makes it sneeze. These monkeys live in Myanmar's remote and rugged Kachin state, and the hunters here say it's easy to track them down during a downpour thanks to their bouts of sneezing. Scientists have nicknamed the nasally negligible mammals "Snubby."

According to a report published from the conservation group WWF that highlights the region's spectacular biodiversity more than 200 new species and these Snubby as they are nicknamed they are just one of a range of new species discovered in the eastern Himalayas in recent years.

Other curious creatures described in the report include a "Dracula" fish and a species of frog with eyebrows that look like horns."Some 133 plants, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal have been discovered over the past 6 years in the Eastern Himalayas," the report says.

The snub-nosed money, for example, "is likely to be classified as critically endangered due to its restricted range and significant hunting pressures," the report's authors warn.

Earning its name from its unusual fangs at the front of each jaw, the fish has researchers guessing about how widespread its presence is. The conservation report says "though found in high numbers in a small stream it is hard to distinguish whether this species is endemic within Myanmar or spread throughout the region".

A newly identified species of frog whose elongated eyebrows give the appearance of horns is the megophrys ancrae.

The eastern Himalayas are also home to better known threatened animals, including the Asian elephant and the greater one-horned rhinoceros.

"The natural landscape of the region is currently facing a wide range of threats and pressures, with climate change assessed as by far the most serious, followed by mining, oil and gas projects, road construction and construction of new dams," the report warns.

The WWF is using colorful report to call for "significant additional conservation measures to be introduced and implemented to preserve the habitats and extraordinary biodiversity of the region."