New species of legless amphibian for Cambodia

A new species of legless amphibian has been discovered by scientists in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.

Often mistaken for snakes the newly called Ichthyophis cardamomensis is a caecilian, an order of limbless amphibians, with larger species known to grow to 1.5 metres in length. Caecilians have a valuable role in the ecosystems of tropical and subtropical regions, including providing a food source for the red tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus). Caecilians eat invertebrates, such as earthworms, ants and termites. 

It is only the second caecilian species ever discovered in Cambodia. The other is the striped Koa Tao Island caecilian, I. kohtaoensis, which is also found in, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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Distinctive new wolf snake species discovered in Cambodia

A new wolf snake species has been discovered in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. 

Wolf snakes are nonvenomous members of the family Colubridae, and named after their large teeth that are found in both jaws.

This distinctive, almost chequered, coloured snake was discovered by Cambodian herpetologist Neang Thy, Fauna & Flora International’s (FFI) research adviser in Phnom Penh, in a high altitude montane rainforest.

He said: “Given its unique colouration, submontane habitat and altitudinal separation from other wolf snakes in the region, the species will probably prove to be endemic to the Cardamom Mountains.”

The new snake has been named Lycodon zoosvictoriae by Thy in honour of the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board of Victoria in Australia, which has supported FFI's studies in the region for several years.

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Emergency rescue appeal launched to save the world's second largest Siamese crocodile population

Hydroelectric dam threatens importat population of Critically Endangered Siamese crocodiles

March 2013. Fauna & Flora International has launched an emergency public appeal to raise funds to save a critical breeding population of some of the world's last remaining Siamese crocodiles.

Hydropower dam
The construction of a hydropower dam in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains will obliterate the second largest population of Siamese crocodiles if they are not immediately relocated.

5% of world population

On 8 February, it was announced that a hydropower dam will be built by the China Guodian Corporation on the Areng River. The dam will erase the river's resident Critically Endangered Siamese crocodiles - at least 5% of the global breeding population - and force six villages to relocate. The company aims to begin construction in July.

The Areng River is well known to Fauna & Flora International (FFI). For more than a decade, the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme, a joint initiative between FFI and the Cambodian Government's Forestry Administration, has been working with indigenous people to conserve the Critically Endangered Siamese crocodiles. Through the support of this programme the local communities have successfully protected crocodiles from poaching, habitat degradation and human conflict.

The Areng River crocodile population is now stable at 30-40 adults and subadults. As the second largest known Siamese crocodile population in the world, this site is one of only a handful where this species breeds. This important population, and FFI's conservation work here, was featured by National Geographic and the BBC's Saving Planet Earth.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cambodia-crocodiles013.html#cr