Many new species found in Greater Mekong

I just found this article today.

Many new species in the Mekong

Very cool stuff.

Among the highlights they've found: a rat thought to be extinct 11mil years, millipeides that are pink and laced with cyanide and a spider the size of a dinner plate.

I wish they would have posted a picture for the "spider the size of a big plate".

I know.

It was the first thing I went searching for after posting. I googled the scientific name and came up with this...

Heteropda

Doesn't look as big as the article led me to think. But, I still wouldn't want to meet one.



[edit on 15-12-2008 by Frogs]

[edit on 15-12-2008 by Frogs]

This is great,

thanks for that, think this will be the highlight read for my day... I love it when people show us that there are so many things in the world yet to be discovered

how long before all those species end up on a dinner plate?

reply to post by Frogs


Still a good one! Thanks for posting the picture, much appreciation.

Yep alot more of this world yet to be discovered

No one liner here

reply to post by Yoda411


The goliath spider in the Amazon is the size of a dinner plate, but that includes legs. Still 10 on the creepy scale.

In fact that spider they used in the movie Arachnophobia was a Goliath spider, that was a real spider. When they were not shooting, they had to throw a cauldron over it to keep it in place.

I hope those actors got a decent wage, LOL.

It was thought to have been extinct for 11 million years but a researcher spotted the corpse of one on sale in a food market in Laos in 2005.

Lets hope that wasn't the last one!!

I dunno about that spider. I had a couple in my room while in the jungle area (Tortuguero) of Costa Rica that looked every bit as big. In fact one of them had a body that was definitely bigger than the one in the picture.
Can't wait to see more pics when they come out.

Originally posted by Yoda411
I wish they would have posted a picture for the "spider the size of a big plate".

the pics are there. right next to the article, guess you didnt see

That must be one small dinner plate....

I read that the spider described as 'large as a dinner plate' actually had a leg span, a foot long. Which after looking is the same as the largest spider in the world, the Bird Eating Spider.

Who knows aswell, that spider they found might only be a baby haha.

reply to post by Yoda411


Also, another pic of it here.

Looks mean

reply to post by Frogs


I don't like the word species, i should be KIND, a new kind of spider, rat and centipede cause they aren't a KIND we have never seen before...

Cool post, they got some fish we aint classified in their river there too, with the worlds largest catfish. The catfish get over 500 lbs...

Here is a link to w.w.f. with video ...if I did this correctly

Unfortunately for the Mekong Delta and all its critters it may be too late for them. So many rare animals like the freshwater dolphin and Mekong catfish are border line on extinction.

I saw this on a news web site. Very cool. I really like that dragon millipede. I didn't think that color existed in the natural world.

I just hope that we don't decide that would be a great place to develop into condos. That would spell the end of all those species.