WWF discovers sneezing monkey, walking fish and unicorn among 211 new species

Experts have nicknamed these nasally mammals “Snubby.” The furry fellow often spends rainy days with its head down between its knees because otherwise the water runs into its upturned nose and makes it sneeze. The discoveries include very interesting creatures like a monkey that starts sneezing when it rains, a walking fish and a snake that appears to be a jewel.

Perhaps the most freakish is a “walking” blue dwarf snakehead fish, which was found in the Lefraguri swamp in West Bengal, India.

Hunters residing close to Myanmar’s remote and bumpy Kachin state, where the monkeys live, stated that it is easy to trace them down during the rainstorm thanks to their spells of sneezing.

“Despite the fact that it was found in high numbers in a small stream, it is yet hard to distinguish whether this unique species is endemic to a single ecosystem within Myanmar or spread throughout the region as a whole”, the conservation report says.

A median of 34 new plant and animal species had been excavated yearly within the area for the final six years, in accordance with a newly launched statistics from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

WWF has prepared a list of wildlife discovered by researchers across Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and north-east India.

The report presented by the WWF also mentions a living gem -the bejeweled lance-headed pit viper, which could pass as a carefully crafted piece of jewelry.

For example, the snub-nosed monkey will likely receive a classification as an endangered animal due to the restricted range and the significant hunting pressures it faces, said the authors of the WWF report.

Climate change is the most serious threat to the region, but construction, mining, and oil and gas projects also divest natural resources and habitats from the flora and fauna.

According to the report, the region has only managed to retain 25 percent of its original habitats as a result of development.

Currently, scientists have identified over 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians and 269 types of freshwater fish in the Himalayas, but new species are discovered every day. “With the discovery comes the important responsibility to continue protecting and caring for this precious gift that this world has been blessed with”, said Dechen Dorji, Country Representative, WWF Bhutan.