New species of lizard found in Vietnam - on restaurant menu

An entirely new species of lizard was found by accident by researchers in Vietnam - who happened to spot the creature on a restaurant menu.

The 'self-cloning' species - which are all females - were spotted by chance.

The lizard was among 208 new species described last year by scientists in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, a conservation group announced Monday.

A self-cloning lizard (Leiolepis ngovantrii), which was discovered entirely by accident by researchers - being served by a restaurant in Vietnam

The six-country region around the Mekong river is so biologically rich that a new species is discovered there almost every other day, researchers said.



The animals were discovered in a biodiverse region that is threatened by habitat loss, deforestation, climate change and overdevelopment, the WWF said in a report.





The newly described species include what the WWF group described as a 'psychedelic gecko' in southern Vietnam and a nose-less monkey in a remote province of Myanmar with an odd, quiff-like hairstyle. Sadly, it wasn't photographed, but the artist's impression looks distinctly surreal.



'While this species, sporting an Elvis-like hairstyle, is new to science, the local people of Myanmar know it well,' the Switzerland-based group said in its report.

This psychedelic gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica) was also among the 208 new species unearthed by researchers around the Mekong river last year

Lycodon synaptor or Boehme's wolf snake, from Dongchuan, China.The six-country Mekong River region is so biologically rich that an average of one new species is discovered there every other day

Seven new frog species from the Greater Mekong region were discovered in 2010, including three from Laos, three from Vietnam and one from Thailand. The species Amolops akhaorum was found in northwestern Laos

The region is home to some of the world’s most endangered species, including tigers, Asian elephants, Mekong dolphins and Mekong giant catfish, the group said.

'This is a region of extraordinary richness in terms of biodiversity but also one that is extremely fragile,' said Sarah Bladen, communications director for WWF Greater Mekong.



This noseless monkey - which sports what researchers described as an 'Elvis' hairdo - was found in Myanmar

This small, distinctive bird lives in the rocky forests of the Annamite mountain range in Laos and Vietnam

The Mekong flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.