Celebrating newly discovered wildlife in the ASEAN Region
In celebration of World Wildlife Day 2025, themed “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet”, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) showcased several newly discovered wildlife species in the ASEAN region. Through these featured species, the ACB aims to raise awareness and inspire action as part of our collective responsibility in wildlife conservation.
The ACB Acting Executive Director Clarissa C. Arida says, “While we are in awe of these newly discovered species in the region, this should move us to work together to conserve and protect this natural wealth. Our celebration of the WWD is an invitation to reflect and think about what we can do for around a million species estimated to be at risk of extinction. We call on everyone to reflect and take meaningful steps to protect our wildlife, preserve their natural habitats, and promote sustainable use of resources. We each have a role in achieving our goal of living in harmony with nature.
Brunei Darussalam
Expeditions led by citizen scientists discovered a previously undescribed Microparmarion species in the lowland forests of Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei Darussalam, in the northwest of the island of Borneo. Although externally similar to other species found in the Borneo lowlands, DNA barcoding in the field lab indicated that the discovered specimens belonged to a distantly related species. This was further confirmed by additional morphological examination in the field lab.
Semi-slugs, affectionately called “snugs” by mollusk researchers, are the snail world’s squatters. Although they carry a shell that protects them, it is too small for them to inhabit. The discovered ‘snug’ was named after Md Salleh Abdullah Bat, the field centre supervisor, who would retire just weeks after the team left.
Cambodia
A new species of slender gecko, Hemiphyllodactylus khpoh, was discovered this year in Phnom Khpoh, a karstic hill in Battambang province, Cambodia. It has a dusky brown body and mustard-hued tail, short but robust forelimbs, and toe pads covered with thin hairs called setae, which help the animal grip surfaces.
The gecko, named after the hill it was discovered in, was found during a collaborative study between Fauna & Flora’s Cambodia team, the Ministry of Environment, and herpetologists from La Sierra University.
Indonesia
Named in honour of Peter O’Byrne, an Indonesian orchid observer who played an important role in the development of orchid taxonomy in Southeast Asia, the Aerides obyrneana is endemic to the northern part of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, a country known to be one of the most important orchid diversity hotspots in the world and a centre of diversity for many orchid genera, including the Aerides species. Five Aerides species are recorded from Indonesia and distributed from Sumatra west to Sulawesi, east of the archipelago.
Lao PDR
A new species of flowering plant, Phanera roseoalba, has been discovered in seasonal dry evergreen forests and secondary broad-leaved evergreen forests in southern Lao PDR. Locally called Siew Boua (a reference to Bauhinia or “orchid tree” and the Phanera genus), this plant is easily distinguished because of its light pink petals.
Phanera plants, also known as “broom trees” or “flame trees”, are known for their vibrant flowers and are typically found in well-drained soils, providing significant ecological benefits.
Malaysia
Discovered to reside in only two areas in the tropical rainforest of Malaysia, Thismia malayana is a small plant that yields golden, star-shaped flowers. It grows on forest floors amidst rotting leaves, wood, and other forest litter and is a mycoheterotrophic plant—it gets its nutrients from fungi.
According to the categories and criteria of the IUCN Red List, it is provisionally classified as Vulnerable.
Myanmar
A newly discovered green pit viper, Trimeresurus uetzi or Uetz’s pit viper, has been found in central and southern Myanmar. Although it shares similarities with the white-lipped pit viper (Trimeresurus albolabris) and the Nepal pit viper (Trimeresurus septentrionalis), the new species can be distinguished by several morphological characteristics such as white pre- and post-ocular streaks in males, copper irises in males or green-gold irises in females, a greater number of ventral plates, and a notably shorter hemipenis.
The snake was named to honour Dr. Peter Uetz, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor and creator of the Reptile Database, “the most important site in herpetology” for researchers of reptiles. This is the second reptile species named after Dr. Uetz.
The Philippines
A new species of fanged frog called Limnonectes cassiopeia has been discovered in Luzon Island, Philippines. Mistakenly thought to be the juvenile version of the well-known and nearly identical Luzon Giant Fanged Frog for the past two decades, it has been determined that the two species are not closely related. The males of some species have large, bony protuberances, like fangs, in their lower jaw, assumed to be used for male-to-male combat. The males’ fangs are also much larger than that of females. The males also have huge heads, some as large as chickens in other parts of Southeast Asia.
Singapore
Macrodactyla fautinae, or the Tiger Anemone, was first described as a new species in 2023. It is commonly sighted in the coastal waters of the Straits of Johor near Singapore, particularly Changi, and has not been sighted anywhere else. Local residents refer to it as the purple-lip sand anemone.
It is defined by a smooth cylindrical body with 96 tentacles with a striped brown-white pattern. These tentacles are arranged in five cycles. Its body is cream-coloured, with pink structures that are capable of expelling water when the anemone contracts
The species is named in honour of American zoologist and University of Kansans professor Daphne Gail Fautin.
Thailand
Researchers discovered this new gecko species in Khao Ebid, a limestone hill in Phetchaburi Province southwest of Bangkok, Thailand. The Khao Ebid leaf-toed gecko (Dixonius chotjuckdikuli) has a golden tail, slender body, elongated head, and short limbs. It has leaf-like toes, robust claws, and a pinkish-cream body with a brown-blotched pattern.
It was named after Natthaphat Chotjuckdikul, a Thai petroleum engineer, naturalist, and birdwatcher who helped in its discovery.
Viet Nam
In early 2025, a new species of lizard called Scincella truongi, or Truong’s Smooth Skink was discovered in a forest in Son La Province, northwestern Viet Nam. The bronze-coloured, medium-sized lizard has a brownish-black stripe on both sides of its body, “windows” in its eyelids, and an obtuse snout.
Researchers have named it after Dr. Truong Quang Nguyen, a herpetologist, conservation scientist, and principal researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. This is in recognition of his significant contributions to exploring reptiles and amphibians in the Indochina region.
World Wildlife Day is an annual global United Nations celebration every 3rd of March to highlight wild plants and animals and their unique roles and contributions to people and the planet. This year’s theme explores working together to make our current insufficient financial resources flow more effectively and sustainably to build a resilient future for all.
With over 1 million species estimated to be threatened with extinction and facing the intensifying triple planetary crisis, innovative finance for wildlife conservation is more urgent than ever. This year’s WWD celebration also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
