科学家在湄公河地区发现224个新物种

The World Wildlife Fund, WWF, identified 224 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong area in 2020. The area includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
世界自然基金会2020年在大湄公河地区发现了224个新物种。该地区包括越南、柬埔寨、泰国和缅甸。

Among the species is a monkey with white circles around its eyes. The list also included numerous newly identified reptiles, frogs and newts, fish and 155 plant species.
在这些物种当中，有一种眼睛周围有白色圆圈的猴子。该名单还包括许多新发现的爬行动物、青蛙和蝾螈、鱼类以及155个植物品种。

A report by the WWF marks the need to protect rich wildlife habitats in the Mekong. The report said the discoveries demonstrate the strength of species to survive in environments threatened by deforestation, disease and other harms.
世界自然基金会的一份报告表明了保护湄公河丰富野生动物栖息地的必要性。报告称，这些发现证明了物种在受到森林砍伐、疾病或其它危害威胁的环境中生存的力量。

K. Yoganand is the WWF's Mekong leader for wildlife and wildlife crime. He told Reuters that the new species represent "beautiful products of millions of years of evolution." Today, however, they are "under intense threat," Yoganand said, with many species disappearing before they are even described.
K. Yoganand是世界自然基金会负责湄公河地区野生动物及野生动物犯罪的负责人。他对路透社表示，这些新物种代表了数百万年进化的美丽产物。Yoganand说，如今它们面临着巨大的威胁，许多物种甚至在被说起之前就消失了。

The newly discovered monkey is called the Popa langur. It got its name because it lives on the hillsides of Myanmar's former Mt. Popa volcano.
这种新发现的猴子被称为波帕叶猴。其得名是因为生活在缅甸昔日的波帕火山的山坡上。

A new type of begonia plant with reddish flowers and a berry-like fruit also was found in a hilly area of Myanmar. The area has a problem with illegal mining and logging.
在缅甸的丘陵地区还发现了一种新的海棠植物，其花朵呈淡红色，果实类似浆果。该地区存在非法采矿和砍伐的问题。

Scientists have now identified more than 3,000 new species in the Mekong area since 1997, the WWF said.
世界自然基金会表示，自1997年以来，科学家已经在湄公河地区发现了超过3000个新物种。

Scientists used measurements and samples from public collections to compare and identify important elements of the newly discovered animals and plants, the report said.
报告称，科学家使用公开馆藏中的测量结果和样本来对比和识别新发现动植物的重要元素。

Researchers say identifying new species can be difficult and sometimes requires several different methods. In one case, frog calls and genetic data were combined to differentiate the Cardamom leaf-litter frog. The animal was found high in the Cardamom mountains in a protected wildlife area.
研究人员表示，识别新物种很难，有时需要用到几种不同的方法。在某个案例中结合了蛙鸣和遗传数据来区分豆蔻山落叶蛙。在豆蔻山高处的野生动物保护区发现了这种动物。

Some species can be found in more than one country, including the bright orange twin slug snake.
有些物种可能在多个国家被发现，包括亮橙色的双钝头蛇。

The Popa langur was identified based on genetic matching. Recently gathered bones were compared with samples from Britain's Natural History Museum found more than a century ago.
波帕叶猴是根据遗传匹配识别出来的。科学家将最近收集到的骨头与英国自然历史博物馆一个多世纪前发现的样本进行了对比。

The WWF worked with the group Fauna and Flora International, FFI, to capture images of the monkeys using camera traps in 2018. FFI reported the discovery late last year.
2018年，世界自然基金会与野生动植物保护国际合作，使用相机陷阱抓拍猴子的影像。野生动植物保护国际去年年底报告了这一发现。

The monkey is a candidate to be listed as a critically endangered species on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the report said. Only 200 to 250 of the monkeys are thought to survive in the wild.
报告称，这种猴子被世界自然保护联盟红色名录列为极度濒危物种的候选。人们认为仅有200到250只这种猴子在野外存活。

I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。