A spider with a leg span of 12 inches, a giant Huntsman spider, is one of the new species discovered in the Mekong River Valley recently. A hot pink Dragon Millipede, a Laotian rock rat and a green pit viper are among the reportedly 1,000's of new species discovered in Southeast Asia's areas of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The Huntsman spider, ( Heteropoda maxima ) is a spider species that has already been discovered in other parts of the world which have tropical or semi-tropical environments, but not as large as the Huntsman spider that was found in the Mekong River Valley. Even though the name of the spider, Huntsman, indicates it 'hunts man', the Huntsman spider has a harmless bite that only causes localized pain for a few days. Just encountering a Huntsman spider the size of a dinner plate would do enough harm to most people.
The hot pink Dragon Millipede found in the Mekong River Valley lives up to it's name sake color. Along with the hot pink Dragon Millipede's shocking color comes another surprise- the hot pink Dragon Millipede produces cyanide to deter predators.
Not all of the reported 1,000's of new animal species were found in the dense tropical forests, some animal species were found for sale by food vendors like the Laotian rock rat, and a black and brown striped rabbit. The Laotian rock rat was thought to be extinct.
The green pit viper was found in the rafters of a restaurant in Thailand.