aramcheck
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BBC News, London 20 march 2012
Should the Location of Newly Discovered Species be Hidden?
"In 1999, herpetologist Bryan Stuart was working in Northern Laos when he stumbled across an eye-catching newt he had never seen before [...] later he published an article in the Journal of Herpetology, announcing the discovery of the new species, Laotriton laoensis.
But his joy turned to horror when he realised his discovery had caught the attention of amphibian dealers around the world. Examples of the species were popping up in pictures on amphibian pet forums as far away as Germany and Japan.
[...]
Because the newt is unique to Laos and only found in three small areas in the north of the country, the population was quickly decimated.
In 2008, six years after the publication of Stuart's paper, a biologist from the National University of Laos, Somphouthone Phimmachak, proved the species was close to extinction. Her work led to the Lao newt being granted official status as a threatened species, making it illegal to trade specimens caught in the wild.
It wasn't the first time a scientific discovery has put a rare species in danger."
An interesting article on the problem with publishing location information on newly discovered species.
Should the Location of Newly Discovered Species be Hidden?
"In 1999, herpetologist Bryan Stuart was working in Northern Laos when he stumbled across an eye-catching newt he had never seen before [...] later he published an article in the Journal of Herpetology, announcing the discovery of the new species, Laotriton laoensis.
But his joy turned to horror when he realised his discovery had caught the attention of amphibian dealers around the world. Examples of the species were popping up in pictures on amphibian pet forums as far away as Germany and Japan.
[...]
Because the newt is unique to Laos and only found in three small areas in the north of the country, the population was quickly decimated.
In 2008, six years after the publication of Stuart's paper, a biologist from the National University of Laos, Somphouthone Phimmachak, proved the species was close to extinction. Her work led to the Lao newt being granted official status as a threatened species, making it illegal to trade specimens caught in the wild.
It wasn't the first time a scientific discovery has put a rare species in danger."
An interesting article on the problem with publishing location information on newly discovered species.