According to a WWF report, the collection includes 90 new plants, 23 reptiles, 16 amphibians, nine fish and one mammal found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
This brings the total of new species discovered in the region to 2,216 between 1997 and 2014 – an average of three new species a week.
In Vietnam, one of the most bizarre discoveries is a 54-centimetre-long stick insect, the world’s second longest insect, found less than one kilometre away from a village in northern Vietnam.
Other exotic species include a species of long-fanged bat and a colour-changing thorny frog.
Dr Van Ngoc Thinh, Director of WWF-Vietnam said he is very excited when such remarkable discoveries are made in Vietnam, a country endowed with great biodiversity and some of the most bizarre species in the world.
Carlos Drews, WWF Director Global Species Programme, said while species are being discovered, intense pressures are taking a terrible toll on the region’s species, pointing to the possibility that many species have already disappeared before even being discovered.
He said a commitment to protecting key wildlife habitats is also crucial, with countries cooperating across borders to make sustainable decisions on issues such as where to construct large infrastructure, like roads and dams.
