BUDSARAKHAM
New snail species revealed to public
KETKARN BOONPEN
THE NATION


Two snails are unveiled to the press yesterday. One is Budsarakham, a name graciously granted by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The other is Mae Sot Yellow Bird.

BANGKOK: -- CHULALONGKORN University and the Thailand Research Fund yesterday showed off two new species of psychedelic-yellow tree snails to the public.

One was graciously named Budsarakham, or yellow sapphire, by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The other is called Mae Sot Yellow Bird.

Budsarakham was discovered on Koh Kra in Nakhon Si Thammarat, while Mae Sot Yellow Bird was found in Tak's Mae Sot district, Professor Somsak Panha, head of the Animal Systematics Research Unit at Chulalongkorn's Biology Department, told a press conference yesterday.

Both snails were reported in ZooKeys, an international science journal.

Somsak, who has studied snails in Thailand for 30 years, said Thailand had about 1,000-1,500 snail species, of which 100 were new to the world.

Budsarakham's body comes in a plain ivory colour, while its left-hand spiral shell - 2.5-3.6 centimetres by 1.5-2cm - is glittering yellow.

Its only habitat is the tropical rainforest of Kra Island in the Gulf of Thailand, where it feeds on algae and lichens covering the bark of trees.

Its mucilage has free radical antioxidants, and is anti-inflammatory and rich in protein, so it could be suitable for cosmetics development.

Mae Sot Yellow Bird's body is light brown and its 1.8-2.3cm by 1.2-1.5cm shell is yellow with two brown stripes running along the first and last rings.

These two species could serve as living fertility indicators for Thailand forests, so people should help preserve the ecology in those areas, Somsak said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/New-snail-species-revealed-to-public-30268506.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-10

Yeah, and they are all employed with post offices nationwide.

Pass me some Garlic and Parsley Butter.

A new Thai protein source and other benefits. Voila

That took its time...!

"... body is light brown ... with two brown stripes running along the first and last rings."

I've seen lots of creatures like that in Thailand, mostly in bars.

"One was graciously named Budsarakham, or yellow sapphire, by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The other is called Mae Sot Yellow Bird."

And more important the Latin name?

Great. Now that it's public, we are going to see slow loris touts, monkey touts and now snail touts.

Its only habitat is the tropical rainforest of Kra Island in the Gulf of Thailand, where it feeds on algae and lichens covering the bark of trees.

Its mucilage has free radical antioxidants, and is anti-inflammatory and rich in protein, so it could be suitable for cosmetics development.

Yes, let us capitalize on it while it is still around - nature is not worth anything unless we can make some money on the thing.

Its only habitat is the tropical rainforest of Kra Island in the Gulf of Thailand, where it feeds on algae and lichens covering the bark of trees.

Its mucilage has free radical antioxidants, and is anti-inflammatory and rich in protein, so it could be suitable for cosmetics development.

Yes, let us capitalize on it while it is still around - nature is not worth anything unless we can make some money on the thing.

Yeah...and a couple of paragraphs down the page, they talk of preserving the ecology. After capitalizing on cosmetic products maybe.

Strange and sad...