Weird legless, snake-like creature found in Cambodia

A new legless amphibian species has been discovered in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.

The bizarre species, Ichthyophis cardamomensis, is snake-like in appearance and can grow up to 1.5 metres but scientists say it is not a snake.

Conservationists found the grey-brown creature in a remote and threatened part of the Cambodian rainforest.

Cambodian FFI herpetologist Neang Thy told AFP: "These discoveries are important to demonstrate that much of Cambodia's biodiversity remains unknown and unstudied by science, and many more areas need to be searched."

The Cardamom Mountains Range is home to more than 80 threatened species, including the Asian elephant and gaur.

According to Fauna & Flora International, in recent years the region has revealed a vast number of reptiles and amphibians, including frogs, turtles, lizards and crocodiles.

Thy said: "We are still learning about this area and the animals in it, since it was a region formerly held by the Khmer Rouge and the mountains were closed to researchers until the 1990s.

"The Cardamom region it is under threat from logging, land concessions, and other habitat destruction, and the danger of any new species, including the new caecilian, is that they may be discovered one year and go extinct the next."