The ornate flying snake (Chrysopelea ornata) – also known as the golden tree snake – glides from tree to tree by flattening its rib cage and twisting through the air like a shimmering ribbon. Its vivid colouring makes it popular among collectors.

Photograph: Phyroum Chourn/Fauna & Flora

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#Cambodia
#caves
#karst
#biodiversity
#NewSpecies
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#snakes

The brown tree frog, also known as the Hong Kong whipping frog, found in the Phnom Prampi cave in Battambang province, a designated natural heritage site. The frog gets its name from the way the female uses her back legs to whip up foam before making a nest for her eggs.

Photograph: Phyroum Chourn/Fauna & Flora

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#NewSpecies
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#frogs

A reticulated python in Phnom Preak, Battambang province. This python species, native to south and south-east Asia, is the world’s longest snake with many specimens measuring in excess of seven metres.

Photograph: Phyroum Chourn/Fauna & Flora

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#karst
#biodiversity
#NewSpecies
#geckos
#snakes

One of two millipede species collected during the survey (this one was discovered in Battambang in 2024), the vivid colouring of the Orthomorpha battambangiensis probably indicates that these millipedes are poisonous or, at the very least, unappetising for potential predators.

Photograph: Fauna & Flora

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#karst
#biodiversity
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#millipede

Named after the Hindu god of destruction, the karst-dwelling gecko shiva was recently discovered in Thailand and only described in February 2025. The survey team found it in Battambang, the first recorded in Cambodia.

Photograph: Phyroum Chourn/Fauna & Flora

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#Cambodia
#caves
#karst
#biodiversity
#NewSpecies
#geckos

Four populations of the were found and identified as a new species: Cyrtodactylus kampingpoiensis. Despite being described as one species, it is thought that, due to the isolation of the karst formations, these four populations are separate in evolutionary terms.

Photograph: Phyroum Chourn/Fauna & Flora

#photography
#Cambodia
#caves
#karst
#biodiversity
#NewSpecies
#geckos