These field surveys aimed to make recommendations for biodiversity conservation management of the Ba Be and Na Hang forest complex. Ba Be and Na Hang are well-known as the home of two rare and endemic primates: Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus avunculus and Francois' Leaf Monkey Semnopithecus francoisi francoisi. Both of these primates are threatened with global extinction as a result of White-eared hunting and habitat

This new species shows strong similarity to Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush Garrulax rufogularis which occurs widely throughout the Himalayas and is also found in north-west Vietnam. The new species shows four plumage features not shown by any described race of Garrulax rufogularis. The Chestnut – eared Laughingthrush occurs among undergrowth in montane evergreen forest between c. 1,600 and 1,700 m asl. and may also occur in this habitat and at this altitude

In saprophytic, they develop sucking roots in order to extract nutritive sub stances from humus (which often is constituted by grass roots) decomposing by means of fungus. The stem and leaves do not bear the green colour (or there are no leaves) but the flowers still blossom in many bright colours. Nevertheless, the most peculiar line of the Orchidaceae lies in their epiphytic line which drives from creeping, adhering or hanging to the back of other trees. There either belong to

This species belongs to the Osteoglossidae family, Clupeiformes order. It has a long thin body, long mouth barbel, big scales, long pectoral fin, rearward pectoral fin and dorsal fin. This kind of fish can reach the size of 90 cm long and 8 kg weight (Vietnam Red book, page 253). It has a restrict distribution in La Nga river, Tri An Lake and recently in Hochiminh city area. In Vietnam, it is such a rare fish that although there were many investigations taken but

We describe a new species of Tylototriton from lowland forest of Bac Giang Province in northern Vietnam. The new species is mainly characterized by skin covered with relatively small warts and glands, flattened head, dorsal colour uniformly greyish tan or light brownish in life without larger orange or red dorsal markings. The species presumably reproduces in forest ponds during the rainy season. Records of Tylototriton asperrimus from northern Vietnam are briefly discussed.

Vietnam has become well known for its remarkable and unique biodiversity, particularly its amphibian and reptile fauna. Numerous surveys of herpetofauna have been carried out in different areas of the country in the last decades. In the early 20th century (1924-1944), Bourret counted 177 species and sub-species of lizards, 245 species and sub-species of snakes, 45 species and sub-species of turtles, and 171 species and sub-species of amphibians for the

The incidence of mimicry among butterflies has been the subject of considerable study and controversy in the past. It is l certainly one of the most striking and interesting features of tropical butterflies that so many apparently very similar forms in fact belong to quite different species or families . The concept of mimicry is based on the assumption that certain species are unpleasant, unpalatable or inedible to predators such as birds and other vertebrate enemies of butterflies...

Variation is a fundamental characteristic of all animals. It is frequently overlooked that members of a species are not all  stereotyped replicas of their parents. They are not like mass-produced objects stamped out on a machine; they are living creatures, each individual being the embodiment and expression of a unique combination of genetic material. Seen in this light, variation between individuals becomes less unexpected and it is certainly true that butterflies exhibit...

Adult butterflies are built on the same general plan as their other insect relatives such as the wasps, bees and beetles. The body is protected by an armour of chitin (forming the exoskeleton) and this is arranged in a series of rings or segments separated by flexible membranous zones which allow movement to take place. The body consists of three main regions, the head, the thorax and the abdomen, all with a specialized structure to equip them for different functions ...

About three-quarters of all animal species are insects. Their present day abundance and diversity of form suggest a long land complex evolutionary history. In some orders of insects, at least part of this history may be traced by the study of fossils, but butterflies are delicate creatures whose bodies are likely to disintegrate after death and be lost rather than preserved as fossils. Consequently our knowledge of the past history of butterflies is very incomplete and details of their ancestry...

In a particular area or habitat there may be several species of butterflies; some present in very large numbers and others represented  by only the few individuals. All the individuals of each species within that area may be thought of as a population, the members of with interbreed and are responsible for the survival of the species each adult female may lay several hundred eggs during her life but only a small proportion of these will produce viable adults. Deaths or mortality occur...

Butterflies are examples of endopterygotes: insects which characteristically undergo a complete change or metamorphosis during the course of their development. Their life cycle includes both a larval and a pupal stage before the adult insect or imago emerges. The larva is completely different from the adult both in appearance and habits. The pupa is an inactive, non-feeding stage which gives rise to the adult. In grasshoppers, cockroaches and earwigs, which are...

Genetics is the study of the ways in which the characters of an organism are inherited by its offspring. A number of plants and animals have been studied intensively by geneticists because they have simplified mechanisms that lend themselves to scientific investigation and analysis. The genetic principles which have been discovered and understood in relatively simple systems c¹n then be used to explain the situations found in a wide spectrum of species. Butterflies have received...

Butterflies are to be found all over the world, but the greatest number of species live in the tropical regions. Butterflies are D particularly abundant where tropical rain forests abound; for example in Africa (south of the Sahara), in the Oriental region (Far East and India) and in the Neotropical region (South America). Some large genera of Butterflies occur throughout the world, for instance Papilio (the swallowtails), Danaus (the monarchs) and Eurema (the 'yellows' from the...

It is the presence of patterned and coloured wings that immediately distinguishes the Lepidoptera from most other groups of insects which tend to have rather uniform, transparent wings. Among the Lepidoptera appear some of the most exquisitely coloured of all living things. This undoubtedly contributes to their popularity, and the fact that they can also easily be preserved has made them a favourite quarry for collectors. Enthusiasm for butterflies especially is not...

It is the presence of patterned and coloured wings that immediately distinguishes the Lepidoptera from most other groups of insects which tend to have rather uniform, transparent wings. Among the Lepidoptera appear some of the most exquisitely coloured of all living things. This undoubtedly contributes to their popularity, and the fact that they can also easily be preserved has made them a favourite quarry for collectors. Enthusiasm for butterflies especially is not ...