Two reptile hunters have discovered a new species of snake with ‘leaf-like’ fangs in Thailand.
This slippery animal, they report, also has highly ridged scales on its underbelly that allow it to “climb vertical rock walls.”
“It is specially adapted to life in this harsh environment,” said one of the reptile hunters, who called their find the “Cave Kukri Snake,” or, Oligodon speleoseserpensafter its brutal home in the limestone karst mountain caves of Thailand.
Evolutionary biologists who helped these reptile hunters categorize their new snake said the creature’s two “enlarged leaf-shaped maxillary teeth” and its ridges provided “strong evidence” indicative of a brand new species.
Although only three specimens of the new snake were captured for research, those samples were enough to positively identify it as a new species, thanks to its underbelly “climbing grip.” Top right (d), the inflated ‘hemipenes’ or reproductive organs of the male Cave Kukri Snake specimen
The new snake was seen climbing a nearly 50-foot (15-meter) rock wall, the researcher said. “This was incredibly risky, but I had no choice but to ‘solo release’ (climbing without ropes),” said Bangor University-trained herpetologist Harry Ward-Smith, who captured the creature.
The reptile hunters had to climb five stories high to obtain samples of the new species.
Harry Ward-Smith, a young reptile expert who has been working for Thailand’s Sakaerat Conservation and Snake Education Team, reported that a specimen or ‘paratype’ of the new Cave Kukri Snake was caught climbing a nearly 15 meter high rock face.
“This was incredibly risky, but I had no choice but to go ‘loose solo’ (climbing talk without ropes),” Ward-Smith shared on April 26 Facebook notification.
“I knew the importance of this snake,” said the Bangor University-trained herpetologist, or reptile zoologist, “and I was not going to let it escape us under any circumstances.”
Ward-Smith’s partner on this dangerous mission through the mountainous provinces of Trang and Satun in southern Thailand, Rupert Grassby-Lewis of the nature tourism group Discover Herpetologydescribed the find as ‘extremely meaningful.’
“It has an absolutely fascinating ecology, living in and around caves on steep limestone karst cliffs and feeding exclusively on reptile eggs,” Grassby-Lewis said.
Grassby-Lewis, a herpetologist and tour guide, said the new snake mainly preys on the eggs of two local gecko species, Cnemaspis And Cyrtodactylusboth also expert navigators of rocky terrain.
Reptile researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State and the University of Michigan, who helped the young reptile hunters publish their new findings, said more specimens of the snake may exist deep in the mountains’ underground caverns.
‘These speculations can only be confirmed if there are additional observations O. speleoseserpens be created in the future,” the scientists wrote in their article, which was published in the journal in April Vertebrate zoology.
The body of the cave-dwelling cliff-hanging snake is light-medium brown, with a lighter shade toward the head and black edges around the individual scales.
Although only three specimens of the new snake were captured for this initial study, those samples were sufficient to allow a positive identification O. speleoseserpens as a new species, partly thanks to its ‘climbing grip’ underbelly.
Two adventurous reptile hunters have discovered a new species of snake with ‘leaf-like’ fangs in Thailand, now confirmed by an international team of biologists. This ‘Cave Kukri Snake’ also has highly ridged or ‘keel-shaped’ scales on its underbelly, allowing it to ‘climb vertical rock walls’
The academic reptile researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State and the University of Michigan, who helped the young reptile hunters publish their new find, said more specimens of the snake (a) may exist deep in underground caves along the mountains (b)
“The presence of keeled ventral scales,” the researchers wrote, “help maintain traction on rough, vertical surfaces.”
The densely packed mountains that mark the border between Thailand’s southern provinces of Trang and Satun are known as a ‘massif’ to geologists, who use the term to denote steep areas created by the stamping tectonic faults or so-called ‘bows’.
The reptile hunting duo had begun their expedition in search of samples of a very different, recently discovered species: the Trimeresurus ciliarisor ‘limestone eyelash pit viper.’
The discovery was a homecoming for Grassby-Lewis, who had first explored the region as a teenager.
“Trang was where I lived when I was 16-17 and where I first learned the tricks of herping (reptile hunting) in Southeast Asia,” said the young researcher. ‘It is very meaningful to me that I have described a new snake taxa from this province for the first time.’