A new species of wood snake emerges in the Western Ghats, mottled in grey-brown

by Aathira Perinchery, Mongabay, 20 April 2020

  • Scientists had previously noted slight differences in markings of the ground-dwelling Perroteti’s wood snake in the northern and southern hill ranges of the Western Ghats.
  • Genetic and morphological analyses reveal that specimens collected from Kerala’s Eravikulam National Park in the Anamalai hill range in the southern Ghats are a new species altogether: the Anamalai wood snake
  • The snake is another addition to a list including taxa such as birds, which show that the Palghat Gap, an unsurmountable physical barrier, is causing the diversification of species.

 

“That researchers have unearthed a burrowing snake, a group which is comparatively rare to see, makes this a significant discovery,” wrote herpetologist Varad Giri, Director NIDUS and Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation, who did not participate in the study.”

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