2-foot-long creature found lurking under trash on Mexico mountain. It’s a new species
On a mountain in Mexico, a striped creature coiled up its 2-foot-long body and lurked under some trash. But its hiding spot wasn’t quite hidden enough.
Visiting scientists spotted the copper-eyed animal — and discovered a new species.
Researchers first encountered the unfamiliar-looking garter snake in 2015 while surveying reptiles in the mountains of Jalisco, according to a study published June 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Herpetozoa. They suspected it was a new species but did not have enough data to know for sure.
For seven years, researchers visited dozens of sites across Mexico to survey garter snakes. The more data they collected, the more certain they became that the snakes in Jalisco were unique.
Researchers identified these snakes as a new species: Thamnophis ahumadai, or Ahumada’s alpine garter snake.
Ahumada’s alpine garter snakes are considered “relatively small,” reaching just over 2 feet in length, the study said. They have “narrow” heads, “small” copper eyes and “long” tails.
A photo shows the “chocolate brown” coloring of the new species. A pale stripe runs down the center of its back, and smaller black blotches dot its sides. Its belly appears to be a pale yellow-brown.
Ahumada’s alpine garter snakes generally look similar, but their stripes can vary from orange to yellow to cream, the study said and photos show.
The new species lives in mountain grasslands and meadows at elevations above 6,900 feet, the study said. Researchers found these snakes lurking under trash, logs and rocks often near streams and ponds.
Researchers said they named the new species after Iván Trinidad Ahumada-Carrillo, a researcher “who has made many contributions to diverse areas in herpetology.” He was the first person to capture the new species “and pointed out its distinctiveness.”
Ahumada’s alpine garter snakes have been found in two mountain ranges in Jalisco, the study said. This state is on the west coast of Mexico and a roughly 340-mile drive northwest from Mexico City.
The new species was identified by its scale pattern, body proportions, coloring and DNA, the study said.
The research team included Christoph Grünwald, María del Carmen G. Mendoza-Portilla, André Grünwald, Carlos Montaño-Ruvalcaba, Héctor Franz-Chávez, Uri García-Vázquez and Jacobo Reyes-Velasco.
This story was originally published July 1, 2024 at 10:57 AM with the headline "2-foot-long creature found lurking under trash on Mexico mountain. It’s a new species."
