‘Cute’ creature with ‘large’ eyes and pink belly found in forest. It’s a new species
In a forest of southern China, a 2-foot-long creature with “large” eyes moved along the ground. Something about the “cute” animal caught the attention of nearby rangers — and for good reason.
It turned out to be a new species.
Forest rangers were visiting a nature reserve in Yunnan Province in October when they noticed an unfamiliar-looking snake near a river. Intrigued, they caught the animal and gave it to scientists, according to a study published Dec. 17 in the peer-reviewed journal Diversity.
Researchers took a closer look at the speckled snake and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Herpetoreas abros, or the cute Himalayas keelback snake.
The cute Himalayas keelback has a “slender” body reaching about 30 inches in length, the study said. It has a “relatively long” tail, “narrow” snout and “large” “dark yellowish brown” eyes.
Seen from above, the new species has a dark brown hue with a scattering of black and white speckles, a photo shows. Seen from below, the snake has a pink belly, lighter toward its head and darker toward its tail.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin word “abros,” meaning “‘cute’, ‘handsome’, and ‘delicate,’” because of its “cute appearance.”
Rangers found the cute Himalayas keelback “on the ground during the day, not far from a river and a hydroelectric power station,” researchers said. It may be a “semi-aquatic snake.”
So far, the cute Himalayas keelback has only been found at one site in Yunnan Province along the China-Myanmar border but “probably” lives in the neighboring region, the study said. Yunnan Province is in southern China and also borders Laos and Vietnam.
The new species was identified by its coloring, stomach, scale shape and arrangement, teeth and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 7% genetic divergence from other related species.
The research team included Shuo Liu, Mian Hou, Hongxin Zhou, Changsheng Zuo, Fawang Yin and Dingqi Rao.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 9:05 AM with the headline "‘Cute’ creature with ‘large’ eyes and pink belly found in forest. It’s a new species."
