1-foot-long predator with yellow eyes found lurking in China. It’s a new species
Under the cover of darkness, a 1-foot-long predator moved along a branch in the mountains of eastern China. Its yellow eyes scanned the surrounding landscape for its next meal, but it wasn’t the only one searching.
Passing scientists found the “cryptic” animal — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers visited several sites in Anhui Province in 2024 as part of a project to survey a “unique” group of “snail-eating or slug-eating” snakes, according to a study published Sept. 2 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
The team suspected some of these “small, slender” snakes were being misidentified and decided to investigate, the study said. Over multiple years of surveying, researchers collected several of these snakes, analyzed their DNA and compared their features to other known species.
A pattern began to emerge: The snakes from Anhui Province and nearby areas were subtly but consistently different, the study said. Researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Pareas orientalis, or the Eastern China slug-eating snake.
Eastern China slug-eating snakes are considered “medium”-sized, reaching up to 20 inches long, the study said. They have “slender, slightly compressed” bodies and “relatively short” tails. Their “elongate” heads have a “wide and blunt snout” and “slightly enlarged” eyes with a yellow or “reddish-yellow” hue.
A photo shows the “yellow–brown” coloring of the new species. “Many irregular black horizontal stripes” run along its back and sides, researchers said. Its head has “a dense arrangement of small, black spots.” Seen from below,the snake’s belly is gray-tinged “with scattered fine black spots.”
Eastern China slug-eating snakes live in “mountainous regions, frequently residing near low shrubs adjacent to streams in low-altitude areas,” the study said. Like other related snakes, the new species is nocturnal and “primarily feeds on slugs and snails.”
Researchers said they named the new species “orientalis” after the eastern China region where it was discovered. So far, the new species has been found in the neighboring provinces of Anhui and Zhejiang and is believed to live in Jiangsu and Jiangxi as well.
The new species was identified by its coloring, scale pattern, skeleton, teeth and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 4% genetic divergence from related species.
The research team included Cai-wen Zhang, Shi-hang Xu, Tao Luo, Chong Liu, Lei Yu, Jiang Zhou, Tao Pan and Bao-wei Zhang.
The team also discovered a second new species: the Dabie Mountains slug-eating snake.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM with the headline "1-foot-long predator with yellow eyes found lurking in China. It’s a new species."
