Researchers discover new snake species from Arunachal Pradesh

MANGALURU: A team of researchers have discovered a new species of natricid snakes, Trachischiumapteii from Arunachal Pradesh. Researchers, including Harshal S Bhosale from Bombay National History Society, Mumbai, Gaurang G Gowande from Fergusson College, Pune and Zeeshan A Mirza from the National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS), TIFR, Bengaluru have discovered this new species after spending nearly one and a half months travelling across Arunachal Pradesh to document its biodiversity.
The newly discovered species belongs to a genus of burrowing snakes and are called slender snakes. These are similar in their habits to shieldtail snakes, found in the Western Ghats. The snakes of this genus are poorly studied probably because they remain underground mostly. The discovery was a result of rigorous fieldwork at Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary by the team members with help from the Forest Department and Apatanis.
Zeeshan Mirza told TOI that the discovery of a new snake species advocates the need for dedicated surveys to document biodiversity across Arunachal Pradesh and the neighbouring states of North Eastern India.
The species was found during an expedition to Arunachal Pradesh from June 25 to August 5 2019 by the team that also included Pushkar Phansalkar (Pune) and Mandar Sawant (BNHS). The trip has led to discovery of additional new species, on which work is underway.
Referring to the character of the new species, Zeeshan Mirza said, “it has verRead More – Source