A new species of poisonous pit viper was identified in China's Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, a site that is part of the World Heritage List.
Gloydius lateralis, which can be found in the popular Zharu Valley, was given its uncommon name because of the continuous brown stripe that runs along either side of its body.
The species is frequently discovered nearby tourist walkways in grass or bushes.
New species of pit viper in china
Sonika Agarwal/Unsplash
Due to the hard-alpine habitat, the herpetological diversity in the region is relatively limited in comparison to that of mammals, as per ScienceDaily.
Researchers carried out a series of examinations in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve to learn more about it, and to look into the area's post-earthquake biological system.
They gathered several Gloydius, a genus of poisonous pit vipers native to Asia, during their herpetological studies in the Zharu Valley.
The researchers conducted morphological and phylogenetic analysis and discovered that these specimens really belonged to an unnamed species.
The new species resembles Gloydius morphologically and is connected to it phylogenetically.
According to the corresponding author, Dr. Jingsong Shi, swild is a different newly described species from Heishui, Aba, Sichuan. It varies from it by having bigger eyes (relative to the head) and a continuous regular brown stripe on either dorsolateral side of the body.
The newly identified snake is active on sunny days by the roadside in a hot, arid valley and feeds mostly on small animals like mice, according to the researchers' study, which was published in the open-access scientific journal ZooKeys.
Millions of people visit Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve each year, where G. lateralis was discovered.
The researchers note that Zharu Valley is the sole known home of the new species and that it is now being developed for tourism.
Because this and another species of pit viper, Protobothrops jerdonii, are frequently seen in grass or shrubs on both sides of roadways, warning signs are still required to advise people to be cautious.
The study team emphasizes the need to encourage drivers to slow down in order to prevent road deaths since snakes' thermoregulation needs render them more vulnerable to car crashes.
Any species of viper in the subfamily Crotalinae, known as a "pit viper" has two moveable fangs as well as a heat-sensitive pit organ between each eye and nose, as per Britannica.
These three features let the viper target its warm-blooded prey with precision. From deserts to rainforests, pit vipers are mostly found in the New World.
They might be aquatic, arboreal, or terrestrial. While some species produce live offspring, others lay eggs.
Among others, this group consists of fer-de-lances (genera Bothrops and Trimeresurus), copperheads, and rattlesnakes.
They might exist on land or in trees. Some are aquatic, such as the moccasins (genus Agkistrodon). All pit vipers, save from the bushmaster that lays eggs, are live-bearers (viviparous).
