Scientists encountered a new species of the snake during their research in Vietnam in 2019. Studies on the snake species have been published. The new species was named Achalinus zugorum.
As the calendars showed the year 2019, American and Vietnamese scientists were conducting research in the mountains and forests of Vietnam. The goal of the scientists was to learn about the biodiversity in this region. But a strange-looking snake greeted scientists in the area.
This snake, which scientists saw, was especially noticeable in the skin it had. Although the snake had a dark color, its skin was glowing. Its scales were small in size and had a protruding and strange structure. Another feature that distinguished this snake from other snakes was that the snake reflected light between blue and Yesil.
Results of studies on the snake announced
Scientists who encountered this snake at first had no idea what species the snake was. But before long, they realized that they had discovered a brand new and previously undiscovered species of snake. Although this discovery was made in 2019, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have recently shared the results of their study of the snake in Copeia.
The snake was discovered north of Ha Giang, Vietnam’s border region with China. The mysterious snake had no bright light receivers in its eyes, indicating that it was buried underground or under leaves. Such snakes, as you can imagine, are very difficult to find because of their life below the surface.
Scientists have noticed that the snake belongs to the extremely rare genus Achalinus snake. The scales of this genus of snakes had a more common structure rather than overlap like most snakes. The number of snakes belonging to the genus Achalinus has been limited to only 13 by discoveries to date. 6 of the 13 snake species were in Vietnam.
After the studies, the snake was given the name ‘Achalinus zugorum’. The snake’s DNA was sampled and studied at the Smithsonian. It was announced that the rare species would soon be sent back to Vietnam. In their published study, the scientists also touched on factors that threaten biodiversity in Vietnam (such as the destruction of quarries and forests).
