(IN): New hiss in pit vipers’ family history

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071116/asp/northeast/story_8552644.asp

 

New hiss in pit vipers' family history

- Herpetologists claim unique species of serpents in Arunachal Pradesh ATANU

CHOUDHURI

 

*Itanagar, Nov. 15:* A deadly hiss has emanated from the country's

easternmost state, Arunachal Pradesh.

 

A three-member team discovered what could be a new species of pit viper

snake, from the remote Sango area in Papum Pare district of the state.

 

Herpetologist B.B. Bhatt from the state Forest Research Institute, Arunachal

Pradesh, Pune-based herpetologist Ashok Captain and Kedar Bhide, a

Mumbai-based wildlife documentary filmmaker told *The Telegraph *that two

serpents belonging to the " new species " were caught after a one-year hunt.

 

*Barta*, as the local Nyishi tribesmen call the six-foot- something reptile,

is the most-feared creature among the tribes in Arunachal Pradesh.

 

According to Nyishi folklore, sighting of a *barta*, meaning the deadliest

of all the snakes, is a bad omen.

 

The finding of " a new species of pit viper snake " , however, has created a

flutter among the country's herpetologists.

 

" Going by the colour, count and patterns of the newly-found snakes which

differ from *Protobothrops kaulbacki, *another species of pit viper

snake* *spotted

by Ronald Kaulback in the forests of Upper Myanmar in 1940, it can be said

that it is probably a new species found never before in the forests.

Although at a glance they look similar to the snake found in Myanmar, their

features differ from *Protobothrops kaulbacki*. The blood samples of the

snakes have been sent for DNA tests to a Hyderabad-based laboratory this

month. We are awaiting an official confirmation, " Bhatt told *The Telegraph*

..

 

Bhatt, who has documented 76 of the 140 species of snakes found in Arunachal

Pradesh, said the most striking feature of the newly-found species was its

egg-producing capacity. It can lay a clutch of 20 to 30 eggs — a phenomenon

hitherto unknown to scientists.

 

" This type of snakes are found at an altitude of above 1,000 meters and prey

on frogs, fish and rats. But they are not known to lay eggs. Another

striking feature are their pits, which are much larger than those of the

other snakes of the pit viper family. The species has been so named because

an organ in its body consists of pits. It is just behind the nostrils and

covered with a temperature-sensitive membrane. Some pit vipers may also use

these organs to find cool refuge from inhospitable daytime temperature, "

Bhatt said.

 

The herpetologists caught a pair of snakes, a male and a female, but the

reptiles chose to escape death at the hands of the humans and killed

themselves by using their own fangs, much to the surprise of Bhatt who has

been watching reptile behaviour for the last seven years in the forests of

the Northeast and north India. According to Bhatt, this sheds new light on

the strange behavioural pattern of the species, so long unknown to

herpetologists.

 

" Pit vipers have long, hollow, erectile fangs that are folded back against

the roof of the mouth except when the snakes are striking. Once the fangs

are out, it becomes difficult to fold back those organs and unable to cope

with the situation they might have killed themselves, " Bhatt explained.

[image:

Top]<http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071116/asp/northeast/story_8552644.asp#top>

 

--

Fight captive Jumbo abuse, end Elephant Polo

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com