Latest news with #Taprobanica
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Creature found as roadkill identified as footlong new species in India. See it
From sharp-toothed sharks to spiders a bit too large for comfort, some animals have earned a scary and intimidating reputation. Snakes are a central part of this group of animal villains, but while boa constrictors or venomous rattlesnakes have earned it, not all snakes warrant a fight-or-flight response. In the lush forests of Mizoram, India, a newly discovered species was described as 'timid' and 'gentle,' and even chose to keep its mouth shut when being handled, researchers said, in a study published Aug. 5 in the peer-reviewed journal Taprobanica. Smithophis leptofasciatus, or the narrow-banded rain snake, was discovered in and around small streams as well as under the leaf litter, rocks and decaying logs on the forest floor, according to the study. While two of the snakes were found living, a third was found as roadkill in the area, and five others were spotted but not collected for the study, researchers said. The narrow-banded rain snake is considered 'small' for its group, though it can measure more than 16 inches long, according to the study. Its coloration is described as a 'shiny dark or a black background intermixed with distinct, narrow and creamish-white or yellowish-lime transverse bands' that are narrow and encircle the body in incomplete bands, researchers said. The snake's head is 'elongated' and 'moderately large' in proportion to its body, with a large and broad snout, according to the study. The eyes are also considered 'moderately large.' The species name, leptofasciatus, is derived from the Greek word 'leptos' and Latin word 'fasciatus' and means 'narrow banded,' referring to the snake's pattern, researchers said. Researchers found the snakes both near and in the water of the streams, suggesting they are at least semiaquatic. The new species is also nocturnal, according to the study. 'All handled specimens were very timid, gentle, showing no inclination to bite when handled,' researchers said. 'In captivity individuals voraciously fed on earthworms.' Researchers also found the brood of a female and noted white, oval and 'leathery' eggs, according to the study. The new species was previously considered part of another known species, Smithophis bicolor, which is found in the Meghalaya region of India. However, recent studies have shown genetic differences between the snakes found there and the ones identified in Mizoram, meaning geographical separation has led to distinct lineages, according to the study. Mizoram is in northeastern India, west of the border with Myanmar. The research team includes Lal Muansanga, Jayaditya Purkayastha, Vanlal Hruaia, Mathipi Vabeiryureilai, Lal Biakzuala, Ht Decemson, Hmar T. Lalremsanga and Sanath C. Bohra.
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Brilliant' blue and green fish — that can climb — is a new species in Indonesia
In a clear, fast-moving stream on a small Indonesian island blanketed by rainforest lives a metallic-colored fish capable of climbing waterfalls. Researchers have now confirmed, based on eight specimens collected from their home on Enggano Island, that the 'brilliant'-looking fish is a new species of goby, according to a study published June 17 in the journal Taprobanica. Stiphodon hadiatyae belongs to group of fish called Sicydiinae that are known to inhabit remote areas and possess 'highly developed' suction discs that allow them to adhere to rocks and even scale waterfalls, according to researchers. The new species is amphidromous, meaning it spawns in freshwater, migrates to the sea, then returns to freshwater to finish maturing and to reproduce, beginning the cycle all over again, the study said. The fish, just over an inch long, were described as having 'metallic green to brilliant light blue' heads and 'rosy red' fins with black spots along their backs, according to the study. Males of the species have an 'extremely' long fourth spine, researchers said, which may serve as protection against predators. Researchers said Stiphodon hadiatyae is named after the 'late Renny Kurnia Hadiaty, who was a leading international expert on the systematics of the freshwater fishes of Southeast Asia, especially those from her home country of Indonesia.' The species is known only from one tributary in Malakoni Village on Enggano Island, which is about 110 miles south of Sumatra. The research team included N. Nurjirana, Rudhy Gustiano, H. Haryono and Kunto Wibowo.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Large' fanged creature found behind a trapdoor in India. It's a new species
In a dirt burrow of southern India, a 'large' creature watched as something forcibly opened its trapdoor. It hurried forward, pulled the door shut and 'held it tightly' with its fangs, but its efforts were in vain. Scientists dug around the trapdoor to catch the bristly animal — and discovered a new species. A team of researchers hiked along the 'outskirts of Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve' in May 2021 as part of a regionwide survey of scorpions, spiders and other arachnids, according to a study published May 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Taprobanica. During a morning search of the 'savanna grassland habitat,' researchers noticed some burrows and trapdoors in the 'reddish, gravelly soil,' the study said. Intrigued, they opened the doors, watched the spiders that momentarily emerged and began 'carefully' digging up the burrows. Researchers eventually caught roughly a dozen of these spiders and, after taking a closer look, realized they'd discovered a new species: Heligmomerus australis, or the southern trapdoor spider. Southern trapdoor spiders are considered 'large-sized,' reaching over an inch across, the study said. They have bristly bodies, claws, fangs and eight eyes arranged 'in three rows.' Photos show the reddish brown coloring of the new species. Southern trapdoor spiders built 'large' and 'deep' burrows with 'a single entrance,' the study said. These entrances were covered with a round, 'fairly thick' door constructed with silk, 'dried grass and algae, sand particles, and grass leaves.' While excavating one burrow, researchers found 'two spiderlings along with an adult female.' Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin word for 'south' because the site where it was discovered is 'currently the southernmost known locality for the genus Heligmomerus on the Indian peninsula.' So far, southern trapdoor spiders have only been found at one site around Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu near the southernmost tip of mainland India and a roughly 1,700-mile drive south from New Delhi. The new species was identified by its reproductive system, eye shape and arrangement, body shape and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not provide a DNA analysis of the new species. The research team included Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Swapnil Pawar, Vivek Waghe and Satpal Gangalmale.
Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Armless forest creature found in trap in Indonesia turns out to be a new species
On an island of southeastern Indonesia, scientists dug a hole in the forest and installed a wildlife trap. A while later, they checked the trap and found an armless creature caught inside. They didn't know it right away, but they'd just discovered a new species. Researchers spent 'over 13 years' installing and regularly checking wildlife traps on Buton Island. The nonlethal pitfall traps were dug into the ground and intended to catch insects, invertebrates and other burrowing animals, according to a study published April 25 in the peer-reviewed journal Taprobanica. During the project, researchers found dozens of 'worm-like' lizards that had fallen into the traps, the study said. A few of these lizards were kept as specimens, preserved and sent to a museum. Initially, scientists identified the animals as a widespread species of blind skink, an 'ancient' type of 'limbless burrowing' reptile. Years later, researchers decided to take a closer look at these little-studied lizards. Sure enough, the skinks from Buton Island were subtly but consistently different, the study said. Researchers realized they'd discovered a new species: Dibamus oetamai, or the Buton blind skink. Buton blind skinks can reach just over 6 inches in length, the study said. They have 'worm-like' bodies with no arms and, in males, 'flap-like' legs. Their heads have 'eyes covered by a scale,' 'small' teeth and 'rounded' snouts. A photo shows the 'pale-chestnut brown' coloring of the new species. Buton blind skinks are burrowing animals, living in 'monsoonal rainforests,' the study said. They are 'either rare or highly cryptic,' because 'only 28' of the skinks were found in 'over 70,000 pitfall trap nights.' Much about their lifestyle remains unknown. Researchers said they named the new species 'oetamai' after the late Jakob Oetama, 'a renowned journalist and the co-founder of Kompas Gramedia ― the largest media group in Indonesia, for his enormous contribution to Indonesian Journalism.' The new species' common name refers to Buton Island where it was discovered and, so far, the only place where it has been found. Buton Island is in southeastern Indonesia and near Sulawesi Island. The new species was identified by its body shape, size, scale pattern and coloring, the study said. Researchers did not provide a DNA analysis because of a lack of genetic data on blind skinks. The research team included M. Dwi Prasetyo, D. Satria Yudha, A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe, Ivan Ineich, G. R. Gillespie and Awal Riyanto.
Miami Herald
28-01-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Creature with spike-covered genitalia found ‘ambushing' in Thailand. See new species
In the karst, rocky limestone landscape of Thailand, a group of green creatures hides in the shadows. The predators are wrapped around branches, peaking out from rock outcrops or 'close to the forest floor, presumably waiting for terrestrial prey to pass.' Now, these 'ambushing' animals have been identified as a new species of snake: the red-barred green pit viper. Researchers were surveying the karst environment when they noticed the animals and captured them with hooks, according to a study published Jan. 28 in the peer-reviewed journal Taprobanica. Their bodies are 'long' and 'thin,' reaching more than a foot long, researchers said, and their triangular head has an 'elongated' and 'flattened' snout. The snakes have 'large' eyes with 'bright golden yellow' irises, according to the study. The bright colors of the eye extend to the rest of their bodies, described as 'bright grass green' with 'irregular' and 'serrated' reddish-brown markings that lead to a 'light brick-red' tail, researchers said. The bottom of their bodies are a pale blue fading to bluish-green toward the tail, and the snake's chin and throat are a light turquoise, according to the study. The snake was named Trimeresurus erythrochloris, derived from the Greek 'erythros' meaning 'red' and 'chloros' meaning 'green,' researchers said. 'The species name is given in reference to the beautiful dorsal coloration of the new species, which consists of red bands on the green background,' researchers said, also earning the species its English name, the red-barred green pit viper. The snakes are similar to other forest-dwelling pit vipers, including in the shape of the male genitalia. Male snakes have what is called a hemipenis, the male reproductive organ that is stored in the tail most of the time but is then inverted outside the body to mate. The hemipenis of the red-barred green pit viper has 'well-developed dense pointed almost spine-like papillae at its base,' looking more like a mace or morning star weapon than genitalia. The new species 'was recorded at relatively low elevations; the surrounding habitat consists of lowland mixed with semi-deciduous monsoon tropical forests,' researchers said. 'The new species is semi-arboreal and nocturnal; both specimens were found between (8 p.m.) and (1 a.m.) after rain on a low bush close to the ground.' Some of the snakes that weren't collected were found wrapped around a branch, near the entrance of a rocky cave, on dead fallen branches or just near the forest floor, according to the study. So far, the new species has only been found in an 'isolated chain of limestone hills' in southeastern Thailand, but the range runs to Cambodia, and it's possible the snakes could be found elsewhere, researchers said. 'Though (the red-barred green pit viper) appears to be locally common with up to 10 individuals observed during one night survey, it seems that the new species is quite elusive and is only active after heavy rains,' researchers said. 'Seemingly the quite narrow distribution of the new species makes it vulnerable to habitat degradation.' The snake's bright colors may also make it a subject for the illegal pet trade, according to the study, and researchers recommend the species be the subject of further study. The new species was found in eastern Thailand along the western border of Cambodia. The research team includes Parinya Pawangkhanant, Sabira S. Idiiatullina, Ton Smits, Ian Dugdale, Andrew Pierce, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom and Nikolay A. Poyarkov.
