Forskare har fastställt att Himalaya-gropormen, som länge betraktats som en enda art, i själva verket består av fem separata arter, varav tre är nya för vetenskapen. Upptäckten gjordes genom genetisk analys och studier av museiexemplar.
Ett internationellt forskarlag har omklassificerat den giftorm som först beskrevs 1864. Deras arbete, som publicerats i tidskriften ZooKeys, kombinerade moderna genetiska tekniker med undersökningar av skelettdrag och ekologiska data från Pakistan och Nepal.
Rising temperatures and extreme weather are increasing human encounters with venomous snakes, according to health experts and data from Thailand and other regions.
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A new study of wild snakes in the southeastern United States has uncovered widespread infections from a fungal disease and lung parasites. Researchers found that many snakes carry multiple pathogens, with pygmy rattlesnakes facing particularly high risks.
Scientists have identified a previously unknown genus and species of giant salamander from fossils found in Japan more than two decades ago. The creature, named Limnospondylus ajimuensis, lived about 3.5 million years ago and may have grown to 1.1 meters long.
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Scientists have identified a new species of ancient animal, Tanyka amnicola, from fossils unearthed in a dry riverbed in Brazil. Dating back 275 million years, this stem tetrapod featured a highly unusual twisted jaw suggesting it ground plant material. The discovery sheds light on early Permian life in Gondwana.