A NEW ODISSIAN ON THE MOVE
Order : Squamata
Suborder : Serpentes
Family : Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus : Lycodon
Species : Lycodon odishii
A new species of snake, found by a group of herpetologists and snake lovers in Berhampur, in Ganjam district of Odisha, has been named Lycodon odishii, after the name of the state itself. This makes Lycodon odishii the latest addition to the list of 297 species of snakes found in India.
For nearly over two hundred years, scientists from across the world were identifying Lycodon odishii as juveniles of Lycodon jara. Several attempts to differentiate the snake were made in the past, but proved unsuccessful due to lack of proper documentation. Only the present work could identify it to be a new species.
The green-coloured snake has a bright white collar on its neck and twin spots on each scale except the collar. The new species, the common name of which is Subhendu's wolf snake, has several similarities with Lycodon jara. Scientists used to believe that the juvenile Jara has a collar and as it grows old, the collar disappears.
The new finding is published in the Russian Journal of Herpetology. The research paper is authored by Subhendu Mallik, who is also secretary of Snake Helpline, a voluntary organization working for the rescue and rehabilitation of snakes.
News Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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