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Scientists have discovered a new species of snake at a nature reserve in China.
The reptiles have long bodies with reddish yellow eyes and strictly feed on snails and slugs, Knewz.com has learned.
Researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology found three unfamiliar female snakes in the southern Yunnan Province and determined they belonged to a yet unidentified species.
They named the new creature the "Guanyinshan slug-eating snake," and gave it the scientific name "Pareas guanyinshanensis," describing the breakthrough in a study published in the journal Animals on Saturday, January 27.
The longest of the three snakes analyzed for the study was about 1.8 feet long, the researchers said. They have elongated, yellowish red bodies with wide black stripes, while their bellies are pinkish yellow "with many small black spots."
Their darker heads feature wide, blunt snouts and "reddish yellow" eyes with black pupils. However, some photos in the study show the animals after they had been preserved, which the researchers said caused their eyes to turn grayish black with gray pupils.
The new species belongs to a group called Pareas, which only feed on snails or slugs.
"This special habit also gives them a significant advantage in the niche, so that they occupied a vast area from Sundaland to northeastern India and southern China and evolved into a large number of different species," the study said.
The research team collected the snakes by hand while studying another type of Pareas called Hampton's slug-eating snake — but they soon realized the individuals they found were not Hampton's.
"All specimens of the new species were found on small branches or on the ground beside a stream at night, with forest and farmland nearby," the study said.
The new species belongs to a group called Pareas, which only feed on snails or slugs.
"This special habit also gives them a significant advantage in the niche, so that they occupied a vast area from Sundaland to northeastern India and southern China and evolved into a large number of different species," the study said.
The research team collected the snakes by hand while studying another type of Pareas called Hampton's slug-eating snake — but they soon realized the individuals they found were not Hampton's.
"All specimens of the new species were found on small branches or on the ground beside a stream at night, with forest and farmland nearby," the study said.
DNA was extracted from their liver tissue and the snakes were found to be most closely related genetically to the Hampton's slug-eating snake, however, there were significant differences.
The study said "a combination of morphological characteristics," like distinct eye and scale features, separate the new reptiles from their relatives.
The newfound snakes bring the number of Pareas species to 31, and 25 of these are found in China, according to the study.
The species was named guanyinshanensis after the GuanyinshanProvincial Nature Reserve where it was found.
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