Date: January 19, 2019
Source: University of Texas at Arlington
Herpetologists
at The University of Texas at Arlington have described a previously unknown
species of snake that was discovered inside the stomach of another snake more
than four decades ago.
The new
snake has been named Cenaspis
aenigma, which translates from Latin as "mysterious dinner
snake." It is described in a recent paper in the Journal of
Herpetology titled "Caudals and Calyces: The Curious Case of a
Consumed Chiapan Colubroid." The paper was co-authored by Jonathan
Campbell, UTA professor of biology; Eric Smith, UTA associate professor of
biology; and Alexander Hall, who earned a UTA doctorate in quantitative biology
in 2016.
The
researchers' work identifies Cenaspis as not only a new species but
also an entirely new genus.
The
specimen was found in the stomach of a Central American coral snake -- a
species that has been known to eat smaller snakes -- by palm harvesters in the
southern Mexico state of Chiapas in 1976. The 10-inch long specimen was
preserved in a museum collection. Amazingly, a live specimen has never been
found in the ensuing 42 years.
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