Scientists have discovered a new species of venomous snake - a striking green-and-black reptile living in the most remote regions of Costa Rica - that went unrecognised for over 100 years.
The newly discovered Talamancan Palm-Pitvipers are small to medium sized pitvipers that are relatively slender. They are found in trees where their green and black pattern provides excellent camouflage.
A large snake might reach about 30 inches, but most are less than 24 inches. Scientists believe their habitat to include only 100 km area in the north of the Talamancan Cordillera of Costa Rica.
The green-and-black coloring of Talamancan Palm-Pitviper is a characteristic it shares with its close relative the Black-Speckled Palm-Pitviper.
In fact, these two species look so similar that the Talamancan Palm-Pitviper went unrecognized for more than 100 years. It is a case of cryptic speciation, where two species look almost identical, but are genetically different.
"It shows some of the complexities we deal with when cataloging biodiversity and underscores the importance of maintaining natural-history collections," said Christopher Parkinson, professor at the University of Central Florida, who led the team that made the discovery.
The team first discovered evidence of the new species in 2001 during a genetic analysis of the palm-pitviper clade.
The researchers noticed some unusual genetic differences among the snakes they were studying. They began questioning if they could have a distinct new species on their hands.
However, the snakes live at high elevations and are rare even in their natural habitat, making it difficult to find the samples needed for thorough comparisons.
Researchers turned to several museums to generate the morphological data used in the project. These institutions house natural-history collections containing thousands of reptile specimens from decades of research.
During the past 15 years, the team also amassed tissue samples from additional specimens to compare the DNA of the potentially new snake species to the DNA from other snakes in Central America. Their findings concluded that the snake was indeed a new species.
Although many parts of Costa Rica are well explored and the nation has invested in documenting its biodiversity, new species continue to be discovered.
"This discovery highlights the necessity for strong conservation initiatives. There's no telling what other species are yet to be found and how they might benefit mankind," Parkinson said.
Many undisturbed areas around the world are being developed before scientists get a chance to document their flora and fauna.
The findings were published in the journal Zootaxa.
