scientist have discovered not one but four new species of serpent . What is perhaps even more sinful is that they ’ve been studying the reptilian for years and had absolutely no idea .
The late herpetologist , Samuel McDowell , spent a big chunk of his calling studying the ground snake inPapua New Guineaduring the ' 70s . Four decades on and Sara Ruane , an adjunct professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at Rutgers - Newark ( where McDowell was a professor ) , has key out several of them as completely new coinage .
" When I started explore New Guinea snakes , his piece of work really skip to the head , " explained Ruane in astatement . " I do n’t think I ’ve in any way end his work , but it is a courteous law of continuation for certain and affirm some of the hypotheses he propose . "
The four newfangled species Ruane discovered are members ofthe Stegonotus genus , a group of nocturnal animal that run to be a brown , disastrous , or gray in vividness . This revelation brings the total number of snakes in the Stegonotus sept up to 14 , but Ruane surmise there are still more to incur .
The inquiry , now published in theJournal of Natural account , involved sequencing the DNA of five freestanding genes from 49 individuals and compare the data to the morphological information of preserve snake specimens , including some of the one McDowell examine .
" These snakes are likely major player in the New Guinean ecosystem , " tell Ruane , even if they ’re not as “ exciting ” as some of the other serpents lurking in New Guinea ’s undergrowth , such as the emerald - coloredGreen Tree Pythonand diamond - backedPacific Ground Boa .
" They live in pretty remote and to some extent badly explore areas . "
The separated island of New Guinea is one of the most understudied regions of the ball , yet it boasts some ofthe domain ’s most biologically diverseenvironments . It makes up just1 percentof the world ’s landmass but comprise close to 10 percent of its vertebrates , including the planet’slargest pigeonandsmallest parrot .
So far , only one of the new species has been named – theStegonotus derooijae . The serpent was named after Dutch animal scientist Petronella Johanna Nelly de Rooij ( 1886 - 1964 ) . De Rooij was a conservator at the Museum of Zoology at the University of Amsterdam but had to leave the city to realize her doctorate because of her sex .
fortuitously , the study of fauna is becoming more female - friendly . " Every yr when I go to conferences , I see more and more women , " read Ruane .
There is also the Leslie Townes Hope that there could be some medicinal benefit to the breakthrough .
" And , of course , there are always human - focused reasons to care , like the ontogeny of human drug that help curb medical issues , such as diabetes , made from Hydra and lounge lizard venoms , " said Ruane .
