Snake of the Tsingy

Hey, did anybody see a diamond-back, cat-eyed snake gray as limestone stealing across the shadows of the tsingy at Ankarana? You could have been one of the first people to describe it! Madagascarophis lolo, meaning ghost snake, was just confirmed to be a species new to science in September 2016. It was spotted in 2014, when its discoverers were marching determinedly to Ankarana National Park, all the way from their field site 17 km away, in the height of the rainy season, in the depth of the muds. They knew the dismal conditions would bring out an array of snakes and other amphibians, but they had no idea they would find an entirely new species, especially of the cat-eyed family, whose members are generally well-described. However, they concluded the ghost snake was indeed new - after painstakingly counting all of the scales on its body, enumerating how many rimmed its eyes, and how many lined its lips, and comparing three genetic markers with those of its nearest kin - 100 km north. See, you never know what good things you’ll stumble across, traipsing through field and forest in pouring rains. J

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160902142207.htm

(Emma)