Viral Snake Photo on Instagram Led to Discovery of Previously Unknown Species From Himalayas

A research team from India found a previously undiscovered species of kukri snake after they were fascinated by a picture posted on Instagram. 

(Photo : Diego Madrigal)

How an Instagram Photo Contibuted to the Discovery

Virendar K. Bhardwaj, a master student at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, was stuck at home in Chamba due to the COVID-19 lockdown and began exploring his lawn, documenting everything he saw and publishing the photos online.

His Instagram account became busy with the lives of the snakes, lizards, frogs, and insects he came across.

One of the photographs, a picture of a kukri snake, appeared on Zeeshan A. Mirza's feed (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore) and drew his attention right away. He decided to contact Virendar and learn more about the sighting after speaking with Harshil Patel (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat).

Virendar came across the snake on a muddy road on a summer evening, and it belonged the category of snake known as Kukri snakes, so called because of its curved fangs, which resemble the Nepali dagger "Kukri."

The specimen shot by Virendar resembled the Common Kukri snake (Oligodon arnensis) at first glance, according to Phys.org.

However, a herpetologist could see several distinguishing characteristics that raised doubts about its authenticity.

Virendar posted the shot on June 5, 2020, and by the end of the month, he'd scoured the region extensively and discovered two individuals which is enough to continue with their identification. The COVID-19 epidemic, on the other hand, hindered research since laboratories and natural history museums remained closed.

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Researchers Studied the Snakes' DNA 

Following the reopening of laboratories, the researchers examined the specimens' DNA and discovered that they belonged to a species distinct from Common Kukri snake.

The snakes' morphological traits were then compared to data from literature and museums, and micro computed tomography scans were utilized to better analyze their morphology. Finally, the researchers were able to determine that the snakes belonged to a species that had previously been unknown to science.

The finding was published in the worldwide peer-reviewed journal Evolutionary Systematics in a research study. Oligodon churahensis is the name given to the new species, which is named after the Churah Valley in Himachal Pradesh, where it was found.

Undiscovered Species of Snake

"It is quite interesting to see how an image on Instagram led to the discovery of such a pretty snake that, until very recently, remained hidden to the world," Zeeshan A. Mirza commented.

What's more intriguing is that your own garden may include species that have yet to be discovered. People have recently been keen to go to isolated biodiversity hotspots in search of new or uncommon species, yet looking in one's own backyard may lead to the discovery of a new species.

In comparison to other biodiversity hotspots, the Western Himalayas are still somewhat unexplored, particularly in terms of herpetological richness, Mirza continues, but they house unique reptile species that researchers have only just begun to unravel.

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