Snake News - SciTechDaily

Mystery Solved: Scientists Discover Unique Evolutionary Branch of Snakes

University of Helsinki — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 04:13:39 +0000

Scientists have resolved the evolutionary history of the mock viper, placing it in a unique new snake family, Psammodynastidae, which aids in understanding and conserving this distinct species. An international team, spearheaded by researchers from the University of Helsinki, has unraveled the evolutionary history of the mock viper. This snake, which only mildly venomous and [...]

34-Million-Year-Old Snake Discovered in Wyoming Changes Our Understanding of Evolution

University of Alberta — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 21:34:14 +0000

Ancient snakes have been unearthed, shedding light on the continent’s slithering past. A newly discovered fossil snake species in Wyoming is transforming our understanding of snake evolution. Unearthed from a burrow where four well-preserved specimens were found intertwined, this species, named Hibernophis breithaupti, lived in North America 34 million years ago. This discovery provides valuable [...]

Toxic Insights: Snake Venom Research Breakthrough Using 3D Model of Imitation Blood Vessels

Naturalis Biodiversity Center — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 09:00:50 +0000

A breakthrough in snake venom research uses 3D models to simulate human blood vessel response, improving treatment strategies and reducing animal testing. A 3D model of imitation blood vessels will make it possible to see exactly how snake venom attacks blood vessels, without having to use laboratory animals. This new research model, called an organ-on-a-chip, [...]

Lifesaving Discovery – First Effective Treatment Found for Spitting Cobra Snakebite

Lancaster University — Fri, 17 May 2024 20:49:32 +0000

Scientists have developed a pioneering treatment for snakebites that effectively prevents the severe tissue damage inflicted by the venom of African spitting cobras. Spitting cobra venom is incredibly potent and causes dermonecrosis, which presents as rapid destruction of skin, muscle, and bone around the site of the snakebite, and can lead to permanent injuries and [...]

49 Feet Long – Ancient Giant Snake Discovered in India

Scientific Reports — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 13:20:41 +0000

New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that a recently identified ancient snake species, named Vasuki Indicus, may have been among the largest snakes ever. This species, which existed approximately 47 million years ago in Gujarat, India, reached lengths of 11 to 15 meters (36 – 49 feet). Belonging to the now-extinct madtsoiidae family, Vasuki [...]

Watch: The First Documented Coral Snake Food Heist in the Wild

Pensoft Publishers — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 16:11:14 +0000

Two red-tailed coral snakes were seen engaging in a battle over a caecilian, marking the first recorded instance of kleptoparasitism in the wild among the Elapidae family. Kleptoparasitism, or food theft, is a well-documented behavior in many animal species but is seldom reported among snakes in natural habitats. The observation, detailed in a recent study [...]

“An Astounding 20 Feet Long”– Scientists Discover New Species of Giant Snake in the Remote Amazon

University of Queensland — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:52:08 +0000

A team of scientists on location with a film crew in the remote Amazon has uncovered a previously undocumented species of giant anaconda. Professor Bryan Fry from The University of Queensland led a team which captured and studied several specimens of the newly named northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima), located in the Bameno region of [...]

Faster and Better: How a Group of Scaly, Legless Lizards Hit the Evolutionary Jackpot

University of Michigan — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 06:12:27 +0000

More than 100 million years ago, the ancestors of the first snakes were small lizards that lived alongside other small, nondescript lizards in the shadow of the dinosaurs. Then, in a burst of innovation in form and function, the ancestors of snakes evolved legless bodies that could slither across the ground, highly sophisticated chemical detection [...]

Five Dazzling New Species of Eyelash Vipers Discovered in South America

Pensoft Publishers — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:50:35 +0000

Scientists have identified five new eyelash viper species in Colombia and Ecuador with unique appearances. A group of scientists led by researchers of Khamai Foundation discovered five dazzling new species of eyelash vipers in the jungles and cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador. This groundbreaking discovery was made official in a study published in the [...]

Scientists Discover New Species of Coffee Snake in Ecuador’s Cloud Forests

Pensoft Publishers — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 02:18:35 +0000

Researchers from Khamai Foundation and Liberty University have identified a new species of coffee snake, endemic to the cloud forests in northwestern Ecuador. Biologist Alejandro Arteaga first found the snake in Ecuador’s Pichincha province, while looking for animals to include in a book on the Reptiles of Ecuador. “This is species number 30 that I [...]

“Baffling” New Species of Snake Discovered in Myanmar

Pensoft Publishers — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 13:56:32 +0000

Finding and describing new species can be a tricky endeavor. Scientists typically look for distinctive characters that can differentiate one species from another. However, variation is a continuum that is not always easy to quantify. At one extreme, multiple species can look alike even though they are different species—these are known as cryptic species. At [...]

When the Cure Becomes the Killer: The Surprising Turn of Antibodies in Snake Venom Research

Technical University of Denmark — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 23:37:18 +0000

A promising antibody failed testing. This is good news for developing a broad-spectrum antidote against the world’s most dangerous snake venoms. What makes a soldier switch sides? That is a really good question. Especially when the soldier is an antibody that is supposed to defend the body against one of the world’s most dangerous snake [...]

Sea Snakes See in Technicolor: A Reversal of Ancestral Vision Loss

Oxford University Press USA — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 04:13:00 +0000

A new study reveals that the annulated sea snake, a venomous snake species indigenous to the oceans of Australia and Asia, has evolved to perceive an extended color range. A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the annulated sea snake, a species of venomous snake found in [...]

Sss-eeing in Color: The Remarkable Vision Evolution of Sea Snakes

University of Adelaide — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:51:45 +0000

Scientists have discovered that sea snakes have enhanced their color vision due to living in vibrant marine environments. An international team of scientists examining the genetic history of sea snakes has found that the species has enhanced their color vision in response to living in brighter and more colorful marine environments. “Our research has found [...]

Scientists Discover the Snake Clitoris

University of Adelaide — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:07:23 +0000

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Adelaide has provided the first anatomical description of the female snake clitoris, in a first-of-its-kind study. An international team of researchers, led by the University of Adelaide has provided the first anatomical description of the female snake clitoris, in a first-of-its-kind study. PhD Candidate Megan [...]

North America’s Rarest Snake Found Dead

Florida Museum of Natural History — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 22:21:49 +0000

The snake was recently spotted for the first time in four years. After a four-year absence, the rarest snake in North America, the Tantilla oolitica (rim rock crowned snake), was recently discovered at a park in the Florida Keys. The snake encounter was more of a source of astonishing awe than anything else, despite the [...]

Striking New Species of Snake Discovered in Paraguay – Previously Unknown to Science

Pensoft Publishers — Sat, 21 May 2022 21:38:21 +0000

A magnificent non-venomous snake, previously unknown to science, was discovered in Paraguay and described by researchers from the Paraguayan NGO Para La Tierra in collaboration with Guyra Paraguay and the Instituto de Investigación Biológica del Paraguay. The new snake species belongs to the genus Phalotris, which features 15 semi-subterranean species distributed in central South America. [...]

How Boas Save Themselves From Suffocating When Squeezing Their Prey to Death

The Company of Biologists — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 04:16:19 +0000

Boa constrictors breathe with different sections of rib cage when constricting prey and digesting dinner. The later stages of pregnancy can make life difficult as the fetus presses against the diaphragm making it hard to breathe. But snakes that constrict their victims before swallowing them whole have to overcome the challenges of breathing while their [...]

Common Origin: Venoms in Snakes and Salivary Protein in Mammals Evolved From the Same Ancestral Gene

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 01:00:25 +0000

A new study has found that a class of toxins found in snake and mammalian venom evolved from the same ancestral gene. A new study has found that venoms found in snakes and mammals share a common origin Researchers traced the origin of a class of toxins, called kallikrein serine proteases, to a salivary protein [...]

Primates vs Cobras: How Our Last Common Ancestor Built Venom Resistance After Long Evolutionary Arms Race

University of Queensland — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 19:15:54 +0000

The last common ancestor of chimps, gorillas, and humans developed an increased resistance toward cobra venom, according to University of Queensland-led research. Scientists used animal-free testing techniques to show that African and Asian primates evolved resistance toward the venoms of large, daytime-active cobras and discovered that our last common ancestor with chimps and gorillas evolved [...]

A Fossil of a Bizarre Snake-Like Lizard Has Generated Controversy Beyond Its Identity

Michael Caldwell and Tiago Rodrigues Simoes — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 15:45:40 +0000

More than 120 million years ago in what is now modern Brazil, an ancient waterway was filled with all manner of strange creatures. These included dinosaurs, pterosaurs, sharks, bony fishes, a dizzying array of insects, strange plants and an oddly long and small lizard: Tetrapodophis amplectus. In 2015, the journal Science published a paper claiming [...]

Snakes Diversified Explosively After the Dinosaurs Were Wiped Out 66 Million Years Ago

PLOS — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 20:39:19 +0000

Sudden burst of evolution 66 million years ago expanded snake diets and put vertebrates on the menu. The remarkable diversification of mammals and birds after the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago is well known; but what happened to the snakes? According to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by [...]

Mating Season Mishaps? Unprovoked Attacks by Venomous Olive Sea Snakes on Scuba Divers

Macquarie University — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 01:10:03 +0000

Attacks by venomous Olive sea snakes on scuba divers may be misdirected courtship behaviors, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Scuba divers frequently report unprovoked attacks by sea snakes, which can involve chasing and biting. The reasons for these attacks have been unclear, but the new research suggests the sea snakes may be [...]

Snakes Diversified Explosively After Mass Extinction Where Dinosaurs Were Wiped Out

University of Michigan — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 11:42:00 +0000

Modern snakes evolved from ancestors that lived side by side with the dinosaurs and that likely fed mainly on insects and lizards. Then a miles-wide asteroid wiped out nearly all the dinosaurs and roughly three-quarters of the planet’s plant and animal species 66 million years ago, setting the stage for the spectacular diversification of mammals [...]