If you picture the habitats frequented by venomous snakes, it is tempting to conjure up a searing desert or humid rainforest. But some venomous snakes thrive in frigid, mountainous regions inhospitable to most reptiles 鈥� and two new venomous snake species that live on the Tibetan plateau have just been described.
The two new species are Asian pit vipers (Gloydius), a group of venomous snakes related to rattlesnakes and lanceheads. With about two dozen species found mostly in China and Russia, they are exceptionally adaptable, living in chilly forests, high mountains and deserts. Gloydius snakes are among the most northerly living pit vipers, says at Bangor University in the UK.
But, she says, 鈥渢he taxonomy of this group has long been rather confused, with few people agreeing on which species are valid鈥�.
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Malhotra and collaborators in China, Nepal and India analysed the DNA from 46 museum specimens covering the 20 known Asian pit viper species. The team compared genes and physical features to determine the vipers鈥� evolutionary relationships.
Doing so suggested the 20 species were actually 22. Some of the snakes were grey-brown with dark rings on their back, and were genetically distinct enough to justify placing them in a new species that the team named Gloydius lipipengi, the Nujiang pit viper. Other snakes with a bluish hue and zigzags on their backs were genetically distinct enough to be placed in a second new species that the team named Gloydius swild, the glacier pit viper. Both species were identified from museum specimens originally found in the eastern reaches of the Tibetan plateau.
The discovery of these hidden Gloydius species shows there is 鈥渁 clear need to better survey the Himalayas, where many surprises in biodiversity are still waiting鈥�, says at the University of Texas at Arlington, adding that the high-altitude region may be a centre of diversification for the vipers.
The G. swild specimens were found downhill of a glacier, and it is possible the rugged, ice-scoured landscape may encourage the physical isolation that can spur the evolution of new species.
鈥淢ountainous regions do create barriers for dispersal so it is very likely that the number of species in this region is partly a consequence of this,鈥� says Malhotra.
So little is currently known about the vipers that filling in knowledge gaps is crucial for protecting the newly recognised species in their challenging environment.
鈥淣aming new species is only the start,鈥� says Malhotra. 鈥淭here are only a few specimens known from these remote and difficult to access regions. We need to understand their distribution better, as well as their ecology, before we can start to address issues like conservation threats.鈥�
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