Indian herpetologists discover new viper species in Arunachal Pradesh

Indian herpetologists have discovered a new species of viper family in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh and named it after Salazar Slytherin, a fictional character in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

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Key-Points

The viper called Trimeresurus Salazar. It has a unique orange to reddish stripe present on the head and body in males.

The pit vipers belong to the genus Trimeresurus and are distributed widely across East and South-East Asia.

This is the second species discovered within the course of the expedition to Arunachal Pradesh, which reflects the poor nature of biodiversity documentation across North-East India.

Dedicated surveys in the future conducted across north-eastern India will help document biodiversity, which is under threat from numerous development activities that include road widening, agriculture, and hydro-electric projects.