According to the international science journal Comptes Rendus Biologies, researchers have discovered Trachischium apteii.-a new species of non-venomous burrowing snake in Arunachal Pradesh.
Features
- The snakes were found in the Tally Valley Wildlife Sanctuary near the town of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh. It was named after Deepak Apte, noted marine biologist and Director of the BNHS.
- The snakes were discovered by Harshal Bhonsle, Gaurang Gowande and Zeeshan Mirza .
- The newly discovered species belongs to a group of fossorial snakes that live mostly underground, and surface mainly during or after a heavy monsoon shower.
- Trachischium are commonly called slender snakes. Seven species are distributed across the Himalayas, and the Indo-Burma and Indo-China regions.
