A team of scientists has discovered, in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, a new species of dwarf boa constrictor, which is considered a “relic” of the animal world because it has traces of a pelvis.
The environment ministry said Wednesday that the snake has been named Tropidophis cacuangoae “in honor of Ecuadorean activist Dolores Cacuango,” a pioneer in the fight for indigenous rights and founder of the first bilingual schools.
Up to 20 cm long and with colors and patterns very similar to those of the traditional boa constrictor, the two specimens of Tropidophis cacuangoae used in the study were found in the Colonso Chalupas National Reserve, in Napo Province, and in the Sumac Kosai Special Reserve, in Pastaza.
These snakes “are relics of time, they are ancient animals. It is clear that finding such an animal or passing through it is a privilege,” Ecuadorian researcher Mario Yanez of the National Institute of Biological Diversity (INABIU) told AFP.
The new species has “a vestigial pelvis, characteristic of primitive snakes, which is evidence of limb retraction in scaly reptiles millions of years ago, a product of the climatic stresses of the Quaternary period,” Yanez notes, showing a kind of spine that protrudes from the snake’s body.
Ecuadorian Mauricio Ortega, North American Alexander Bentley, German Claudia Koch, and Brazilian Omar Machado Entiaospe Neto also participated in the research, which lasted four years. The results were published at the end of December in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment added that the discovery brought the number of species in the genus Tropidophis to six, which are only found in South America.
By describing the new species, “it is possible to manage resources to conserve habitat,” which is “another argument in favor of preserving and increasing protected areas in Ecuador,” Yanez said.
The new species of dwarf boa constrictor is endemic to Ecuador and its habitat is in the highland forests, which are rainy, wet and misty regions.
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