The mollusk-eating reptile is found in Xueshan—the second highest mountain in Taiwan at 3,886 meters above sea level—and named after the indigenous Atayal tribe inhabiting the region. The findings were published online in Sweden-based animal systematics journal Zoological Scripta.
Lin Si-min, team leader and a professor with NTNU Department of Life Science, said previously only the Pareas formosanus was recognized as a valid pareatid species endemic to Taiwan. “The new species, however, is characterized by its yellow iris, elongated lower jaw and weakly keeled dorsal scales.
“While the former favors slugs for food, the latter has a particular fondness for snails, resulting in the evolution of an asymmetric tooth arrangement optimized for extracting meat from right-handed shells.”
The nonvenomous species was first identified by NTNU graduate and Lin protege You Chung-wei in 2006. After years of research and exhaustive DNA comparisons, P. atayal was finally confirmed as a distinct clade.
“You’s discovery was truly remarkable,” Lin said, “as the last endemic snake species—Amphiesma miyajimae and Achalinus niger—were reported by Japanese scholar Moichiro Maki 84 years ago.”
Lin expects the breakthrough to spur interest in Taiwan’s biodiversity and encourage more young researchers to dedicate themselves to this largely unexplored field. (YHC-JSM)
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