Shocking discovery: A new species of snake that has been kept in captivity for 20 years

Back in the 1980s, a biologist visited Ethiopia and discovered an olive-colored snake. He kept it as a specimen when it did not survive. Decades later, it was discovered that the four-foot long snake was an entirely new species!

Boaedon broadleyi: Broadley’s African house snake

Scientists Jakob Hallermann and Oliver Hawlitschek made the discovery of this new species, which they named Boaedon broadleyi, or Broadley’s African house snake. The name honors the late Donald George Broadley, a British herpetologist and emeritus curator of the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, who dedicated his life’s work to African reptiles and house snakes.

Hallermann and Hawlitschek wanted to better understand a group of African house snakes which are often misidentified due to their shared physical traits. Researchers collected DNA samples from museum specimens across several countries as well as newly caught snakes, which revealed genetic distinctions among Ethiopian specimens. That’s when they realized they’d discovered a new species.

According to Hallermann and Hawlitschek‘s study published in the peer-reviewed journal “Zootaxa”, Broadley’s African house snake can reach over four feet in length, have olive green bodies, “creamy” underbellies, and “two short white stripes on the sides of the head”. They can live in a variety of habitats, including both woodlands and grasslands, as well as cultivated areas near human settlements, and from elevations of around 2,400 to 9,800 feet. Hallermann says they mainly eat rodents, but will pretty much eat anything they can catch.

It is now known that Broadley’s African house snake is widespread throughout Ethiopia and could exist in neighboring regions like Somaliland as well. In addition to Boaedon broadley, researchers also identified a second new species of house snakes in Somaliland. These discoveries lead scientists to believe that there could be even more undiscovered species in East Africa.

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