New snake species found in Arunachal

News:Recently,researchers from Arunachal Pradesh have discovered a new species of non-venomous burrowing snake named Trachischium apteii.

Facts:

About the new species:

• The species Trachischium apteii was found under fallen logs inside a thickly forested area of the Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.
• It belongs to a group of fossorial snakes that live mostly underground, and surface mainly during or after a heavy monsoon shower.
• The snake is distinguished by smooth and dorsal scales arranged in 15 rows throughout the body.
• The dorsal colour of the holotype is dark brown to black with faint dorsal longitudinal lines.

Additional information:

About Trachischium species:

• Trachischium species are commonly called slender snakes.
• They are currently known by seven species that are distributed across the Himalayas, the Indo-Burma and Indo-China regions.