After treks into the mountains of Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia with the Khamai Foundation, an Ecuadorian biodiversity safety organization, Liberty University Professor of Biology Dr. Kyle Harris aided within the publishing of two papers designating and additional defining newly found snake species in elements of Central and South America.
The discoveries of Tudor’s Coffee Snake (Ninia guytudori) and a brand new classification for variations of the venomous Eyelash Pitviper (of which Harris helped discover two of six species) had been printed in “Evolutionary Systematics,” a global, peer-reviewed, life science journal dedicated to whole-organism biology.
Harris’ involvement, each within the journeys and the publishing course of, was supported by Liberty’s Office of Sponsored Programs & Research.
The Khamai Foundation’s effort to establish and describe these snakes has been within the works for roughly a decade. Harris joined the mission after a 2021 journey he led with Liberty college students to Ecuador, the place he met members of Khamai who had been working with one other conservation organization, Tropical Herping.
Harris was invited to affix Khamai in Panama in Fall 2022 to search for totally different variations of the eyelash pitvipers, and so they situated two on the time: the Blotched Eyelash Pitviper (Bothriechis supraciliaris) and Central American Eyelash Pitviper (Bothriechis nigroadspersus). They later traveled to Columbia in Spring 2023 to seek for extra, however they got here home empty handed.
Eyelash pitvipers are outlined primarily by their enlarged, spiky scales above their eyes that resemble eyelashes. They are additionally identified to be polychromatic, that means they’ve notable variations in coloration regardless of being the identical species, and these variations may be seen in shut proximity to one another. With the exception of Bothriechis supraciliaris, the entire different subsets within the paper are underneath Bothriechis schlegelii, thought of a broadly distributed species exhibiting outstanding variation in coloration, scale counts, and form of the supraciliary scales abobe the eyes.
As for the espresso snake, Harris mentioned his position was principally serving to to get the work printed.
These discoveries mark the primary time Harris has participated in a species discovery, and he mentioned he’s wanting ahead to extra by means of his reference to the Khamai Foundation.
“Being even just a small part of it has been thrilling,” Harris mentioned. “It’s a special opportunity for any biologist to be able to help collaborate with others in describing something that’s new. That whole process, looking back, I’m sort of in awe.”
After serving to to seek for specimens and produce the ultimate manuscripts to publication for each papers, Harris mentioned he was honored to see the information printed.
“One of the cool things about these two papers is that there is so much yet to be unraveled and described in the created order. The diversity is out there for us to go and try to discover and describe. There’s been a lot of great fruit from the partnership, and it’s exciting to think about what can happen in the future.”
Harris has taught varied biology programs residentially at Liberty University’s School of Health Sciences since 2014. In addition to herpetology (the zoological research of reptiles and amphibians), his present analysis pursuits contain investigating the ecology of crayfish in native freshwater environments. He is a member of the Ecological Society of America, Virginia Academy of Science, Virginia Herpetological Society, and Virginia Natural History Society.
“We are proud of the work that Dr. Harris is doing – work that has led to the discovery of new species and is impacting our understanding of the biodiversity of God’s creation; I am grateful for his contributions,” mentioned School of Health Sciences Dean Dr. Heidi DiFrancesca. “Research is an integral component of the academic experience, both for our faculty and students, and Dr. Harris skillfully and dynamically combines teaching and research while mentoring students in his conservation and ecological research program. As we continue to pursue research within the School of Health Sciences, Dr. Harris’ work will continue to be important in our pursuit. I am excited to watch where his research leads.”
Tudor’s Coffee Snake (Ninia guytudori)
Native to the cloud forests of northwestern Ecuador, the Tudor’s Coffee Snake reaches about 1 foot in size and has a “uniformly black” coloring with a white “collar” round its neck (Evolutionary Systematics). This white band additionally connects to the snake’s decrease lip, giving it the looks of a bridle. Like different espresso snakes, the Tudor’s Coffee Snake usually inhabits espresso plantations, particularly in areas the place its cloud forest habitat has been destroyed. Researchers discovered these snakes transferring alongside the forest ground at evening and “hidden under rotten logs” throughout daytime. The title “guytudori” is in recognition of Guy Tudor, a naturalist and scientific illustrator with a deep fondness for birds and all animals who had an impression on the conservation of South America’s birds.
Central American Eyelash Pitviper (Bothriechis nigroadspersus)
Bothriechis nigroadspersus is an arboreal snake — that means it lives in bushes — that inhabits evergreen lowland/foothill forests, plantations, and rural gardens (Evolutionary Systematics). The title “nigroadspersus” comes from the Latin phrases “nigrum” (that means “black”) and adspersus (that means “sprinkled”), referring to the minute black specks scattered all through its higher physique. It differs from the Bothriechis supraciliaris by having a better variety of ventral scales, no broad blotches or dorsal bands, and a distinct sample on the dorsal facet of the snout.
Blotched Eyelash Pitviper (Bothriechis supraciliaris)
Bothriechis supraciliaris can also be an arboreal snake, and it inhabits evergreen mountain forests, cloud forests, clearings with espresso and banana plantations, edges of farm fields, and rural gardens (Evolutionary Systematics). It is thought to be discovered alongside the Pacific slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain vary in southwestern Costa Rica and western Panama. Its title comes from the Latin phrases “supra” (that means “above”) and cilium (that means “eyelash”), referring to the distinguished spinelike scales above the attention.
