Researchers find ancient snake species in Western Ghats

28 Jul 2019

Researchers find ancient snake species in Western Ghats

Researchers find ancient snake species in Western GhatsResearchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru discovered an ancient snake species in the Western Ghats of India. They discovered it while studying and classifying snakes in the region.

The snake species is a type of vine snake. It has been named Proahaetulla Antiqua.
 	This species is thought to have evolved around 26 million years ago during the mid-Oligocene period. The Oligocene is a geological period which existed between 33.9 million to 23 million years ago.
 	The team has described the unique features of this snake in a study published in the journal PLOS ONE.  The study is in collaboration with researchers from Chennai Snake Park, Chennai and Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.

Researchers confirmed their finding by comparing various evidence such as teeth, genes, its structure and bone analysis.

The discovery helps us know more about the evolution of vine snakes. It also helps us understand the history of the Western Ghats, which is older than the Himalayas.

Credit: TCP

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru discovered an ancient snake species in the Western Ghats of India. They discovered it while studying […]

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