‘Smooth’ ‘mud’ creature pregnant with 12 babies is caught in net. It’s a new species
A smooth-scaled creature pregnant with 12 babies slithered through a wetland in a forest in Vietnam — straight into a fishing net set by nearby residents.
Creatures from the net were eventually handed over to a group of scientists who were exploring the area in the Dak Glong District.
Among the catches were two mud snakes with unusual scale characteristics, according to a study published March 11 in the journal Vertebrate Zoology. A third snake with the same appearance was captured from a nearby rubber plantation.
After DNA analysis, researchers confirmed that the three creatures — two males and one female — actually belonged to a new species: Myrrophis dakkrongensis, or the Dak Krong mud snake.
Experts distinguished the snakes as a new species by their “medium” size, their “dark brown to black” scales, their “white or yellow to orange” stripe, their reproductive organs and their DNA.
The male snakes ranged in size from about 16 inches to 17 inches in total length while the female snake measured nearly 18 inches in total length, scientists said. They have “short” tails.
Researchers said the snakes’ scales are “smooth.” They have dark brown to black scales on their backs and sides, but their front side is “cream to yellowish” with three dark brown stripes. The snakes have a “distinct yellow to orange” stripe on their underside.
Photos show the species’ patterned ventral side.
Male specimens were further distinguished by their “short, forked” and spiny genitalia, known as their hemipenis, scientists said.
The female mud snake was pregnant, and she was carrying 12 “well-developed embryos,” according to researchers.
One of the male snakes was found in a rubber plantation at night during heavy rain, while the other male and the pregnant female were collected from a fishing net set in a forest wetland, experts said. The species is only known to be found in the Dak Glong District, Dak Nong Province.
The new species is named after the Dak Krong River system where it was discovered.
The Dak Glong District is in southeast Vietnam.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 1:44 PM with the headline "‘Smooth’ ‘mud’ creature pregnant with 12 babies is caught in net. It’s a new species."
