The new species of snake belongs to the genus Phalotris, which includes 15 semi-subterranean species common in
Jean-Paul Brouard, one of the researchers, accidentallycame across an individual while digging a hole at Rancho Laguna Blanca in 2014. Together with colleagues Paul Smith and Pierre Cacciali, the scientist described the discovery in the scientific journal Zoosystematics and Evolution. The authors named it Phalotris shawnella.
Credit: Jean-Paul Brouart
The new snake Phalotris is differentunusual color: it can be easily distinguished from other related species of this genus by its red head combined with a yellow collar, black lateral stripe and orange ventral scales with irregular black spots.
The extreme rarity of this species prompted the authorsconsider it as "endangered" according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation categories. The snake can only be found in the famous tourist destination Laguna Blanca, an area declared an important area for the conservation of amphibians and reptiles.
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