Harry Potter fans can rejoice as the character Salazar Slytherin is officially a real word name for a recently discovered species. A new species of the Viper snake has been discovered in the mountains of northeast India. The bright green Viper has been named Trimeresurus salazar but it’s casual name has been shortened to Salazar’s pit viper.
The venomous snake is the newest addition to the Trimeresurus, which already includes 48 other species of pit viper. These vipers are all home to east and southeast Asia. Researchers say it is hard to determine how many species of pit viper there actually are in the wild as many of them look similar in the field. Scientists must do genetic studies in the lab to determine the difference between the species.
Naturalist Zeeshan Mirza and along with his colleagues discovered the Salazar’s pit viper on a recent exposition in Arunachal Pradesh, one of India’s northeastern states. The pit viper has been the second species discovered on Mirza’s expedition so far.
“Future dedicated surveys conducted across northeastern India will help document biodiversity, which is under threat from numerous development activities that include road widening, agriculture, and hydro-electric projects,” Mirza said in a press release sent to Forbes Magazine.
