Madagascar Snake Finally Gets Identity
March 2010
Long unknown to science, a beautiful Malagasy snake – the first published picture of which appeared in the original edition of Bradt's Madagascar Wildlife in 1996 – has finally been given an identity.
The striking but elusive red, black and yellow snake from northeast Madagascar was known only from a few photos snapped by three or four tourists lucky enough to chance upon one during visits to the Masoala region. For years it evaded scientists, who – in the absence of a study specimen – could not even be sure what genus it belonged to.
The original edition of Bradt's Madagascar Wildlife featured the first known photo of the snake, taken by Gavin Thomson. Even when the second edition went to press in 2001, it bore the caption 'an undescribed species'.
But finally researchers have tracked it down and given it a name. In a paper entitled A rhapsody of colours from Madagascar just published in the journal Salamandra, an international team of six scientists describe the new species and announce that it is to be called Liophidium pattoni in honour of Jim Patton, a zoologist with a special interest in the mammals of Madagascar.
The distinctive snake, which is non-aggressive and not thought to be poisonous, is one of Madagascar's most colourful reptiles. That it has remained undescribed until now just goes to show how much still remains unexplored in the world of Malagasy wildlife. This discovery is particularly important, as this 'new' snake looks set to become a flagship species for Makira, an incredible, fragile and increasingly threatened rainforest of northeastern Madagascar which is in the throes of being protected and opened up for ecotourism.