A species of green pit viper snake discovered in India has been named after the character Salazar Slytherin from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.

The green venomous snake has been named Trimeresurus salazar after the Hogwarts house founder, but will be commonly known as Salazar's pit viper.

In the Harry Potter stories Salazar Slytherin was one of the four founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - he founded the Slytherin house.

Males of the Salazar pit viper species have a orange-reddish stripe running along their head and more teeth than other pit vipers.

Researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences and Bombay Natural History Society found the snake in Arunachal Pradesh in India.

Slytherin had the ability to talk to snakes - a rare skill called Parselmouth - and the symbol of his Hogwarts house was a serpent.

In the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a giant snake called the Basilisk terrorised Hogwarts students and was said to be owned by Slytherin.

The new snake is the latest in a long line of 'fantastic beasts' named after characters or objects in the Harry Potter series.

There is a sorting-hat spider and a crab called Harryplax severus.

The new Salazar's pit vipers - in the genus Trimeresurus - are charismatic venomous serpents, distributed widely across east and southeast Asia.

The species belonging to the genus are morphologically cryptic, which makes it difficult to distinguish them in the field,' according to author Zeeshan Mirza.

A morphologically cryptic refers to two or more creatures that appear to be the same but are actually different species.

'As a result, their real diversity could be underestimated,' Mirza said.

Arunachal Pradesh, where the new species was found, belongs to the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, according to the research team.

This is already the second species discovered during an expedition to Arunachal Pradesh, said Mirza, adding that it reflects badly on existing biodiversity documentation across north-eastern India.

"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", he said.

The findings were published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8244587/New-snake-species-named-Harry-Potter-character-Salazar-Slytherin.html

Meh. Deadly beauties

Let the party begins... Lala coming soon.

egoriboy:
Let the party begins... Lala coming soon.

can't be so sure as lalasticlala may not like this new one, lol

I dislike snakes

Seriously Venomous... !


Why did nairaland decide to post Trimeresurus salazar as closing post for the day .

I hope I don't have a nightmare.


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Good Evening.....
Reporting live from where Lalasticlala just welcomed a new baby to the family.
Mr Lala who's known for his love of snakes and every slithering bastards on the surface of the earth welcomes a new devilsh baby into his family today.
Please help welcome Lala's Salazar's Pit Viper

Snake that we've been seeing since the eighties back in Osogbo we used to call it Lallana or Ladinho

Abeg they dem go find the cure of convid 1 one 9,they would ve name it after buhari

.

Do re mi fa so lalasticlala

Just speechless....just don't like dx particular creature

Blood of Nebudcadenezzer

Lala and dem gang right now...

Oya

Food is here

nice,so there are many things we have not yet discovered

New Flavor of snake discovered. I know some people will love to taste new flavor

Harry Potter caught the Snitch!!!!


Gryffindor wins!!!!!!!

egoriboy:
Let the party begins... Lala coming soon.

Let...begin...

Abeg small small about this snake thing.. Na only me they sleep oo..

they did not name it after our own
Lala who has given much to pushing every snake thread to FP

Macsjebs:

can't be so sure as lalasticlala may not like this new one, lol

He loved it

;Dmmm

this is serpent

Lala pet

Ok na