A team of researchers led by Dr. Graham Reynolds from the University of North Carolina Asheville has discovered a new species of non-venomous boid snake on the Conception Island Bank, Bahamas.

Dr. Reynolds and his colleagues named this new species Chilabothrus argentums and gave it the common name Conception Bank silver boa.

Research describing the new snake is published in the May 2016 issue of the journal Breviora.

“This study represents the first new in situ discovery of a West Indian Boa species in 73 years,” the scientists said.

“It has been at least 58 years since the in situ discovery of new populations of taxonomically distinct boas in the region, the last being the report in 1957 of boas on Margaret Cay, Ragged Islands, Bahamas.”

The Conception Bank silver boa averages about 37 to 43 inches (0.95 – 1.1 m) in length from the tip of its snout to the urogenital vent. The tail is about 8 inches (20 cm) long.

It has unique color among Bahamian boa species. The upper (or dorsal) surface of the body is silver gray to very light tan, occasionally with a very faint gray dorsal stripe extending the length of the spine with jagged edges and occasional interruption. The lower (ventral) surface is pure cream white with no markings or other coloration.

This snake is considered critically endangered and is one of the most endangered boa species globally.

“Worldwide, new species of frogs and lizards are being discovered and described with some regularity. New species of snakes, however, are much rarer,” said Dr. Robert Henderson from the Milwaukee Museum of Natural History, one of the world’s experts on boas.

“Reynolds et al. have not only discovered and described a new species of snake, but even more remarkable, a new species of boa. That’s rare, exciting, and newsworthy,” he said.

“The beautiful silver boa, already possibly critically endangered, reminds us that important discoveries are still waiting to be made, and it provides the people of the Bahamas another reason to be proud of the natural wonders of their island nation.”

“We found this species on its way to extinction, and now we have the opportunity to intervene on their behalf so that doesn’t happen,” Dr. Reynolds added.

According to the scientists, the description of this new snake brings the total number of West Indian boa species to 12.

_____

R. Graham Reynolds et al. 2016. Discovery of a Remarkable New Boa from the Conception Island Bank, Bahamas. Breviora 549: 1-19; doi: 10.3099/brvo-549-00-1-19.1