Aplmac Posted August 4, 2008 #1 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Scientist: World's tiniest snake found -in Barbados! U.S. scientist S. Blair Hedges found the snake under a rock in Barbados Snake is the smallest of the roughly 3,100 known snake species Genetic tests identified the snake as a new species, according to Hedges =============================== http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/08/03/tiny.snake.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- A U.S. scientist said Sunday he has discovered the globe's tiniest species of snake in the easternmost Caribbean island of Barbados with full-grown adults typically stretching less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. The snake is so small it can curl up on a U.S. quarter. S. Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State University whose research teams also have discovered the world's tiniest lizard in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog in Cuba, said the snake was found slithering beneath a rock near a patch of Barbadian forest. Hedges said the tiny-title-holding snake, which is so diminutive it can curl up on a U.S. quarter, is the smallest of the roughly 3,100 known snake species. It will be introduced to the scientific world in the journal "Zootaxa" on Monday. "New and interesting species are still being discovered on Caribbean islands, despite the very small amount of natural forests remaining," said Hedges, who christened the miniature brown snake "Leptotyphlops carlae" after his herpetologist wife, Carla Ann Hass. The Barbadian snake apparently eats termites and insect larvae, but nothing is yet known of its ecology and behavior. Genetic tests identified the snake as a new species, according to Hedges. It is not venomous. Zoologist Roy McDiarmid, curator of amphibians and reptiles at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, said he has seen a specimen of the diminutive creature. He saw no reason to argue with the assertion that it is the world's smallest snake. McDiarmid said the Barbados creature is a type of thread snake, also called worm snake, which are mostly found in the tropics. "We really know very little about these things," he said in a Sunday telephone interview from his Virginia home. Finding the globe's tiniest snake demonstrates the remarkable diversity of the ecologically delicate Caribbean. It also illustrates a fundamental ecological principle: Since Darwin's days, scientists have noticed that islands often are home to both oversized and miniaturized beasts. Hedges said the world's smallest bird species, the bee hummingbird, can be found in Cuba. The globe's second-smallest snake lives in Martinique. At the other end of the scale, one of the largest swallowtail butterflies lives in Jamaica. Scientists say islands often host odd-sized creatures because they're usually inhabited by a less diverse set of species than continents. So island beasts and insects often grow or shrink to fill ecological roles that otherwise would be filled by entirely different species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshabear Posted August 8, 2008 #2 Share Posted August 8, 2008 since i am NOT a snake fan, tiny is good for me!! :) Marsha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aplmac Posted August 9, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted August 9, 2008 since i am NOT a snake fan, tiny is good for me!! :) You have NO worries, mate! This tiny snake (looks like a worm, if ever found!) is found only in the highlands and only if you go seriously looking for it! Chances of your stumbling across the 4 inch 'monster' and being eaten alive by it:D are well under 1/10th of 1 percent. _________________________ I've lived here now for 56 years and have only ever seen two of them and that..only because I was living in his neighbourhood, in the highlands, at the time. You're safe. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragster13 Posted September 27, 2008 #4 Share Posted September 27, 2008 The big problem is by the time you discover it is eating on you, you will all ready be dead LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.