Iconic limestone Tsingy rocks in Ankarana National Park in northern Madagascar where the ghost snake was discovered. Photo by Sarah Ruane, LSU

Last month it was Mexico, and this time it’s Madagascar – once again, a new snake species with a presumably localized distribution has been discovered in a little-explored area. The elusive and pale gray snake has likely evolved to camouflage against the rocks of the region, and was named Madagascarophis lolo (lolo meaning ghost in Malagasy) by researchers from the LSU Museum of Natural Science, the American Museum of Natural History and the Université de Mahajunga in Madagascar.

The ghost snake is part of a common group of snakes called Madagascarophis, or cat-eyed snakes, named for their vertical pupils, which is often found among snakes that are active in the evening or night. Many of the cat-eyed snakes are found in developed areas or degraded forests. However, the researchers found the ghost snake on the national park’s iconic pale grey limestone Tsingy rocks.

“None of the other snakes in Madagascarophis are as pale and none of them have this distinct pattern,” said Sara Ruane, post-doctoral researcher at the LSU Museum of Natural Science and lead author of the paper.

The researchers conducted genetic analyses and were surprised to find that the ghost snake’s next closest relative is a snake called Madagascarophis fuchsi, which was discovered at a site approximately 100 kilometers north of Ankarana several years ago. Both were found in rocky, isolated areas.

“I think what’s exciting and important about this work is even though the cat-eyed snakes could be considered one of the most common groups of snakes in Madagascar, there are still new species we don’t know about because a lot of regions are hard to get to and poorly explored. If this commonly known, wide group of snakes harbors this hidden diversity, what else is out there that we don’t know about?” Ruane said.

Malagasy master’s student Bernard Randriamahatantsoa spotted the snake on the path. Randriamahatantsoa, Ruane and their collaborators discovered the ghost snake after hiking for more than 17 miles in near-constant rain from their field site to the Ankarana park entrance, whilst in search for a different species.

“It was really tough. It was a lot of work, but the payoff was big,” Ruane said. “Snakes are hard to find under the best of circumstances. They are pretty elusive.”

That’s why the researchers conduct their fieldwork during the rainy season in Madagascar when snakes and their prey, such as frogs, lizards and even other snakes, are most active.

Read the rest of the article on EurekAlert.