Discovered two new green snake species

From the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), scientists from the UK and the US have just announced two new species of snakes discovered in Vietnam and Cambodia.

According to Zootaxa magazine in January 2, 2011, both snakes have morphological characteristics similar to green snakes Cryptelytrops macrops.

Both of these snakes have morphological characteristics similar to the green snake Cryptelytrops macrops.

Scientists named the first snake, the Cryptelytrop cardamomensis. The standard set of this species was collected in Mount Cardamom, southern Cambodia, distributed to an elevation of about 800m above sea level.

They have a muzzle-anal length of 54cm; dorsal scales with burrs, 21 scales around the middle of the body; 169-173 belly scales; 58-69 scales under the tail; orange eyes; Green stem, with white stripes running from the nose along the rib toward the anus.

The second snake is named the snake-red-eyed Cryptelytrops rubeus. The species name is derived from a Latin word ' rubens ' which means red. Specimens used to describe this snake were collected in Mondolkiri (Cambodia) province, Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City.

Specimens of this species were collected from lowland mountain forest habitats to a height of about 500m above sea level.

They have a muzzle-anal length of 51cm; dorsal scales with burrs, 21 scales around the middle of the body; 159-172 belly scales; 52-74 scales under the tail; red-brown eyes; Green stem, female with white stripes running from the nose along the rib to the anus, the male has a red stripe underneath the white stripe.