New venomous snake species found in Australia
Researchers found a new species of bandy-bandy snake in Australia, which is already in danger of extinction because of mining.
Scientists searching for sea snakes never expected to stumble across this find.
In a chance discovery, a team of biologists were returning from a sea snake research mission in Queensland, Australia when they found a new venomous species.
The team, led by University of Queensland’s Associate Professor Bryan Fry, uncovered a new species of bandy-bandy snake at Weipa, a town on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula, in the far northeast of Australia.
Prof. Fry said bandy-bandies were burrowing snakes so they were surprised when they found it on a concrete block by the sea, after coming in from a night of sea snake spotting.
“We later discovered that the snake had slithered over from a pile of bauxite rubble waiting to be loaded onto a ship,” he said.