Russian and Vietnamese scientists have announced their discovery of a new species of rattle-snake, which belongs to Protobothrops family, in the Trung Khanh National Park in the northern province of Cao Bang.

The new species of rattle-snake.

The discovery was published in a Russian scientific magazine named “Reptile and Amphibians” in January 2009.

Nguyen Thien Tao, who is in charge of amphibians and reptiles of the Vietnam Nature Museum, the co-author of the above discovery, said this is the fourth species of rattle-snake of the Protobothrops family unveiled in Vietnam. The three others are Protobothrops cornutus, P.jerdonii and P. mucrosquamatus.

The new species of rattle-snake is named Protobothrops trungkhanhensis Orlov, Ryabov & Nguyen. This kind of snake is only 733mm in length, quite small compared to other Protobothrops species, with small triangle-shaped head and small scales.

This type of snake is an endemic species in Vietnam. Protobothrops trungkhanhensis Orlov, Ryabov & Nguyen has been found in only the Trung Khanh National Park in Cao Bang, Vietnam.

Thu Huong