Scientists thought this venomous Himalayan snake was one species since 1864, it turned out to be five different snakes

A venomous snake, which scientists have long regarded as a single species for more than 160 years, has now been revealed to comprise five distinct species, according to a new international study published in the journal ZooKeys.The Himalayan pit viper, also scientifically known as Gloydius himalayanus, is a snake described in 1864 as widespread in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Scientists now say the Himalayan pit viper represents a complex of multiple evolutionary lineages. Out of these evolutionary lineages, three had not previously been recognised by science.As the study in ZooKeys suggests, the newly discovered evolutionart lineages originated from the Hindu Kush area in north-western Pakistan, the Hazara area in north-eastern Pakistan and the Himalayas in western and central Nepal. The study also confirmed the distinct status of Gloydius chambensis, a species described in 2022.How scientists uncovered the hidden speciesScientists adopted an “integrative taxonomy” approach of study by combining different sources of information instead of focusing solely on the visual features of the reptiles. Genetic information, bone structures, ecology, morphology, and geographical distributions were some of the elements taken into consideration during analysis.One of the main highlights of the study was the utilisation of museum specimens from the past. DNA samples were obtained from snake specimens collected in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the specimen used to describe the Himalayan pit viper in the 1800s. Sylvia Hofmann, who is from the Museum Koenig within Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, emphasised that museum collections have been very important even for modern scientific research.“Museum specimens are not just records of the past. They are active research tools and essential infrastructure for future science,” Hofmann said, as quoted in material released alongside the study, later reported by Discover Wildlife.According to the research team, some of the evidence that allowed separation of the reptile species had already been preserved in museum collections for more than a hundred years before identification could be carried out using advanced techniques.Remote mountains still hold biological surprisesThe results also illustrate the limitations in understanding regarding wildlife in parts of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. The study revealed that these mountainous areas are still among the most poorly studied areas biologically in Asia, owing to their rugged geography, inaccessibility by road, and socio-political instability prevailing in some areas.One of the authors of the study, Daniel Jablonski of Comenius University Bratislava, highlighted that there was plenty of hidden biodiversity in these mountains that would provide valuable insights into the biogeography of Asia.This study brought together what researchers called the largest database compiled so far for the Himalayan pit vipers, with a total of 194 records covering Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Of these records, most were collected from north-western parts of India, followed by a relatively smaller number from Pakistan and Nepal. Why the discovery mattersIn addition to being important predators that aid in regulating prey populations in mountain environments, pit vipers have also been suggested as useful bioindicators due to their sensitivity to changes in their environment and climate.However, as noted by the authors, the presence of restricted distributions in some of the newly discovered species is cause for concern, and may make some species vulnerable to extinction risks. As indicated by the reports, the discovery of the Himalayan pit viper complex suggests that the new species may become regionally threatened, underscoring the need to identify species before conservation actions can be developed.According to reports, the current findings represent just the tip of the iceberg in the field of researching an ecologically and medically important group of snakes.Moreover, the current discovery represents a trend in the field. As highlighted by the researchers, eight new species of the Gloydius genus were identified within the last decade, bringing the total number of recognised Gloydius species to 26. As mentioned above, most discoveries have been made in Central and East Asia, and not much attention has been paid to the Himalayas and Hindu Kush regions.