A strange monster hid in the Middle Eastern highlands, undiscovered. Seldom seen, the animal was never named before; that is, until now.
According to a study published in Scientific Reports, the first well-verified record of the unusual reptile occurred in 1967. The strange specimen was brought to a museum for storage.
Discovered Middle East Species Routinely Misidentified
Since then, the species has occasionally been seen, although it is frequently mistaken, according to biologists.
Researchers determined the unidentified reptile was a new species: the Levant rat snake, or Elaphe druzei. They did this by compiling this scattered information from museums and getting many samples of DNA.
According to the study, the Levant rat snake may be differentiated from other species by its DNA as well as a variety of physical traits, such as the shape of its body and genitalia, its scale pattern, and its color.
Despite not seeming too similar to other species, researchers previously claimed that the newly discovered reptile was mistaken for them.
Levantine rat snakes have a variety of coloration patterns, according to researchers.
Photographs show, snakes from Lebanon are orange in hue whereas those from Mount Hermon, which is under Israeli authority, are yellow-white.
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Undiscovered Levant Rat Snake Species
Levant rat snakes can be effectively disguised in their natural environments despite being huge and conspicuously colored, according to the study.
The new species is only found in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria’s highlands, which are in a politically highly unstable zone, as per researchers.
Due to the creature’s secretive lifestyle, rareness, and isolation, as well as the challenge researchers face in gaining access to its habitat, it has remained undiscovered for such a long time.
The Druze people, who reside in the same regions as the new species, gave the Levant rat snakes, also known as Elaphe druzei, their name.
Experts think that various aspects of human behavior, such as war, tourism, and climate change, are endangering and endangering new species.
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