Salazar’s pit viper
WHAT IS IT? This striking new species of venomous pit viper (a group that gets its name from the heat-sensitive pits located between the eyes and the nostrils) can be distinguished from its relatives by the red-orange stripes that run the full length of the body in males.
WHERE IS IT? Three specimens of Trimeresurus salazar were spotted coiled up amongst roadside shrubbery during an expedition to Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India. The species has been named after Salazar Slytherin, fictional co-founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and speaker of the language of serpents. SB