A unique snake species thought to be lost to science has been rediscovered on Clarion Island off the coast of Mexico.
Scientists first found a Clarion nightsnake specimen more than 80 years ago, but the species has eluded researchers since then, Live Science reported.
Naturalist William Beebe came across the first nightsnake in 1936, finding the new reptile species despite its speckled markings and brownish-black coloring that serve as protective camouflage. While the single specimen discovered by Beebe has been in the American Museum of Natural History in New York ever since, the nightsnake has escaped researchers until now.
"The rediscovery of the Clarion nightsnake is an incredible story of how scientists rely on historical data and museum collections to solve modern-day mysteries about biodiversity in the world we live in," lead author Daniel Mulcahy, a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, D.C., said in a statement quoted by Live Science.
"Proper identification is the first step toward conserving this snake, and we plan to continue monitoring this species to learn more about the role it plays in the delicate Clarion Island ecosystem."
The snake stayed under the radar partly due to its coloring but also because of its habitat's exclusiveness: Clarion Island is so remote that researchers can only visit it with a military escort, something that has long curbed their hunt for the elusive reptile.
Lead researcher Mulcahy and a team from the Instituto de Ecología in Mexico went to the Revillagigedo Islands in 2013 on a mission to find the nightsnake. They identified 11 specimens, all of which were living on Clarion Island.
Publishing their findings on May 16 in the journal PLOS ONE, the study authors hypothesized that the reptiles came to the island by swimming across the ocean from a river basin in Sonora, a region where their closest snake relatives can be found.
While the nightsnake population seems to be stable, researchers are concerned that invasive feral cats on nearby islands could pose a threat since they devour island lizards that account for much of the nightsnake's diet.
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