A mysterious reptilian species of snake believed to be lost has resurfaced in the volcanic rocks on an island off Mexico, Live Science reported.
First discovered more than 80 years ago on Clarion Island, the elusive, nocturnal Clarion nightsnake was lost after that.
Brownish black in color and sporting spots on its head and neck, it was found again on the Mexican island of Clarion in the Pacific, some 440 miles off the mainland by a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History in the U.S. capital, the institution said in a statement.
"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.
After naturalist William Beebe captured a lone nightsnake in 1936, it was tagged and kept in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
But since no other researcher had seen it, the existence of the species was questioned after it disappeared.
"In part, the snake, which grows to about 18 inches (45 centimeters) long, has remained hidden for decades because of its coloration - dark spots on its head and neck act as camouflage - and secretive behavior; the island itself is so remote that biologists can only access it with a military escort, limiting how many scientists actually searched for these reptiles," Live Science reported.
Working in collaboration with a researcher from a Mexican institute, Mulcahy and colleagues at the Instituto de Ecología in Mexico carried out an expedition in 2013 to Revillagigedo Islands where their team uncovered 11 snakes that matched Beebe's description.
A series of DNA tests confirmed that the Clarion nightsnake is indeed genetically distinct from others found in mainland Mexico. It is now recognized as a full species, according to Agence France-Presse.
"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," Mulcahy said in the museum's statement.
The snake was described Friday (May 16) in the journal PLOS ONE.
