New species of rattlesnake discovered in Vietnam

New rattlesnake speceis is endemic to Vietnam

April 2009. Russian and Vietnamese scientists have discovered a new species of rattle-snake in Vietnam's northern Cao Bang province.

The newly discovered rattle-snake is named Protobothrops trungkhanhensis Orlov, Ryabov & Nguyen. The snake is relatively small when compared to other Protobothrops species, being only 733mm in length, with a small triangle-shaped head.

Nguyen Thien Tao, curator of amphibians and reptiles of the Vietnam Nature Museum who co-authored of the discovery, said that this is the fourth species of rattle-snake of the Protobothrops family found in Vietnam.

This type of snake is probably endemic to Vietnam as so far it has only been found in the Trung Khanh National Park.

The discovery was published in a Russian scientific magazine named "Reptile and Amphibians" in January 2009.