New coral snake species discovered by researchers from Mizoram University

Aizawl: Researchers from the Zoology Department at Mizoram University have identified a new species of coral snake in Mizoram. Named Sinomicrurus gorei after British India’s medical officer, Dr. Gore, the finding was reported in the Times of India.

The researchers made this discovery during their study of skeletals and DNA (nuclear and mitochondrial gene 5) of coral snakes in Mizoram. The new species was unveiled in a study titled “Reappraisal of the systematics of two sympatric coral snakes (Reptilia: Elapidae),” which was published in the British science journal, Systematics & Biodiversity (Taylor & Francis Group) on January 10.

As outlined in the abstract, the researchers stated, “We uncovered morphological and genetic evidence for resurrecting S. gorei comb. nov., from the synonymy of S. macclellandi and elevating it to a full species rank, previously recognized as a color variant of S. macclellandi. We redescribed the species based on a total of 36 adult specimens examined from Mizoram, along with the type material from Assam, as well as specimens from Bangladesh.”

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