Together with my colleagues, I am incredibly proud to present a brand new species of the genus Protobothrops:
The Vang Vieng lance-headed pit viper (Protobothrops flavirostris) is a cryptic, limestone karst micro-endemic inhabiting the rocky cliffs and valleys of north-western Laos.
Like many new discoveries, we first found out about this species almost 2 years ago from pictures posted in a local ID group. Since then, our team collectively led several expeditions in search of this species, but came up empty handed.
I had tried with the team in April 2024 with no luck, but returned in late October 2024 on a solo expedition and found a solitary female during my 5 nights hiking amongst the limestone karst formations. Truly a defining moment in the 15+ years I have dedicated to searching for snakes and other herpetofauna in South-East Asia.
Protobothrops has long been my favourite genus, and I would have previously thought that finding a totally new species in Indo-China was impossible, but the discovery of Protobothrops flavirostris underlines how easy it is for cryptic and low density species to go undiscovered for so long. Furthermore, Vang Vieng is perhaps the most touristic destination in Laos - nowhere near as remote as the hills of Omkoi province in Thailand where the also recently described (2020) and extremely rare Protobothrops kelomohy occurs.
Protobothrops flavirostris most closely resembles Protobothrops kelomohy and genetics showed it to indeed be a sister-species to the legendary Thai endemic. However, Protobothrops flavirostris is easily distinguished by the vibrant yellow colouration on the snout (from which it gets its name) and the yellow on the tail.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without my fellow authors and contributors, for which I am forever grateful.
“A new endemic karst-associated species of lance-headed pit viper (Squamata, Viperidae, Protobothrops) from Laos (Rupert J. Grassby-Lewis, Peter Brakels, Nathanaël Maury, Saly Sitthivong, David Frohlich, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Sabira S. Idiiatullina, Tan Van Nguyen, Nikolay A. Poyarkov, 2025).
Must be my favorite group, ❤️Theloderma❤️. This is the White-spotted bug-eyed frog, T. albopunctatum that i found in mixed deciduous karst forest. Very well camouflaged as usual..
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#herpingtheglobe #ecology #exploring #jungle
