Credit: Alejandro ArteagaResearchers from Khamai Foundation and Liberty University have recognized a new types of coffee snake, endemic to the cloud forests in northwestern Ecuador.Biologist Alejandro Arteaga initially discovered the snake in Ecuadors Pichincha province, while looking for animals to include in a book on the Reptiles of Ecuador.” This is species number 30 that I have found, out of a target of 100,” he says.Habitat and Conservation of Tudorss Coffee-SnakeLike other coffee snakes, Tudorss Coffee-Snake typically occupies coffee plantations, specifically in areas where its cloud forest environment has actually been destroyed. Credit: Jose VieiraThe scientists hope that its discovery will highlight the value of maintaining the cloud forest environment, and focus research attention on human-modified habitats that surround it such as coffee plantations and pastures.The name of the new snake species honors Guy Tudor, “an all-around biologist and clinical illustrator with a deep fondness for birds and all animals, in recognition of the effect he has had on the conservation of South Americas birds through his artistry,” the scientists write in their paper, which was recently published in Evolutionary Systematics.
