A team of scientists have discovered a new species of snake in the Western Himalayas, whom they have named after Hollywood star, Leonardo Di Caprio, for his contributions to the field of wildlife conservation.

Anguiculus dicaprioi is a member of the Colubridae, the largest family of snakes on the planet with 304 genera and 1,938 species. They account for almost two-thirds of all living snakes in the world.

Anguiculus is Latin for ‘small snake’. “The proposed nomen highlights the small size (SVL) of members of the new genus in relation to members of the family Colubridae. Suggested common English name ‘Himalayan snake’,” the researchers wrote.

They added: “The specific epithet “dicaprioi” is a patronym honouring Leonardo DiCaprio, an American actor, film producer, and environmentalist who has been actively involved in creating awareness about global climate change, increased biodiversity loss, and human health issues through pollution. In addition to this, he has made funds available for field conservation activities and research. Suggested common name ‘DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake’.”

The snake is found in Chamba, Kullu and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Nainital in Uttarakhand and Chitwan National Park in Nepal.

The skull of Anguiculus dicaprioi is complete and robust, write the researchers. “The individuals were seen basking and remained motionless until caught and made no attempts to bite. All the three type specimens were found in the month of June (2020). Uncollected individuals were observed in the months of July to September; however, no more individuals were seen in other months of the year,” they added.

The study noted that while the eastern part of the Himalayas harboured more diversity than its western part, “the findings in the present work support the fact that the biota of the Western Himalayas is distinct and not merely a subset of the East Himalayan biota”.

“More work across taxa is necessary to document species, especially through an integrated taxonomic approach to unmask hidden diversity currently deprived of recognition and eventual conservation attention,”

Simply Put: World Snake Day 2024