New snake species: List of animal species threatened by mining and deforestation in western Panama augmented

The study was published September 17 in the scientific journal Zootaxa.

The snake Sibon noalamina is completely harmless for humans, yet has a pugnacious name. The light and dark-ringed reptile at first sight resembles a well-known and widespread species of snail-eater. However, closer examination revealed the non-venomous snake to represent a hitherto unknown species.

"The three individuals that we caught during several expeditions between 2008 and 2010 the montane rainforests of western Panama differ markedly from all known species of snakes, especially in scalation characters," elucidates Sebastian Lotzkat, research associate of the Herpetology Department at Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt. "Therefore we newly described the species -- it now bears the name Sibon noalamina."

The second part of the scientific name is Spanish and translates to „no to the mine." Representative of other recently discovered species that probably only occur in the Tabasará mountains, Sibon noalamina stands with its name against overexploitation of nature and for the conservation of the highland rainforests of western Panama.

"Without the establishment of protected areas and the development of sustainable alternatives to large-scale forest clearance, these unique ecosystems will vanish in the foreseeable future," Lotzkat comments on the choice of name, "and with them, the congenial colubrid, its crawling and croaking fellows, and the livelihoods of the indigenous population."

Like all representatives of the genus Sibon, the new species belongs to the so-called snail-eaters. Apart from snails and slugs, these nocturnal animals feed on other soft-bodied prey like earthworms or amphibian eggs. Instead of defending themselves with bites, the non-venomous colubrids deter potential predators with their appearance: With its alternating light and dark rings, Sibon noalamina mimics the contrasting warning coloration of the venomous coral snakes.

The snake inhabits the mountain range known as Serranía de Tabasará in the Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé, an autonomy territory established in 1997 for the indigenous peoples Ngöbe and Buglé. Here, the extreme poverty among the population has a share in the highest deforestation rate within Panama: more than one-fifth of the Comarca's forests were lost in the 1990s alone. Moreover, the region's enormous ore deposits -- especially the copper deposit in the Cerro Colorado area -- are in the focus of mining companies.

As the exclusive home of several amphibian and reptile species only known from -- i.e., endemic to -- this mountain range, the Serranía de Tabasará is a little biodiversity hotspot of its own, although still largely unexplored.

We know from Rogelio Moreno, whose consent as chief general of the Comarca has made our studies possible, that the local people completely depend on the natural resources for their livelihoods," Lotzkat states, and complements: "We request the Panamanian authorities to initiate, in due collaboration with the indigenous authorities, measures to better explore, conserve, and sustainably use the exuberant biodiversity of the Serranía de Tabasará!"