Study suggests variety of snakes in China may have been underestimated

Photo taken on Sept. 5, 2020 shows a snake in a tropical rainforest in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A study by Chinese scientists suggests that the traditional taxonomy may have seriously underestimated the diversity of snake species in China.

By building a Chinese snake DNA barcoding reference database, scientists from the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other research institutes have found that there are at least 36 new undescribed species of snakes in China.

DNA barcoding has greatly facilitated studies of taxonomy, biodiversity, biological conservation, and ecology. By establishing a reliable DNA barcoding database for Chinese snakes, the research unveils hidden diversity with implications for taxonomy, said Wu Yunhe, a researcher at the KIZ.

The study covers 1,638 gene sequences from Chinese snakes that correspond to 17 families, 65 genera, 228 named species and 36 candidate species.

In addition to facilitating future studies, this reliable and relatively comprehensive database will play an important role in the future monitoring, conservation, and management of Chinese snakes, Wu added.

The study was published in the journal Molecular Ecology Resources.