Three new species of venomous snakes discovered in the Himalaya and Hindu Kush: CU scientist rewrites a 160-year-old story
An international research team led by Daniel Jablonski from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, has rewritten the 160-year-old story of a group of venomous mountain snakes from South Asia. The researchers found that a snake long regarded as a single widespread species since 1864 actually represents a complex of several distinct evolutionary lineages. Three of them are entirely new to science. The extensive study has been published in the scientific journal ZooKeys.
The high mountain ranges of Central and South Asia remain among the least biologically explored regions on Earth. In this geographically, logistically and socio-politically challenging region, the team carried out a major taxonomic revision of the Himalayan pit vipers of the genus Gloydius, venomous snakes belonging to the viper family. The study revealed that what science had long considered a single species in fact consists of five distinct evolutionary lineages.
The key to solving the puzzle lay both in museums and in regions that remained inaccessible for decades
The discovery was based on a combination of DNA collected during fieldwork and historical material preserved in natural history museums. The researchers succeeded in extracting genetic data from specimens collected in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the original type specimen of the Himalayan pit viper, collected more than 160 years ago and now housed at the Natural History Museum in London.
“The Himalaya and the Hindu Kush harbour an overlooked vertebrate diversity,” explains Daniel Jablonski from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, who has been conducting long-term research on amphibians and reptiles in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “By combining modern field sampling with data from historical museum specimens, we uncovered evolutionary lineages that had remained hidden for more than a century after the original description of the Himalayan pit viper.”
The analysis of multiple data sources identified five distinct species-level lineages. These include the originally described Himalayan pit viper, Gloydius himalayanus, G. chambensis, described in 2022, and three previously unknown species named after the regions where they occur: G. hazarensis from the western Himalaya, G. hindukushensis from the eastern Hindu Kush, and G. nepalensis from Nepal. These lineages differ to varying degrees in their genetics, morphology, anatomy and geographical distribution.
The invaluable role of museum collections
The study highlights the enduring scientific value of natural history collections as essential infrastructure for future biodiversity research. Some of the evidence that enabled researchers to resolve these evolutionary and taxonomic questions had been preserved in museums for more than a century. Only modern analytical methods made it possible to recognise these differences and answer the questions they raised.
The research also involved experts with extensive experience in Himalayan biodiversity, snake systematics and historical museum collections. Sylvia Hofmann from Museum Koenig in Bonn has spent more than three decades studying the evolution and biogeography of Himalayan fauna, particularly amphibians from Nepal and Tibet. Frank Tillack from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is a recognised specialist in reptile taxonomy, morphology and historical collections.
Snakes of the genus Gloydius are adapted to the demanding environments of the Himalaya and Hindu Kush, although they also occur elsewhere in Asia. As predators of small vertebrates, they form an important part of mountain ecosystems. Their true diversity in South Asia, however, has remained largely unknown because of their rarity and the difficult terrain in which they occur. The study therefore provides not only a new perspective on a particular group of venomous snakes, but also broader insights into the evolution of animals in one of the world’s most complex and highest mountain regions.
A challenge for conservation and future research
The high mountain regions of South Asia remain full of biological surprises, yet they are also affected by socio-political instability that often complicates or even prevents field research. At the same time, South Asia is among the most densely populated parts of the world, and pressure on natural habitats is increasing even in otherwise remote areas.
The discovery therefore carries an important message for biodiversity conservation and future research. Scientists still do not fully understand how these species evolved or whether gene flow continues between them.
“People often speak about biodiversity research in broad and sometimes dismissive terms, but in reality, it is about precise scientific knowledge of specific organisms and their evolutionary history,” says Jablonski. “This study shows that even a name known for a very long time can conceal several distinct species with their own evolutionary histories and restricted distributions. South Asia brings together two extremes: extraordinarily rich biodiversity that remains undescribed, and intense pressure from a rapidly growing human population. If we do not recognise species, we cannot study them properly or protect them effectively.”
The study demonstrates that fundamental biodiversity research is not science for its own sake. On the contrary, it can significantly improve our understanding of Earth’s history and, in the case of venomous snakes, may also have practical applications. “This research is far from over. The mountains and valleys of Central and South Asia influence a large part of the world, and the evolutionary stories recorded there are also part of the story of our own species,” concludes Daniel Jablonski.
Daniel Jablonski’s research is supported by an EU NextGenerationEU fellowship through the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan under project No. 09I03-03-V04-00306 and by VEGA grant 1/0391/25.
This study was published in the scientific journal ZooKeys.
Image 1: Evolutionary relationships and distribution of five pit viper species in the Himalaya and Hindu Kush. The upper right corner shows a historical illustration of the type specimen from 1864. (Credit: Dr Daniel Jablonski, Licence: CC BY 4.0)
Image 2: Paratypes of two newly described species: Gloydius hindukushensis from north-western Pakistan (left) and Gloydius nepalensis from Nepal (right). (Credit: Dr Daniel Jablonski and Dr Frank Tillack, Licence: CC BY 4.0)
Image 3: Osteological research – 3D anatomy of the skull of the original type specimen of the Himalayan pit viper, collected more than 160 years ago. (Credit: Kristin Mahlow-Tillack, Licence: CC BY 4.0)