Welcome to the Jungle: The Tribute of the Researcher Who Admires Slash
The new species, about 71 cm long, was discovered in the forests of New Guinea. The researcher who named it after the Guns N' Roses guitarist has admired Slash since her childhood and remembered his love for reptiles, museums, and zoos.
Saul Hudson, known by his stage name Slash, is best known as the guitarist for the band Guns N' Roses. But beyond the music and electric guitar performances, the famous mane of hair, and the iconic top hat, Slash is a devoted reptile enthusiast and a passionate supporter of zoos and natural history museums. Now, he has been honored as a snake species recently discovered in New Guinea – Lielaphis slashi – has been named after him.
"As someone who has been a fan of reptiles and amphibians for many years, I feel honored and humbled that the species Lielaphis slashi is named after me. It's very exciting, I never imagined such a moment would come," said Slash.
"Guns N' Roses was one of my favorite bands since I was in first grade, and already in fifth grade, I told my teacher that I wanted to be a herpetologist — a scientist who studies reptiles and amphibians — when I grow up," said Dr. Sara Ruane, curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and lead author of the study published in the journal Zootaxa, in which the new species is described. "I remember when I was 12 years old and I received the magazine 'Reptiles' in the mail, and on the cover was a picture of Slash holding a reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus). I immediately thought about how cool that was."
When she grew up and became a scientist who occasionally gets the opportunity to give official scientific names to new species of reptiles, Dr. Ruane remembered that magazine article. "I re-read the interview where Slash talked about his great love for museums, zoos, and natural sciences, and about how in his childhood he used to go outside and look for snakes — these were things I identified with very much, and I thought he would be a worthy person to have his name given to a new species," said Dr. Ruane.
This opportunity finally arrived in the form of a reddish-brown snake, about 71 centimeters long, discovered in the forests of New Guinea — the second largest island in the world after Greenland. It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, north of Australia, and its territory is divided between the countries of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The dense rainforests of the island harbor immense biodiversity, but they have not yet been deeply explored by scientists.
One night in 2006, while conducting field research in New Guinea, Prof. Chris Austin, curator of herpetology at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, encountered a snake he did not recognize. "New Guinea ground snakes are active at night, so the best way to find them is in the dark hours. Usually, they can be found immediately after sunset at the base of large trees, when they are looking for food," said Prof. Austin, who is part of the research team. "When working at night in New Guinea, one must exercise extreme caution, as there are several highly venomous species that are very similar to non-venomous ground snakes."
In 2016, after finishing her doctorate, Dr. Ruane worked together with Prof. Austin to better study the snakes of New Guinea — a field where knowledge was scarce — and they have been collaborating on this topic ever since. Based on its external appearance alone, it was not clear that the snake belonged to a new species. However, laboratory tests clarified that it was something different.
"Using several advanced methods of genetic analysis, we discovered that Lielaphis slashi is genetically distinct from other similar snakes in the same genus," said Dr. Tianchi Huang, a researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History, who is part of the research team. "The combination of physical characteristics — such as differences in the number of scales compared to other species — and the genetic evidence is what led us to the understanding that this is a completely new species. Also, we used ecological models to show that the habitat preferred by this new species is different from that of similar snakes."
There is still more hidden than known when it comes to this ground snake. Dr. Ruane explained that it is very difficult to observe snakes in the wild before they slip out of sight, so knowledge about Lielaphis slashi is limited. However, anatomical features of the snake provide some clues. "Snakes of this type often have large teeth in the back of the mouth. It is possible that New Guinea ground snakes use them to grasp small lizards and eggs of other reptiles and prey on them — this snake does not catch prey and constrict it as a common boa constrictor does," explained Dr. Ruane.
"However, it should be noted that Lielaphis slashi does not pose a threat to humans. In contrast, human activity could spell disaster for this snake and for other living creatures in the forests of New Guinea. The habitats where this snake lives are threatened by industries such as coffee growing and mining. This is one of the reasons why it is important to recognize every single species so that we can better understand how ecosystems work and how each component fits into the environment. We cannot conserve animals or other living creatures that we do not know exist."
