Coffee farmer’s discovery in india’s western ghats leads to new snake species after decade-long study

A chance encounter on a coffee farm in southern India has led to an exciting scientific discovery—a new species of burrowing snake that had been hiding in plain sight for years. Tour guide Basil P. Das first spotted the small black-and-beige snake a decade ago while working on his farm in the Siruvani Hills, located in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

Scientists have now officially described the snake as Rhinophis siruvaniensis, naming it after the Siruvani Hills where it was found. “When I learnt it’s a new species, I was very happy because now I am a part of its history,” Das said. Interestingly, while the snake is new to scientific literature, local cardamom and coffee farmers have long been familiar with the creature. “When I told my neighbors that I had found this new snake, they told me they had seen it many times before,” Das noted, highlighting how indigenous knowledge often precedes formal scientific recognition.

The newly discovered snake belongs to a group called shieldtail snakes—nonvenomous, underground-dwelling reptiles that spend most of their lives burrowing beneath the surface. While about 20 species of Rhinophis shieldtails are found in Sri Lanka, only six species were previously known from India, making this discovery particularly significant for understanding the region’s biodiversity.

This finding underscores the Western Ghats’ importance as a biodiversity hotspot and demonstrates how agricultural landscapes can serve as unexpected havens for undiscovered species, emphasizing the need for conservation efforts that protect both wild and cultivated habitats.