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    A snake named Matilda: New species in Tanzania

    NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The world's newest snake has menacing-looking yellow and black scales, dull green eyes and two spiky horns. And it's named after a 7-year-old girl.

    Matilda's Horned Viper was discovered in a small patch of southwest Tanzania about two years ago and was introduced last month as the world's newest known snake species in an issue of Zootaxa.

    Tim Davenport, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania, was on the three-person team that discovered the viper. Thanks to his daughter, the snake will always carry a family namesake.

    "My daughter, who was 5 at the time, became fascinated by it and used to love spending time watching it and helping us look after it," Davenport told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "We called it Matilda's Viper at that stage ... and then the name stuck."

    Only three new vipers have been discovered across Africa the last three decades, making the find rare and important. The Wildlife Conservation Society is not revealing exactly where the snake lives so that trophy hunters can't hunt it.

    Davenport said he is not sure how many live in the wild because snake counts are hard to do. Twelve live in captivity and a breeding plan is being carried out.

    Davenport, a Briton who has lived in Tanzania for 12 years, said that while many people fear snakes, most are harmless and help keep rodent numbers down. Matilda's horned viper can grow to 2 feet (65 centimeters) or bigger, he said.

    "This particular animal looks fierce and probably is venomous (though bush viper bites are not fatal)," Davenport told AP via an Internet chat. "However, it is actually very calm animal and not at all aggressive. I have handled one on a number of occasions."

    The Wildlife Conservation Society runs the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo in New York, and Davenport said it would be a "great option" to showcase the new horned viper at one of those locations, but that nothing has yet been decided.

    ___

    On the Internet:

    http://www.atherismatildae.org

     

    91 comments

    • Benjamin  •  4 mths ago
      Best way to check if its poisonous? Try it on our congressmen!!!
      • JeniJ 4 mths ago
        No, I think they are immune...
      • .. 4 mths ago
        And senators.
      • PreObamaVeteran 4 mths ago
        I think it wouldn`t bite a politician out of professional cortesy.
    • T  •  Miami, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      Wow, amazing. Hope to see it in person some day soon. Yeah Matilda! :
    • Fern  •  Raleigh, North Carolina  •  4 mths ago
      Does it have a birth certificate?
      • Chuck 4 mths ago
        Does Newt ?
    • Old Horse  •  4 mths ago
      Venomous or not, I wouldn't want to waltz this Matilda.
      • Kathy 4 mths ago
        who knows, maybe this one will turn out to have the venom to cure all the other snakes' venom bites. i'm sure we haven't heard the last of this snake and what it can or cannot do. stay tuned as they say..
    • Phil B  •  4 mths ago
      Something is really wrong here. They are being bred at a zoo, and they do not know if it is venemous, but probably is. Are zoos not supposed to keep anti-venom on hand if workers are bitten. The possible venom from this snake would be needed to create an anti-venom medication. And they are breeding them???
    • mars  •  Kansas City, Missouri  •  4 mths ago
      Preybrother, What kind of science books do you read down in Texas?.....Don't you know that the most dangerous snake of all is the REPUBLICANIS BUSH MASTER?
      • Hondo 4 mths ago
        Equally dangerous is the Georgia Viper locally called the Newtmouth.
      • Dawg 4 mths ago
        Well they were torn between naming it after a well know family name from Kenya,
        after they seen the dull green eyes and big ears...They first debated on the name
        "Barack's Horned Viper.", but with the 'yellow stripe' running down it's back said
        it might not be proper.....
    • BRENDA L  •  Wallingford, Connecticut  •  4 mths ago
      I like how they say, a new species of an animal has been discovered. Snakes have been around for a very, very long time.
      • JeniJ 4 mths ago
        When they say "new" when referring to a new species, they don't mean it suddenly appeared, they mean recently discovered and presented to the world at large.
    • Denise  •  4 mths ago
      I agree with the many others who asked how you can have a snake and not know if it is dangerous. It looks scary and that is enough for me. I'd run the other way if I saw it.
    • Zman  •  4 mths ago
      This may be a silly question but here goes anyway! How can you have a snake in your possession for over 2 years and not know if it is venomous or not???
    • James  •  Baltimore, Maryland  •  4 mths ago
      Here's a few facts for you Preybrother
      1. Osama Bin Laden...check
      2. Assisted in ousting Ghaddafi...check
      3. 1.6 million jobs and economic growth with no help...check
      4. Not one tax hike in 3 years...check
      5. Unemployment rate 8.5%...check
      6. Reform affordable healthcare...check
      7. Brought out of rascism in the GOP...check
      8. Ended war in Iraq...check
      9. Still fighting for the middle class families...check
      Now you talking about he'll be stamped out in 2012 I don't think so...check
    • Preybrother  •  Richardson, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Actuallty, the newest snake in the US is the Obamazita. It is very dangerous and but it is expected to be stamped out in late 2012.
    • Chemi  •  Quincy, Massachusetts  •  4 mths ago
      I lived in Tanzania and saw snakes of all colors and sizes.I saw people die from snake bites as well. That horned snake was known to the locals for centuries.. So how in the world is some white person claiming to have discovered it?
    • Saywhut  •  4 mths ago
      A snake named Matilda, A werewolf named Republican and a Vampire named Democrat what's the big deal here? We even now have a Zombie protection store in Las Vegas, NV!! They should open a "Politician Protection" store!! Oh wait...they do..it's called: Voting booth...my bad....
    • Buckin' Bronco  •  4 mths ago
      He thinks it's a good idea to showcase a viper at the Bronx Zoo? Didn't they lose a cobra? Maybe the Bronx Zoo should specialize in soft fluffy bunnies. Hef--got any spares?
    • Mike68  •  New York, New York  •  4 mths ago
      Its bite may not be fatal, but could probably ruin your whole day.
    • HENRY  •  Albany, Georgia  •  4 mths ago
      the best name would have been Obama
    • Panopteshorni  •  Clyde, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      Davenport holds that position with out knowing if a viper has venom glands. "and probably is venomous. The heavily keeled scales make it look mean but are meant for extra grip on branches, looks aboreal. Maybe the writer could've included the taxonomical name, or maybe the scientists don't know where it belongs yet. Is it bothriechis, eyelash viper or palm viper? Not much disciption on the snake at all.
    • Larry  •  4 mths ago
      Is it possible that they have had this snake for two years and do not know if it is poisonous or not?
    • Patriot  •  Bakersfield, California  •  4 mths ago
      The only Viper i know is Obama!
    • Doc  •  Grand Rapids, Michigan  •  4 mths ago
      could be worse. they could have named it Brenda Dacquiri or something dumb like that.
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