Several new species have been announced, as the year opens.

A new type of snake, a species of bush viper, was discovered in southern Tanzania during a recent biological survey. The snake’s exact location is being kept secret to protect the visually striking black-and-yellow snake from illegal pet collectors. The new species, named Matilda’s Horned Viper (Atheris matildae), is described as having hornlike scales above its eyes and measuring 2.1 feet (60 centimeters). Read more here.

Photos: Blanchard Randrianambinina.
A new primate, Gerp’s mouse lemur, Microcebus gerpi, has been announced as discovered in the Sahafina forest in Madagascar. It is “a giant” relative to Goodman’s mouse lemur. For more, see here and here.

Then, also, there’s the recent news of a “Pale octopus, hairy-chested yeti crab and other new species found,” in the Southern Ocean, near Antarctica, near hydrothermal vents.

Meanwhile, near the heat vents of the Caribbean, new vent shrimp (Rimicaris hybisae), along with a snake-like fish, previously unseen species of snail, and a flea-like crustacean called an amphipod, have been discovered. See here.

Also genetic work is being conducted to separate more clearly the species of two-toed sloths, Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths (Choloepus didactylus) versus Hoffman’s two-toed sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni). See here.