Copper-eyed creature – with unusual skin folds – found in Peru is new species. See it

While exploring a swamp in Peru’s Otishi National Park, a group of scientists spotted a long, smooth creature nestled between patches of feather grass, sunbathing on a pile of moss.

It was a new species of snake, according to a study published Aug. 15 in Salamandra, German Journal of Herpetology.

Researchers determined that the male snake they collected from Peru was part of an unidentified kind of Tachymenoides, the study said. Previously, only one species of the genus was known.

The new species was named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, or Harrison Ford’s Slender Snake. Scientists said they named the creature in honor of actor Harrison Ford to recognize “his work for Conservation International and his voice for nature.”

Ford’s most famous movie character, Indiana Jones, was well known for his hatred of snakes.

“These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it’s always the ones that terrify children. I don’t understand,” Ford said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “This discovery is humbling. It’s a reminder that there’s still so much to learn about our wild world — and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere.”

The approximately 1.3-foot snakehas smooth, pale yellow-brown scales on its back with “scattered black blotches,” researchers said. The black spots form two stripes on each side of the creature’s spine.

The creature’s head also has a black stripe, and it has copper irises with a vertical pupil, experts said in the study.

Researchers distinguished the new species from others by identifying “unusual” skin folds on its back and sides that resemble the bottom fin of a sailboat, or a keel. Typically, these folds are indicative of malnutrition or childbirth, but the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi appeared to be in good condition and behaved normally, according to the study.

Scientists said Tachymenoides harrisonfordi is only known in the location it was found — a humid valley with several ponds that create a swamp. The valley is filled with tall Peruvian feather grasses, mosses, bushes, small scattered trees and some bamboo.

The creature likely preys on other reptiles in the area, according to the study.

Otishi National Park is about 340 miles east of Lima.

This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Copper-eyed creature – with unusual skin folds – found in Peru is new species. See it."

Moira Ritter

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Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.