Science is something that will never stop expanding. Unless artificial intelligence defies human knowledge and advances into what a majority of humanity hopes it will, nobody will ever know everything about the world.

“Scientists now believe that 80-90 percent of species on Earth are still undiscovered,” reports Elizabeth Rayne in her article on syfy.com.

So, researchers press on, and it just so happens that they’ve recently been led to a new discovery.

Meet Bothriechis Schlegelii, the Eyelash-pitviper, a vibrant and gorgeous snake from Central and South America. Coming in a wide variety of colors and patterns, scientists originally thought of them as one singular, heavily diverse species. As of February 2024, however, they have been proven wrong.

“By closely examining 400 museum specimens, as well as 80 snakes captured in the wild, from Mexico to Ecuador,” Nat Geo explains, “the scientists were able to use a combination of physical characteristics as well as genetics to describe five new species.”

These five new species would include the following:

Klebba’s Eyelash-pitviper (B. Klebbai) is depicted as one of the darker species of Eyelash-pitviper, with a charcoal-colored keeled head and blonde body.
Shah’s Eyelash-pitviper (B. Rasikusumorum) is depicted as a sandy-bronze colored snake with a keeled head and very prominent barred markings.
Kwargs Eyelash-pitviper (B. Khwargi) is depicted as a smooth-bodied snake with colors ranging from clay to seafoam and a distinctive tick-striped pattern.
Rahim’s Eyelash-pitviper (B. Rahimi) is depicted as having long “eyelash horns” above their eyes. It is usually brown or bright yellow-orange with distinctive multicolor stripes.
Hussain’s Eyelash-pitviper (B. Hussaini) is depicted as a yellowish-green, black and white smooth-bodied snake.

It is difficult to gather much information on these pitvipers, as they have only been acknowledged as different species as of less than a month prior to this article being written. Though, it has been confirmed that these snakes are venomous, with the Toronto Zoo claiming that “the venom has neurotoxic and haemostatic properties.”

So, if you’re ever out on a trip to Central or South America, make sure to watch out for these vivid-hued reptiles and admire them from a distance. Scientists are actively putting effort into researching them further to learn even more about them. Keep your eyes peeled for more information about these magnificent slithering creatures!

*(if possible, make images marked with an asterisk smaller and/or off to the side as not to take up so much space compared to text)