The mystery of the mock viper—a unique species of snake that mimics other highly venomous species—has finally been solved by scientists.
The mock viper, native to Asia, is only mildly venomous itself, but it looks and behaves in a remarkably similar way to highly venomous vipers. The snake has long been a puzzle to scientists, as its evolutionary history has always remained unclear. Until now.
Findings published in Scientific Reports show that the snake has a distinct lineage that warrants recognition as a separate family.
"Mock vipers are part of the superfamily Elapoidea, a major group of snakes to which one-fifth of global serpent diversity belongs," lead researcher Sunandan Das from the University of Helsinki said in a statement. "Evolutionary diversification within this superfamily happened very rapidly approximately 50 million years ago. Rapid evolutionary diversifications are probably the most challenging evolutionary scenario for a geneticist or evolutionary biologist to resolve."
To reach their findings, scientists looked at DNA sequences of over 4,500 mock viper genes. This allowed them to understand more about the snake's lineage and how they are related to other snakes.
Before now, studies placed mock vipers in various positions within the Elapoidea superfamily, which includes other species like mambas and cobras. This study has revealed that mock vipers are part of an early-diverging branch within the Elapoidea superfamily. This means it actually forms an entirely new, distinct family named Psammodynastidae.
"The discovery of a new family of any vertebrate animals is surprisingly rare, an almost once-in-a-century phenomenon," Das said in a statement. "This is a lifetime achievement for an evolutionary biologist. You rarely, if ever, see descriptions of whole new families of well-studied vertebrate animals anymore."
A notable feature of the mock viper is a fake fang located at the front of their mouth, the study reports. This makes it appear that they have fangs and venom, similar to that of a cobra for example. However the only venom the snake possesses is in a fang located toward the back of the jaw. This venom is very weak and is only dangerous to lizards, their preferred food.
This differentiates the species from other members of the Elapoidea family, which have fangs with dangerous venom.
Understanding where mock vipers fit in the snake family tree helps scientists learn more about how snake venom and fangs evolved. The mock vipers uniqueness also makes them important for conservation efforts. By recognizing them as their own distinct group, scientists can better protect them.
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