Two poisonous sea snakes, which scientists more than 15 years, and is officially considered extinct, have been discovered off the West coast of Australia. Apparently, korukonda sea snake Aipysurus apraefrontalis Aipysurus snake and foliosquama were not even aware that people thought them erased from the face of the earth. The last time these extinct snakes seen in the Timor sea near Ashmore reef, allowing researchers to assume that the habitat of these reptiles is much broader than previously assumed, because between these two points is about 1700 kilometers.
“We believed that these two species of snakes live exclusively in tropical coral reefs. To detect them in Shark Bay off the Western coast of Australia was for us a big surprise. Interestingly, we caught snakes for a mating process, which means that they continue to increase their population”, — told reporters one of the Australian researchers Blanche D Anastasi.
The last evidence of the existence of these two species of snakes date back to the period from 1998 to 2001. All attempts to locate the surviving animals taken by scientists since that time have failed. And now, after almost a decade and a half extinct snake suddenly reminded the researchers about themselves. A group of scientists have responded to the message of the local community living in Shark Bay near Ningaloo reef, claiming that they had seen snakes extinct there. The researchers had to spend a total of 60 hours under water before they were lucky.
The expedition was discovered 16 species Aipysurus foliosquama and 7 species of Aipysurus apraefrontalis. Scientists took tiny samples of tissue rare reptiles, before releasing them back into the water. Obtained in the course of genetic research data will allow researchers to find out the reasons of reduction of populations of these snakes and to prevent the extinction of other species. The results of their research scientists published in the journal Biological Conservation Journal.