Yellow-eyed predator found in bushes on China mountain. It’s a new species
In the mountains of eastern China, a 1-foot-long predator with a “slightly compressed” body moved through the bushes. Its “enlarged” yellow eyes scanned its surroundings, but it wasn’t the only one searching.
Nearby scientists found the lurking animal — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers visited several sites in the Dabie Mountains between 2014 and 2024 as part of a project focused on a “unique” group of “snail-eating or slug-eating” snakes, according to a study published Sept. 2 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
Researchers knew these snakes had “limited variation” in their physical features, resulting in “relatively minor distinctions among species” and a strong possibility that some snakes were being misidentified.
Over a decade, the team collected several of these snakes, analyzed their DNA and compared their features to other known species, the study said. A pattern began to emerge: The snakes from the Dabie Mountains were subtly but consistently distinct.
Researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Pareas dabieshanensis, or the Dabie Mountains slug-eating snake.
Dabie Mountains slug-eating snakes are considered “medium”-sized, reaching about 20 inches in length, the study said. They have “slender, slightly compressed” bodies and a “relatively short” tail. Their “elongate” heads have a “wide and blunt” snout and “enlarged” yellow-tinged eyes.
A photo shows the light tan-brown coloring of the new species and its “numerous irregular black horizontal stripes.”
Dabie Mountains slug-eating snakes were found “residing near low shrubs adjacent to streams in low-altitude areas,” the study said. Like other related snake species, the new species is nocturnal and “primarily feeds on slugs and snails.”
Researchers said they named the new species after the Dabie Mountains where it was first discovered and, so far, the only region where it has been found. The mountain range sits “at the junction of Anhui, Henan, and Hubei Province” in eastern China.
The new species was identified by its DNA, scale pattern, coloring, teeth and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Cai-wen Zhang, Shi-hang Xu, Tao Luo, Chong Liu, Lei Yu, Jiang Zhou, Tao Pan and Bao-wei Zhang.
The team also discovered a second new species: the Eastern China slug-eating snake.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Yellow-eyed predator found in bushes on China mountain. It’s a new species."
