Rediscovery of the rare Star Mountains worm-eating Snake, Toxicocalamus ernstmayri O'Shea et al., 2015 (Serpentes: Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) with the description of its coloration in life

Abstract

A series of photographs of the recently described Star Mountains Worm-eating Snake, Toxicocalamus ernstmayri O’Shea et al., 2015, taken at the Ok Tedi Mine in the Star Mountains, North Fly District, Western Province, Papua New Guinea, represents only the second record of this poorly-known species. Toxicocalamus ernstmayri was hitherto only known from its holotype, collected in December 1969 at the village of Wangbin approximately 13.2 km ESE of the photo locality. The Ok Tedi snake was observed and photographed during the day in October 2015 as it moved across a section of active mine workings, before retreating into dense montane rainforest. This series of photographs constitutes the first sighting of this snake in 45 years and the first sighting of a living animal, providing evidence of the species’ continued existence in an area of considerable environmental and demographic changes brought about by human development. These images also provide evidence of its startling coloration in life.