As per a research study published in the June 2020 issue of journal Vertebrate Zoology, a snake spotted by a team led by zoologist Abhijit Das in 2018 was in fact Assam keel back snake. This snake was earlier sighted in 1869 by a team from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
The 2018 sighting of the snake was made during Abor expedition, that took place in 1911-1912, when the team was retracing converting an area of 130km along the Siang river from the base camp at Kobo Chapori to the head quarter at Yambung. The expetitors recorded 244 species and 14 genera new to science a wide variety of flora and fauna from Assam.
Species: Assam Keelback Snake
It was first known as Hebius Pealii, named after Edward Peal, who collected its first two specimens 129 years ago-one was preserved in the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, and another was kept in the Natural History Museum in London.
It is so far known only to inhabit Sivasagar in Upper Assam and Poba. So, as far as present information and knowledge, it is regarded as endemic snake of upper Assam.
The snake found in the recent expedition is a female snake and so it can help in ascertaining differences in morphological characters of male and female species of Assam Keelback snake.
Other Findings
As per Dr Das from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, about 400 plants, 270 butterflies, 66 odonates, 25 amphibians and 44 reptiles, 239 birds, and at least 20 mammals were recorded in the latest survey, which commenced from Poba reserved forest, at the interstate border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on September 30, 2018.