Tag: Ethiopia

New species of egg-eating snake described from Harenna Forest in Ethiopia

A new species of snake that feeds exclusively on birds’ eggs has been described from the Harenna Forest in Ethiopia, one of the last substantial tracts of natural forest left in the Horn of Africa.

Named Dasypeltis albigularis, or the ‘White-throated Egg-eater’, the species belongs to a remarkable group of harmless African snakes that survive entirely on a diet of eggs, using specially adapted vertebrae in the throat to crack the shell before swallowing.

Male *Dasypeltis* *albigularis* sp. nov. from Manyate village, Harenna Forest, Ethiopia. Image credit: Arthur Tiutenko et al., 2026.

It joins around 20 other known species in the genus Dasypeltis, most of which are notoriously difficult to tell apart, since many are uniformly black, brown or grey with few obvious external differences.

The research, published in the open-access journal Herpetozoa, was led by Arthur Tiutenko of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, together with colleagues at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and South Africa’s National Museum in Bloemfontein.

The new species is superficially similar to the so-called Montane Egg-eater, Dasypeltis atra, a black-coloured snake found in forests across East Africa, but genetic analysis of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA showed the two are as distinct from one another.

The investigation began when Dr Tiutenko acquired a juvenile female snake from a local collaborator in the Harenna Forest:

“I received a juvenile female of an egg-eater that appeared to me to be an already known species, and I started looking for a male to breed it. As she grew to adult size, I noticed morphological differences.”

To test whether those differences reflected a genuine biological distinction, Dr Tiutenko paired the female with a male of the closely related species she resembled:

“I crossed them nevertheless, to see how the offspring would turn out and how her characteristics would be inherited.”

Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov. Image credit: Arthur Tiutenko et al., 2026.

The resulting hybrid offspring displayed a mix of traits from both parents, providing early evidence that the Harenna Forest snake was something new. Confirming the discovery with a formal description ultimately took seven years, drawing on morphological comparisons, DNA sequencing and captive breeding observations.

Dasypeltis albigularis can be distinguished from its relatives by the pale, sometimes bluish-tinged skin visible between its scales and a distinctive white throat and belly – a feature reflected in its scientific name, which means “white-throated” in Latin.

Unlike some of its relatives, it also appears to lack the ability to produce the rasping, hissing sound that many egg-eating snakes use to fend off predators by rubbing their scales together. Females of the new species reach up to 92 cm in length, somewhat smaller than D. atra and its other closest relatives.

A brown morph of *Dasypeltis* *albigularis* sp. nov. photographed in Manyate village, Harenna Forest, Ethiopia. Credit: Abdulkadir M. Hussein.

The snake lives in dense forest between 1,500 and 1,700 metres above sea level, in an area whose undergrowth includes wild coffee plants, and feeds on the eggs of tree-nesting birds.

The description of Dasypeltis albigularis adds to a long list of species Dr Tiutenko has helped bring to scientific attention:

“This is my twentieth taxon that I have named and described. I now have five or six species, and one subgenus, in the queue.”

Original study:

Tiutenko A, Heller TL, Bates MF (2026) A new species of ‘black’ egg-eating snake of the genus Dasypeltis Wagler (Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae, Boigini). Herpetozoa 39: 343-366. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.39.e205043

Research reveals strong community willingness to protect declining wildlife in southern Ethiopia

The investigation, which was carried out through household surveys, focus group discussions, and field observations, revealed that local wildlife populations are under critical strain.

A new study published in the open-access journal BioRisk has highlighted a powerful wave of local support for wildlife conservation in the Hamer District of South Omo, Ethiopia, despite severe environmental pressures.

Researchers from the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, the Gullele Botanic Garden, and the University of Szczecin investigated the primary factors driving habitat degradation and evaluated whether communities are prepared to support future conservation strategies.

The investigation, which was carried out through household surveys, focus group discussions, and field observations, revealed that local wildlife populations are under critical strain. An overwhelming majority of the surveyed residents, precisely 82.3 per cent, reported a noticeable decline in wild animal numbers within their vicinity.

Map of Ethiopia showing the current study area (the Hamer District). Image credit: Zelalem Temesgen et al.

Participants identified deforestation and overgrazing as the most significant hazards to local biodiversity, with 63.5 per cent selecting forest clearing as the primary threat and 50.0 per cent identifying livestock overgrazing as the secondary threat. These human-induced activities are exacerbated by recurrent droughts and changing climate patterns, forcing pastoralist communities to venture deeper into natural habitats to seek fodder and water for their livestock.

Human induced fire in the Hamer District observed during the field visit. Image credit: Zelalem Temesgen et al.

Despite facing these daily challenges for survival, the local community demonstrated a remarkable commitment to environmental stewardship. The researchers found that 90.6 per cent of the respondents expressed an explicit willingness to participate actively in future wildlife conservation initiatives.

Focus group discussions held in Hamer District during the study. Image credit: Zelalem Temesgen et al.

Further, 96.9 per cent of those interviewed acknowledged that the responsibility to safeguard local species rests directly with the community itself, while 99 per cent stated that intervention programmes are an urgent necessity. Statistical modelling demonstrated that factors such as the specific locality, gender, marital status, and length of residence significantly influence an individual’s openness to conservation efforts.

Wildlife population status in the Hamer District as reported by survey respondents (%). Image credit: Zelalem Temesgen et al.

The study notes that local inhabitants traditionally interact with wildlife for various purposes, including utilising certain species for food, traditional remedies, or cultural decorations. However, these practices, combined with habitat loss, have pushed several animals to the brink, leaving the local presence of iconic species such as giraffes and ostriches highly uncertain.

To foster sustainable coexistence between humans and wild animals, the authors recommend implementing managed livestock husbandry practices and constructing dedicated water ponds to alleviate resource competition during dry spells.

They also advocate for the promotion of ecotourism, community-led management initiatives, and stricter enforcement of wildlife protection laws to curb illegal hunting and habitat destruction in the region.

Original source:

Temesgen Z, Biru Y, Gibru A (2026) Anthropogenic threats and challenges of wildlife conservation in Hamer District, South Omo, Ethiopia. BioRisk 24: 69-84. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.24.175449

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Highlands of diversity: Another new chameleon from the Bale region, Ethiopia

The Bale Mountains in south-central Ethiopia are considered to be one of the most unique centers of endemism, with an extraordinary number of plants and animals that can only be found there. Numerous species are already known from this Afromontane high-elevation plateau, making it a biodiversity hotspot, but ongoing research continues to reveal the presence of so far unknown and undescribed organisms.

The new chameleon species, *Trioceros wolfgangboehmei*
Credit: Koppetsch et al.

Zoologists Thore Koppetsch and Benjamin Wipfler of the Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, Germany, and Petr Nečas from the Czech Republic, describe one such species: a new small-sized chameleon living on the edge of the forest. Their findings were published in the open-access, peer-reviewed life science journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

There were already two species of the chameleon genus Trioceros known to be restricted to the Bale region when Thore Koppetsch and his colleagues discovered another unique representative of this group from the northern slopes of the Bale Mountains. Interestingly, this new chameleon is considered to be part of a species complex of the wide-spread Ethiopian Chameleon Trioceros affinis. Previous studies have indicated divergence between its different populations across the Ethiopian Highlands – with some of them separated by the northern extension of the Great Rift Valley, which also shaped the evolution of early humans.

Living individual of *Trioceros wolfgangboehmei*
Credit: Koppetsch et al.

The new chameleon, Trioceros wolfgangboehmei, has a special name. It honours the scientific work of Wolfgang Böhme, senior herpetologist at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, and his passion for chameleons and other reptiles.

Apart from its biogeographical patterns, the new species also has a characteristic appearance, displaying enlarged spiny scales on its back and tail that form a prominent crest. It usually lives on small trees and bushes at an altitude of above 2,500 m above sea level.

Head detail of the new chameleon, *Trioceros wolfgangboehmei*
Credit: Koppetsch et al.

“Given the variation in colour patterns and morphology between different populations of these chameleons in Ethiopia, it is likely that these groups still bear a higher hidden diversity than expected, which might be revealed by further ongoing investigations.”
Thore Koppetsch

Furthermore, the research team urges for sustainable preservation and conservation of its habitat to mitigate the impact of human activity.

***

Original source:

Koppetsch T, Nečas P, Wipfler B (2021) A new chameleon of the Trioceros affinis species complex (Squamata, Chamaeleonidae) from Ethiopia. Zoosystematics and Evolution 97 (1): 161–179. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.97.57297

Conservation hopes up for the endangered banana frog restricted to Southwest Ethiopia

As the natural forest cover in Ethiopia is already less than 3% of what it once has been, the banana frog species, dwelling exclusively in the remnants of the country’s southwestern forests in only two populations, is exposed to a great risk of extinction.

Through their survey, a research team, led by Matthias De Beenhouwer, Biodiversity Inventory for Nature Conservation (BINCO), Belgium, have now extended the species’ range, thus making the first steps to saving the charming frogs. The study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Although Ethiopia is known for its high number of both animal and plant species that do not live anywhere else in the world, there is a concerning lack of conservation activities to preserve the local biodiversity. Moreover, while as much as 41% of the amphibians ever recorded in the country are exclusive for its fauna, there have been only few researches. Without such, pointing the hotspots in greatest need of protection and restoration, as well as taking adequate measures subsequently, is impossible.

Concerned about the endangered status of the banana frog, and supported with a Rufford grant, Matthias and his team spent ten evenings, or 111 hours, in August 2014, seeking and collecting as many frogs as possible from seven different locations. When they determined the species status of the found individuals, it turned out that they have managed to discover several new populations of banana frogs from unexpected localities.

As a result of their survey, the geographical range of the Ethiopian banana frog has been expanded by roughly 40 km towards the North and 70 km to the East. Its altitudinal distribution already reaches a maximum of 2030 metres above sea level, compared to the previously known maximum of 1800 m.

Banana frogs being identified from outside forest habitats is also a good news for the species’ preservation since it shows that not only are the frogs more tolerable against forest degradation than expected, but that also there could be even more populations.

“Although Southwest Ethiopia is known to harbour the last large tracts of natural forest, forest cover has declined dramatically to less than 3% nationwide,” point out the researchers. “Therefore, accurate information on species conservation and distribution is an essential first step to facilitate the delivery of conservation updates, recognize biodiversity hotspots and encourage habitat protection and restoration.”

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Original source:

Mertens J, Jocqué M, Geeraert L, De Beenhouwer M (2016) Newly discovered populations of the Ethiopian endemic and endangered Afrixalus clarkei Largen, implications for conservation.ZooKeys 565: 141-146.doi: 10.3897/zookeys.565.7114