'Two-headed' snake species discovered in South China

A new snake species nicknamed the "Guangxi two-headed snake" has been discovered in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The species, scientifically named Calamaria incredibilis, was identified in the Guangxi Huaping National Nature Reserve and the findings were recently published in the international taxonomy journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum of Guangxi found the snake during a field survey in a broadleaf forest area about 760 meters above sea level. After combining morphological observations with molecular analysis, the team confirmed it was a previously undocumented species.

Calamaria incredibilis is a small, slender, non-venomous species measuring only about 22 centimeters in length. Its brown back is marked with seven broken dark stripes, while dark-edged scales create a distinctive net-like pattern.

A typical semi-fossorial snake, it usually hides beneath leaf litter, loose soil and rock crevices, feeding mainly on earthworms and insect larvae. It is mild-tempered, slow-moving and mostly nocturnal.

The snake gets its "two-headed" nickname from its defensive behavior. When disturbed, it curls into a figure-eight shape and lifts its blunt tail to resemble a second head, a tactic used to confuse predators.

Researchers said the discovery marks the second new species identified this year in the Huaping reserve, following the earlier discovery of the Huaping leaf litter toad (Leptobrachella cathaya), the world's 9,000th recorded amphibian species.

The finding enriches China's reptile and amphibian species records and offers new material for research into the evolution of the Calamaria genus, underscoring the country's progress in biodiversity conservation and ecological civilization development.