New Aussie venomous snake species threatened by mining
Source: Xinhua   2018-07-16 12:36:01

SYDNEY, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A new species of venomous snake discovered in Australia could be threatened with extinction because of mining, according to latest Australian-led research on Monday.

A team of biologists led by The University of Queensland's Associate Professor Bryan Fry had found the new species of bandy-bandy snake in the state's Weipa coastal mining town during their research on sea snakes, the university said in a statement on Monday.

The snake had "slithered over from a pile of bauxite rubble waiting to be loaded onto a ship," said Fry.

But the area's mining could also be threatening the new species, he said.

"Bauxite mining is a major economic activity in the region, and it may be reshaping the environment to the detriment of native plants and animals," said Fry, whose work on the bandy-bandy snake in Weipa has been published in scientific journal Zootaxa.

It was important to protect the new species also because snake venoms "are rich sources of compounds that can be used to develop new medications."

"Every species is precious and we need to protect them all, since we can't predict where the next wonder-drug will come from," said Fry.

"The discovery of this enigmatic little snake is symptomatic of the much more fundamental problem of how little we know about our biodiversity and how much may be lost before we even discover it."

About 100 Australian snake species are venomous, including the deadly Taipans and Death Adders, according to national public health information service Healthdirect Australia.

Editor: mym
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New Aussie venomous snake species threatened by mining

Source: Xinhua 2018-07-16 12:36:01
[Editor: huaxia]

SYDNEY, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A new species of venomous snake discovered in Australia could be threatened with extinction because of mining, according to latest Australian-led research on Monday.

A team of biologists led by The University of Queensland's Associate Professor Bryan Fry had found the new species of bandy-bandy snake in the state's Weipa coastal mining town during their research on sea snakes, the university said in a statement on Monday.

The snake had "slithered over from a pile of bauxite rubble waiting to be loaded onto a ship," said Fry.

But the area's mining could also be threatening the new species, he said.

"Bauxite mining is a major economic activity in the region, and it may be reshaping the environment to the detriment of native plants and animals," said Fry, whose work on the bandy-bandy snake in Weipa has been published in scientific journal Zootaxa.

It was important to protect the new species also because snake venoms "are rich sources of compounds that can be used to develop new medications."

"Every species is precious and we need to protect them all, since we can't predict where the next wonder-drug will come from," said Fry.

"The discovery of this enigmatic little snake is symptomatic of the much more fundamental problem of how little we know about our biodiversity and how much may be lost before we even discover it."

About 100 Australian snake species are venomous, including the deadly Taipans and Death Adders, according to national public health information service Healthdirect Australia.

[Editor: huaxia]
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