Rare 'Snakes from Hell' Discovered in Ecuador

[Claire.]

Rare 'Snakes from Hell' Lurk Near Petrochemical Plant in Ecuador

The sprawling Refinería del Pacífico is an enormous industrial complex stamped out of the tropical forest in Ecuador. So, when herpetologists discovered a new species of snake outside the petrochemical plant's gates, their minds went immediately to the underworld.

And thus, Atractus cerberus was born. The brown-and-yellow ground snake — named after Cerberus, the mythological three-headed hound who guards Hades, the god of the underworld in ancient Greek mythology — is one of three new serpents discovered in Ecuador. All three newfound species are members of the genus Atractus, a secretive bunch that tends to evade scientific scrutiny, said Alejandro Arteaga, the scientific director of the conservation organization Tropical Herping who co-discovered and helped describe the new snakes.

Read more: Live Science

[Claire.]

Related: Shhh: A Gallery of Secretive Ground Snakes
Check out these photos of Atractus snakes, which typically live in burrows and eat insect larvae.