A species of snakes previously unseen in Taiwan was recently documented on Matsu’s Dongyin Island (東引島), naturalists said.
The discovery was documented in a paper entitled Oligodon Chinensis: A Newly Documented Species in Matsu in last month’s issue of the journal China Nature, a Taiwan-based Society of Wildlife and Nature publication.
Author Yu Chung-wei (游崇瑋), a graduate of National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Life Science, said that the small snake was first seen by several soldiers vacationing near the Dongyin military garrison on June 20.
Photo courtesy of Yu Chung-wei
One of the soldiers decided to take a photograph of the snake and sent the image to Lee Kuan-hsun (李冠勳), a Dayeh University bio-resource department graduate, and asked him to identify the species.
Lee sent the photograph to Huang Fu-sheng (黃福盛), a fellow bio-resource graduate from the same institution, who identified the snake as an ornate kukri snake (Oligodon ornatus), Yu said.
However, Huang decided to forward the photograph to another expert for a second opinion, Yu said.
After receiving the image, Yu determined that the initial identification was wrong and suspected that the snake was a juvenile Chinese kukri snake, which had never been seen in Taiwan before.
With the help of Chen Teng-chuang (陳登創), a Dongyin Island resident, the men were able to find and document two Chinese kukri snakes.
The mature specimen was 45cm long and the juvenile was 15cm long, Yu said.
Chinese kukri snakes and ornate kukri snakes have different striations in the head and neck area, with the ornate kukri snake having V-shaped and heart-shaped striations immediately following the lines around the eyes, while the Chinese kukri snake has arrowhead striations on the same areas, Yu said.
Chinese kukri snakes are common in central and southern China and in Vietnam’s low and medium-altitude regions. They are of the Oligodon genus, like the ornate kukri snake and Formosan kukri snake (Oligodon formosanus) found in Taiwan, he said.
Scientific surveys are rarely conducted on Dongyin Island because of sensitive military facilities and restrictions on field research, making it harder for people to see the nocturnal, terrestrial Chinese kukri snake, Yu said.
Yu said the discovery would not have been possible without the curiosity of the troops stationed on Dongyin Island.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators