Scientists have described a new species of egg-eating snake from Ethiopia’s Harenna Forest, one of the last substantial areas of natural forest remaining in the Horn of Africa.
Named Dasypeltis albigularis, or the ‘white-throated egg-eater’, the newly described snake belongs to a group of African reptiles that have evolved to feed exclusively on birds’ eggs, bringing the number of known species in the genus Dasypeltis to around 20.
Published in the journal Herpetozoa, the study was led by Arthur Tiutenko of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, along with researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and South Africa’s National Museum in Bloemfontein.
The species was discovered when Tiutenko acquired a juvenile female snake from a local collaborator in the Harenna Forest. Initially, he believed it was a known species and began looking for a male to breed with it.
“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,” explains Tiutenko.
“As she grew to adult size, I noticed morphological differences.”
He subsequently bred the female with a male of the closely related species that she most closely resembled. The resulting offspring showed a mixture of characteristics from both parents, providing an early indication that the Harenna Forest snake represented something different.
It took seven years to formally confirm and describe the species, combining morphological comparisons, DNA sequencing and observations from captive breeding.
The new species is particularly difficult to distinguish from its relatives, as many egg-eating snakes have a similar, relatively plain colouration. D. albigularis closely resembles the montane egg-eater, Dasypeltis atra, a dark brown, black or grey species found in forests across East Africa. However, genetic analysis of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA confirmed that the Harenna Forest snake is a distinct species. Researchers also identified differences in its appearance and behaviour.
Dasypeltis albigularis gets its scientific name from its distinctive colouring. It has pale, sometimes bluish-tinged skin visible between its scales, along with a white throat and belly. The species name albigularis refers to its white throat.
Females of the new species can grow to around 92cm long, making them somewhat smaller than D. atra and some of their other close relatives.
The snake appears to lack the ability to produce the rasping or hissing sound used by some other egg-eating snakes to deter predators. These snakes can rub their scales together to create a warning sound, despite being harmless.
Egg-eating snakes have a highly specialised adaptation that allows them to consume eggs despite having no limbs or teeth designed for breaking shells. Once swallowed, the egg is cracked using specially adapted vertebrae in the snake’s throat, with the shell then regurgitated.
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Main image: male dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov. from Manyate village, Harenna Forest, Ethiopia. Credit: Arthur Tiutenko et al., 2026.
