<p>Scientists have discovered a new species of dwarf boa in the Ecuadoran Amazon and named it after an Indigenous activist.</p>.<p>Up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) long and with skin coloring similar to those of the boa constrictor -- the previously unknown snake was named Tropidophis cacuangoae.</p>.<p>The second part of the name honors early 20th century Indigenous rights activist Dolores Cacuango, according to Ecuador's environment ministry.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/lesser-known-side-of-slimy-predators-1159565.html" target="_blank">Lesser-known side of slimy predators</a></strong></p>.<p>Two specimens were found in the Colonso Chalupas national reserve and in the private Sumak Kawsay park, the discoverers reported.</p>.<p>These snakes "are a relic of time, they are animals so old that finding or bumping into one of them is a privilege," Ecuadoran researcher Mario Yanez of the National Biodiversity Institute (INABIO) told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>The species is unusual for having a "vestigial pelvis" characteristic of primitive snakes and taken as evidence by some that snakes descended from lizards that lost their limbs over millions of years.</p>.<p>The team's findings were published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.</p>.<p>The ministry said the discovery brought to six the number of known Tropidophis species, endemic to South America.</p>
<p>Scientists have discovered a new species of dwarf boa in the Ecuadoran Amazon and named it after an Indigenous activist.</p>.<p>Up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) long and with skin coloring similar to those of the boa constrictor -- the previously unknown snake was named Tropidophis cacuangoae.</p>.<p>The second part of the name honors early 20th century Indigenous rights activist Dolores Cacuango, according to Ecuador's environment ministry.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/lesser-known-side-of-slimy-predators-1159565.html" target="_blank">Lesser-known side of slimy predators</a></strong></p>.<p>Two specimens were found in the Colonso Chalupas national reserve and in the private Sumak Kawsay park, the discoverers reported.</p>.<p>These snakes "are a relic of time, they are animals so old that finding or bumping into one of them is a privilege," Ecuadoran researcher Mario Yanez of the National Biodiversity Institute (INABIO) told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>The species is unusual for having a "vestigial pelvis" characteristic of primitive snakes and taken as evidence by some that snakes descended from lizards that lost their limbs over millions of years.</p>.<p>The team's findings were published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.</p>.<p>The ministry said the discovery brought to six the number of known Tropidophis species, endemic to South America.</p>