发现新物种，“广西两头蛇”

近日，广西花坪国家级自然保护区境内发现两头蛇科两头蛇属新物种——广西两头蛇。该成果已发布于国际动物分类学期刊《动物系统学与进化》。

A new species of snake, the Guangxi reed snake, has been identified in Guilin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, adding to the country's growing list of documented wildlife.

The findings were published in the international journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

图为广西新发现物种——广西两头蛇。来源：新华社

此次新物种发现，源于广西花坪国家级自然保护区综合科学考察的两栖爬行类动物资源外业调查。由广西自然博物馆组成的科考团队，在保护区银杉管理站片区海拔约760米的阔叶林带开展野外调查时，意外捕获到这种穴居型小型无毒蛇类。经形态学观察、分子生物学分析等多学科综合鉴定，确认其为未被记载的新物种，并命名为“广西两头蛇”。

The species was discovered during a biodiversity survey in a local nature reserve, where a research team from the Natural History Museum of Guangxi collected the small, non-venomous snake in a broadleaf forest. Morphological and molecular analyses later confirmed it as a previously unidentified species, now named Calamaria incredibilis sp nov, or the Guangxi reed snake.

据科考团队介绍，广西两头蛇体型纤细，成体体长仅约22厘米，背部呈棕褐色，分布着七条断续的暗色纵纹，鳞片边缘的深色晕染形成别致的网状图案，外形极具辨识度。作为典型的半穴居蛇类，它行动迟缓、性情温顺，无毒性且不具攻击性，喜好昼伏夜出，常潜藏于枯枝落叶层、腐殖土或石缝中，以蚯蚓、昆虫幼虫为主要食物。其最特别的习性是遇到惊扰时，会将身体盘成“8”字形，或竖起钝圆的尾尖伪装成头部，“两头蛇”的名称也由此而来。

Researchers said the slender snake grows to about 22 centimeters in length, with a brownish body marked by broken dark stripes and distinctive net-like patterns along its scales. Mild and non-venomous, it is a slow-moving, semi-burrowing species that feeds mainly on earthworms and insect larvae. When threatened, it curls into a figure-eight shape or raises its rounded tail to mimic a head, giving rise to its Chinese name, Guangxi Liangtoushe, meaning "two-headed snake".

图为广西新发现物种——广西两头蛇。来源：新华社

广西两头蛇的发现，是继2026年初全球第9000种两栖动物“花坪掌突蟾”之后，花坪自然保护区一年内揭晓的第二个新物种。该发现不仅丰富了我国两栖爬行类动物物种名录，为两头蛇属的系统演化研究提供了关键素材，更印证了花坪保护区在生物多样性保护中的重要地位，体现了桂北原始森林作为“物种基因库”的独特魅力。

Scientists said the discovery provides fresh insight into the evolution of this snake group and highlights the rich biodiversity of northern Guangxi's old-growth forests.

来源： 新华社

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