“Baffling” new snake species in Myanmar looks like multiple species at once

Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new species of pit viper in Myanmar that seems to blur the very definition of what a species is. This snake, now named the Ayeyarwady pit viper, puzzled researchers because it looks like a mix between two known species—sometimes resembling one, sometimes the other, and occasionally something in between. Initially suspected to be a hybrid, genetic analysis revealed it is actually its own distinct species.