July 10, 2004
"Stenophis sp2"
by Alberto Gonzalez Gallina

The other day, Alain called me to see this nocturnal snake sleeping on his tent site roof. The snake was of the genus Stenophis allright, but which particular species?; we needed the aid from the dicotomical keys from the field guide. Alain had worked with reptiles before and he thought this find required some attention. After running through the genus key, you know, counting scales, watching color patterns and that kind of stuff, we finally identified it as Stenophis sp2….wait a minute!…why sp 2 ?. I’ll tell you why: So far this might be the second collected specimen, which could mean either the snake itself is really rare or, there haven’t been enough studies including reptiles around Ankarafantsika. It gives you this satisfaction, of feeling part of science and having the luck if not the honor of being one of the few that worldwide have ever seen this species. I’m really glad of having such an experience.