New snake species namered in honor of Steve Irwin

A new species of wolf snake was discovered from the Great Nicobar Islands, India.

Researchers R. S. Naveen and S. R. Chandramouli of the Pondicherry University, Zeeshan A. Mirza of the Max Planck Institute for Biology and Girish Choure of Pune published the discovery in the open-access journal Evolutionary Systematics.

The team named the new species Irwin’s wolf snake, or Lycodon irwini, after the late Stephen Robert Irwin, the renowned Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, and wildlife educator. “His passion and dedication to wildlife education and conservation have inspired naturalists and conservationists worldwide, including the authors of the paper,” they write in their study.

The adults of the new species are glossy black and can grow to a meter in length. The snakes are non-venomous and likely feed on reptiles, amphibians and small mammals. Currently, the species appears to the endemic to the Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. Based on the narrow distribution range and potential human threats to the species, the authors suggest that it should be considered Endangered. 

“New species continue to be discovered, exemplified by Lycodon irwini, highlighting the ongoing progress in taxonomy and the incomplete understanding of herpetofaunal diversity and distribution in the region,” the researchers write in their paper.

Research article:

Naveen RS, Mirza ZA, Choure G, Chandramouli SR (2025) A ‘Crikey’ new snake: An insular Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata, Colubridae) from the Nicobar Archipelago, India. Evolutionary Systematics 9(2): 221-228. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.170645