Himalayan pit viper found to be five separate species, three new to science - antivenom coverage gap exposed
Scientists publishing in ZooKeys have shown the Himalayan pit viper, treated as a single species since 1864, is actually five distinct species - three of them brand new. The polyvalent antivenom used across South Asia was never designed for pit viper venom, leaving a coverage gap
Scientists publishing in ZooKeys have shown that what biologists treated as a single Himalayan pit viper species since 1864 is actually five separate species, three of them new to science. The team combined DNA from fresh field specimens with samples from museum vipers collected more than a century ago, plus comparisons of skull bones and scale patterns. The lineages live across the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and central Himalayas. The polyvalent antivenom imported into Nepal from India targets the big four cobras and kraits, and was never built to neutralize pit viper venom. Mapping venom composition across all five species is the next step toward a future antivenom.