Researchers from India recently discovered a new species of pit vipers and named it after Salazar Slytherin.
For those unfamiliar with the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Salazar Slytherin is known as one of the founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravencalw and Helga Hufflepuff.
Those four powerful witches and wizards in Harry Potter are also the namesakes of the four Hogwarts houses.
So why did the researchers name the viper after Salazar Slytherin? Snake is the symbol of the Slytherin house, and because Salazar himself was known for his ability to talk to snakes.
In their findings published this month in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution, the researchers chose to name the new species of snake as Trimeresurus salazar or can be commonly known as Salazar’s pit viper.
The pit vipers are venomous and can be found throughout East and Southeast Asia. One of the species’ outstanding features is its orange-reddish stripe found on the side of the males’ heads.
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