By Keith Uhlig
There are a couple of ways to discover a new species of snake.
One is to find the least hospitable and most remote areas on our planet and look around for a snake that hasn't been recognized by science before.
Others ways are to intensively scrutinize members of snake species or groups of species for differences, often based on their geographic distribution, that reclassify the taxonomy of the animals. This analysis can include a detailed inspection of the way a snake looks, or the configuration of its reproductive organs. It can include molecular investigation, determining small, but meaningful differences in snakes' DNA.
Robert Jadin, 38, a Rudolph resident, herpetologist and lecturer in the biology department of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has found and described multiple new species and even a new genus of snakes using those strategies. He is very, very good at it.
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