A new venomous pit viper turns up on cave walls in Laos

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIt's one-thirty Eastern, this is The Couch Panel, and today's question comes from Laos, where scientists named a new venomous pit viper from a single adult female and photos of three other snakes.

2. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIs that enough to call it a species?

3. 

   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorNo. One snake, three photographs, and the photographs are of other snakes. I wouldn't hire a plumber on that.

4. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorOh, I'm sorry, but they ran six thousand ninety-two base pairs of genetic code, Dale. That's a very thorough first impression.

5. 

   Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistI'm with Vera, and I'll tell you why.

6. 

   Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistI once forecast an entire autumn off one cloud in Leeds. Best season of my life. The cloud never called.

7. 

   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorBrock, you got that autumn wrong.

8. 

   Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistIt felt right. That's what counts.

9. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd the snake's nearest relative was only reported in Thailand in twenty twenty. So science runs on small samples, and it's frankly pioneering.

10. 

    Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThe authors suggest it be listed as Endangered, on one specimen. So the species is rare, and we've already collected one of them.

11. 

    Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistThey named it for the yellow-orange snout. One meeting, and they went straight for the face.

12. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorShow of hands: is one snake and three photos a species? I'm a yes, Brock is a yes, and Dale is a no.

13. 

    Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorFine, I'll move to yes, provided the snake gets a say in the name, because it's the one who showed up.

14. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThat's The Couch Panel, back same time tomorrow.