A Slippery Rock University faculty member channeled a famous rock musician while riffing with researchers on a scientific discovery that welcomed a new reptile to the jungle. Justin Bernstein, an SRU assistant professor of biology, collaborated with researchers at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, and several other institutions, to describe a newly discovered snake species, honoring legendary Guns N’ Roses guitarist Saul “Slash” Hudson in the process.
The newly discovered “Lielaphis slashi” is a 28-inch-long reddish-brown snake from the forests of New Guinea. Named by the seven researchers who contributed to the study, this new discovery celebrates Slash’s work as a musician, as well as the guitarist’s love of reptiles and advocacy for conservation throughout his career.
“As we’ve grown up, a lot of us (on the team) have been impacted heavily throughout our lives by Guns N’ Roses,” said Bernstein. “With that said, we wanted to name this snake after Slash, who is a big advocate for zoos, natural history and especially for reptiles.”
Bernstein, who joined the SRU faculty earlier this year, conducted work on the study starting as a postdoctoral fellow with the American Museum of Natural History in New York and finishing at SRU.
While the namesake brings attention to the discovery, Bernstein emphasizes that scientific identification of new species serves a critical purpose in global biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.
“There are a lot of different ways that you view the importance of describing new species, but the first and biggest one relates to diversity and conservation,” said Bernstein. “We can’t conserve what we don’t know, so it’s important for us to recognize how to identify these species. That way, when we make new discoveries, we can then stem into research in order to better understand how they serve the ecosystems that they’re a part of.”
For the research team, bridging pop culture with classification offers a unique opportunity to shift public perception surrounding frequently vilified animals.
“When you describe a new species, people tie themselves very closely to particular individuals, like for us it was Slash in Guns N’ Roses, but there are also people out there who aren’t scientists that feel the same way,” Bernstein said. “So, there’s this aspect of discovery where you can raise awareness of the importance of organisms that aren’t viewed in the best of lights, like snakes.”
The successful discovery provides Bernstein with new perspectives and inspirations going into the start of his first semester teaching at SRU.
“My approach is to bring in snakes as a system for students to better understand different topics in ecology and evolution,” Bernstein said. “There are many different ways to use snakes to teach students.”
“It’s important for students to realize that, while there are so many different organisms that have become famous for studying particular topics, it’s really neat when you can see other systems or animals that you don’t hear much about. That brings students to a new level of excitement for them, opening their eyes, and curiosity, a bit wider.”
More information aboutLielaphis slashi can be found on the Field Museum of Natural History’s website.
In addition to Bernstein, the other contributors to the study were Tianqi Huang (Field Museum and Rutgers University), Chris Austin (Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science), Bulisa Iova (Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery), Jackson Roberts (Virginia Museum of Natural History), Jeffrey Frederick (University of Kentucky) and Sara Ruane (Field Museum).
More information about SRU’s biology program can be found on the program’s webpage.
