A 'miniaturised' snake
The snake is described as a "miniaturised" genus and species, much smaller than its closest relatives, Mr Weinell said.
While Levitonius mirus reaches at most 17 centimetres in length, "the size of a pencil," he said, "the closest relatives could be three to four times larger."
"That has a lot of consequences, like reduction of the number of bones, a sort of simplification of the body," Mr Weinell said.
"Miniaturisation hasn't been observed that often, at least in snakes," the KU graduate research assistant said, and this snake represents one of the most extreme cases within the larger clade it belongs in, called Elapoidea.