A newly described groundsnake from Papua New Guinea has been named Lielaphis slashi after Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, a lifelong reptile enthusiast. Genetic analyses, scale counts, anatomy and habitat modeling showed that the reddish-brown snake represents a species distinct from its closest relatives. The discovery raises the known number of Lielaphis species to 20 and highlights how much of New Guinea’s snake diversity remains undocumented as forests face growing pressure. A reddish-brown snake collected from a New Guinea forest nearly two decades ago has turned out to be something no scientist had formally recognized before. Its new name connects one of the world’s richest tropical ecosystems with one of rock music’s most recognizable guitarists. The snake is Lielaphis slashi, or Slash’s groundsnake, named for Guns N’ Roses guitarist Saul Hudson, better known as Slash. The name reflects more than celebrity. Slash has long been a reptile enthusiast and supporter of museums, zoos and natural history. “As a long time herpephile, I am extremely honored and humbled to have Lielaphis slashi from New Guinea named …