Alex Bentley Uncovers 70-Year Snake Collection in Ecuador

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 29

A $1 visit to a shack in Mera led Alex Bentley to dozens of rare snake specimens preserved in jars, a collection he said had been largely overlooked.
The trove had been assembled over 70 years by Manuel Genaro Peñafiel Flores, a farmer who turned an outbuilding beside his home into a makeshift museum.
Peñafiel, then 90, spent decades catching snakes on his finca, including the deadly equis pit viper and other obscure species that even Bentley could not immediately identify.
The find highlights an unusual, privately built record of Ecuador’s snake diversity that survived outside formal scientific collections.

What became of the Ecuadorean farmer's priceless 70-year snake collection after its discovery a decade ago?

How are scientists now uncovering other 'hidden treasures' from amateur naturalists before these invaluable collections are lost?

How do frog-eating spiders and rare snakes change our fundamental understanding of who eats whom in the jungle?