Despite challenges against his discovery of the world's smallest snake, S. Blair Hedges remains pleased about his latest find.

"It really hasn't generated much distraction for me," said Hedges, a Penn State evolutionary biologist and professor.

Last Monday, Hedges announced his identification of the world's smallest snake he discovered on a short trip to Barbados in 2006. An Associated Press article published Friday highlighted the responses of some Barbadians who felt Hedges' discovery was not legitimate because they already knew of the snake.

This is a typical response, Hedges said.

"What some people ... had commented on was that they were surprised there was a 'discovery' when they thought they knew the snake," he said. "But there's new species all over the world, and whenever you describe a visible species that's new to science, there's going to be people in that place that already know that animal."

Some Barbadians were also upset about Hedges' decision to name the snake Leptotyphlops carlae, after his wife, according to the AP.

"In the science naming business, people very commonly name species after other people, their students, sometimes those who helped them collect the species," Hedges said. "There's nothing unusual about it."

There's a scientific body of knowledge that's separate from a common knowledge of animals and plants, Hedges said, adding Latin names are for scientists to communicate with one another, and common people almost never use them.

The scientific community has continued to support the discovery regardless of the backlash, Hedges said.

"They all understand that this happens all the time," he said. "I also think that many people who saw the AP blurb were more amused and understood that it's not an issue."

The attention given to the snake and the reaction from the Barbadians is actually exactly what Hedges had hoped would come out of his findings.

"I actually kind of like the reactions, the 'Hey, this is our snake,' " he said, adding snakes are usually "demonized" by the public. "I appreciate that."

The Barbadians appreciate their snake when most people around the world want to kill snakes, Hedges said.

"I'm hopeful that they will protect it," he said. "And as far as I'm concerned, this kind of response is a good thing."

Hedges' study of the snake was conducted in his Penn State lab during the past two years. The two snakes he had worked with are now on display in the Smithsonian.

The common name given to the snake is the Barbadian thread snake, similar to the snake's informal name by island residents.