Liopeltis tiomanica

description

Description of holotype (Figs. 2 – 3). Adult female; head slightly distinct from neck, triangular in dorsal view; snout weakly pointed in lateral view, projecting beyond lower jaw; eye large, pupil round; body slender; tail thin. Rostral wide, clearly visible from above; nasal partially divided, portion anterior to nostril continuous with internasal, portion posterior to nostril with horizontal suture; loreal absent; two preoculars, upper rectangular, approximately 25 % size of lower, trapezoidal preocular; two postoculars, squarish or rounded, upper scale slightly larger than lower scale; eight supralabials, 4 th and 5 th in contact with eye, 2 nd – 4 th in contact with lower preocular, 5 th (right side) and 5 th – 6 th (left side) in contact with lower postocular, 7 th largest; eight infralabials, 5 th largest; one elongate anterior temporal; two subequal posterior temporals, shorter than anterior temporal; two internasals; two prefrontals; single frontal, approximately 63 % length of parietals, with one supraocular on each side; two large, elongate parietals; anterior pair and posterior pairs of chin shields subequal in length, anterior pair broader; dorsal scales smooth, in row

A new Liopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia

diagnosis

Diagnosis. A species of Liopeltis having the combination of the nasal scale fused with the internasal scale; preoculars two; ventrals 161; distinct black lateral cephalic stripe extending from rostral through eye to approximately 30 mm behind neck before fading; four longitudinal stripes on dorsum; and venter immaculate, without stripes.

A new Liopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia

discussion

Comparisons. Liopeltis tiomanica sp. nov. differs from all other species of Liopeltis, except its sister taxon L. philippina (Fig. 4), by having the nasal fused with the internasal and four longitudinal stripes on the dorsum (Weinell et al. 2019). Liopeltis tiomanica sp. nov. differs from L. philippina by having 161 ventral scales (vs. 139 – 150 in L. philippina); two preocular scales (vs. one in L. philippina); and a distinct black lateral cephalic stripe (vs. indistinct in L. philippina; Fig. 5). Liopeltis tiomanica sp. nov. further differs from the sympatric (and possibly syntopic) L. tricolor by having the prefrontal in contact only with the second supralabial (vs. second and third supralabials in L. tricolor); and immaculate ventral scales (vs. three gray ventral stripes in most L. tricolor). Scalation differences among these three species are summarized in Tables 2 and 3.

A new Liopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia

distribution

Distribution, natural history, and conservation. Liopeltis tiomanica sp. nov. is known only from the holotype specimen collected from Pulau Tioman (Fig. 1). The specimen was found in the afternoon while perched on a small tree branch 2 m above the ground in primary hill dipterocarp forest (J. Grismer et al. 2004, Fig. 5).

A new Liopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia