Rhade Wolf Snake

description

Description of holotype (Figs 4, 5; Table 3). Head flattened slightly sloping anteriorly, distinct from the neck, HL 27.8 mm, HW 18.0 mm, HH 11.8 mm, snout somewhat elongate, SnL 8.2 mm, EN 5.2 mm; nostril oval, large, in the middle of the nasal, IND 6.0 mm; eye moderately sized, ED 4.0 mm, with a vertically elliptic pupil; rostral triangular, hardly visible from above; nasal vertically divided by a furrow along posterior margin of nostril; two square internasals in wide, medial contact, and in contact with two large, square prefrontals posteriorly; followed by a single, azygous, subpentagonal frontal, nearly as wide as long; two large, elongate parietals, contacted laterally by upper anterior and posterior temporals and a larger paraparietal; 1 / 1 wide, elongate supraocular; 1 / 1 small preocular, contacting third supralabial; 2 / 2 postoculars, upper slightly larger than lower; 1 / 1 elongate loreal not contacting eye, in contact with second and third supralabials ventrally, the prefrontal dorsally, preocular posteriorly, the nasal anteriorly; 8 / 8 supralabials, second to sixth higher than wide; first and second supralabials in contact with nasal; third, fourth, and fifth, supr

Two new syntopic species of wolf snakes (genus Lycodon H. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826) from an imperiled ecosystem in the Song Giang River Valley of southern Vietnam (Squamata: Colubridae)

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. is separated from all other species in the L. rufozonatus complex by having the combination of a maximum SVL length of 790 mm; TaL 190 mm; 17 or 18 - 17 - 15 dorsal scale rows; 12 maxillary teeth; eight supralabials with the 3 rd- 5 th contacting the eye; nine or 10 infralabials; one preocular; two postoculars; an elongate loreal not contacting the eye; two anterior temporals; three posterior temporals; 223 - 232 ventral scales; 87 paired subcaudal scales; a divided precloacal plate; five keeled vertebral scale rows from midbody to vent; uniform dark-brown to black adult head pattern; no wide light-colored nuchal-occipital collar; dark-brown / black dorsal ground color; 12 wide, orangish body bands; 5 - 7 orangish caudal bands; orangish dorsal bands on ventrolateral section of body as opposed to a reticulated pattern; and anterior one-half of venter orangish grading into a dark-brown posteriorly. These characters are scored across all species of the L. rufozonatus complex in Table 2.

Two new syntopic species of wolf snakes (genus Lycodon H. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826) from an imperiled ecosystem in the Song Giang River Valley of southern Vietnam (Squamata: Colubridae)

etymology

Etymology. The specific epithet " Lycodon anakradaya " is given in a reference to the Ede people (" Anak Radaya " in Ede language), an Austronesian ethnic group living in the upland forested areas of southern Vietnam including those that surround the Song Giang River valley.

Two new syntopic species of wolf snakes (genus Lycodon H. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826) from an imperiled ecosystem in the Song Giang River Valley of southern Vietnam (Squamata: Colubridae)